Say Nothing

A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

By: Patrick Radden Keefe

Narrated by: Matthew Blaney

Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.

"Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." —New York Times Book Review

Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes.

Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past--Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.

Look for Patrick Radden Keefe's latest bestseller, Empire of Pain.

©2019 Patrick Radden Keefe (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE

"Resolutely humane. . .Say Nothing [has an] exacting and terrifying lucidity. . .meticulously reported. . .Keefe's narrative is an architectural feat, expertly constructed out of complex and contentious material, arranged and balanced just so. . .an absorbing drama.\ —JENNIFER SZALAI, The New York Times

"Say Nothing has lots of the qualities of good fiction. . . Keefe is a terrific storyteller. . .He brings his characters to real life. The book is cleverly structured. We follow people--victim, perpetrator, back to victim--leave them, forget about them, rejoin them decades later. It can be read as a detective story. . .What Keefe captures best, though, is the tragedy, the damage and waste, and the idea of moral injury. . .Say Nothing is an excellent account of the Troubles. —RODDY DOYLE, The New York Times Book Review

On a par with I'll Be Gone in the Dark, plus...

a tremendous portrait of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970's and 1980's. Even if you aren't particularly interested in Irish history, this reads in large part like a detective novel. What the McConville family went through after the widowed mother of ten is kidnapped and murdered by the IRA is harrowing, and I felt myself with a heavy heart at many points in the book. Various people characterize the man suspected by most as having ordered the hit (and the murders of many others) as a sociopath, Machiavellian, a man in complete denial, or a statesman. The book raises the painful questions throughout: are brutal acts forgivable in the creation of a new country/society? are they necessary? The people described so beautifully and so poignantly will stay with me for a long, long time. The experience of the hunger strikers and others imprisoned for IRA crimes, the PTSD and dark nights of the soul that never end...all combine to create a memorable book. Plus, the narrator is perfect. He speaks in a quiet, intimate tone as if giving you confidential information. He never over-dramatizes and in fact conveys a quiet reverence for the experiences of the people portrayed. I stayed up much too late for two nights, hating to put this excellent book down. PS If at first the Northern Ireland accent is hard, give it time.

phenomenal

the research and explanation is so thorough; it's astounding. beautiful reading, as well. I'm amazed that this feels so distant yet so close in history.

Very good, but also a bit misleading

The synopsis makes it out that this book would mostly be about the murder of Jean, but that's only a small fraction of the story told. I'd say this was more like an in-depth look at the IRA from the last 40 years. That being said, it was very well done, and thorough.

Insight into history

This book had me searching for other material about the IRA and troubles.
The narrator has the most beautiful voice; a Belfast catholic accent that accurately grounds this poignant story.
Insight into important lessons from history.

A must read for anyone who needs to know the truth

The best history about a secret war ..... everyone needs to read. I had to listen twice am on my third.

Riveting!

My first audible book and I’m hooked! A murder mystery wrapped in “the troubles” wrapped in Irish history. Brings to life the voices and personalities behind the names of the 30-year struggle in Northern Ireland. The writing is brilliant; the narration is mesmerizing. I thought my American ears might have trouble understanding the Irish narrator but it was never a problem and I soon looked forward to hearing his voice. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this dark chapter of Irish history.

Truly fascinating story of current history

I was amazed to learn the vast and intriguing details of such a recent time in history, a time during which I grew up unaware of what was happening in Northern Ireland. The author laid out this book extremely well and went into great detail while maintaining a spellbinding flow of storytelling. And the narrator brought every word to life, creating a vivid picture with his lilting Irish accent. I would eagerly recommend this book to any and everyone.

Virtuoso

It is a riveting story with character development like a novel, but conveys a history of a violet political struggle, with action and an attempt to understand why

Exceptional narration and recounting

loved the way thus documents and presents the story of the disappeared in Northern Ireland.

Unflinching

We read this for our bookstore's True Crime book club and it made for a great discussion... for those that finished it.

For those that didn't finish the book, their major complaint was that there were too many timelines and too many characters to follow. It's a valid critique, but one that didn't bother me.

Keefe tackles the IRA in modern history- so mostly the 70's up to the 90's. It starts with a kidnapping of a young widow, one that happens in front of her ten children. The disappearance of Jean McConville is then interspersed throughout the rest of the book, as Keefe follows the lives of key IRA members.

The author does a great job of explaining the tensions in Northern Ireland at the time, and in particular how Catholics were treated. He presents it honestly, but never as an excuse for the crimes committed by the IRA and other factions during the time. This can be difficult to read at time- there's murder and bombings, and hunger strikes and forced feedings (the way the Price sisters were forced fed was particularly brutal), and the abuse and poverty McConville's children were forced to endure when their mother disappeared without a trace.

Narrator Matthew Blaney does an incredible job, his Irish accent lending authenticity to the story told. I would definitely recommend him, and I'm planning on checking out his other works!