Madeline
Say Nothing is a crazy story from Ireland and how modern Ireland came to be. In the early 70s, Belfast, Northern Ireland became a political war zone making it one of the most dangerous cities in the world. The homicide rate was of around 31 per 100,000. This was brought on by a political movement to keep or leave Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
In addition to the political aspect there was also a Protestant vs. Catholic undertone to it all, where the two religions were at war with each other. With all the violence caused in the streets, if anyone knew anything, they were to stay quiet and to say nothing. Say Nothing is about this time period and the violence that rampaged through the country.
Premise of Say Nothing
The book paints itself as a book about the murder of Jean McConville, but is much more than that. This particular murder was a big focus of Say Nothing’s description. But the content of the book is about 5% about Jean McConville. The rest is about the politics that surrounds her story.
Radden Keefe makes sure the reader understands what Northern Ireland was like in the 70s. He describes the political pulse of the area and descriptive detail of the violence including shootings and bombings. Making sure the reader knows not just why McConville was taken from her home and murdered but lots of others as well. Anyone who is an informant to the British, or thought to be an informant, and of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provos or IRA) was taken, usually tortured, and killed.
McConville’s case was singled out and made particularly famous due to her perceived lack of involvement in the political movement. She was a widowed mother of 10, who constantly worked, did housework, or smoked. Nothing else. When it comes down to it, she was targeted due to a single incident where she helped a British soldier.
How Say Nothing Came About
Say Nothing is based on the interviews taken by IRA soldiers and kept under lock and key at Boston College. This was a project, that at first, was only known by a handful of people. The idea was to take the interviews and store them until all people interviewed were deceased. These people could be seen as traitors and if it was known that they were talking about these deep secrets they would be murdered, just like Jean McConville. Many of the interviews included details on who was murdered, why they were murdered, how they were murdered and where the body was disposed.
Final Thoughts
This was tough book to swallow. Similar to American Dirt and 13 Reasons Why it is a difficult book to get through but covers important topics to be aware of. It covers some topics that feel old and dated but were not that long ago in the grand scheme of things. These are events that shaped Ireland as it is today. Although it was tough, it was definitely worth the read.
