Spoiler Thread: Return to Killybegs

[Kara]

Hey everyone I just finished this novel and I have one question, how could anyone betray their country? I could never picture myself doing this to my country. What was his reasoning?

This the first novel I read about anything to do with the Troubles. I was very young when Irish and British made peace.

[Kara]

Emma thank you so much for your answer. I guess because I never knew "The Trouble's" it was hard for me to totally understand clearly.

[Maria Hill]

I would mostly agree with Emma; the author does a good job of portraying both the after effects of the 1916 rebellion on Northern Ireland and the rise of the IRA and the commencement of the period, mostly within Northern Ireland, that was called the troubles. Most of the information is quite balanced which is particularly difficult to do when your main protagonist is a member of the IRA. By beginning the story earlier and making the character older than the actual true story is very loosely based upon; it’s possible to see why people within the IRA still believed they were rebel soldiers/ POWs etc. and fighting for a country (Republic of Ireland) who’s government had declared them an illegal terrorist organisation at the time. Unfortunately, I still cannot understand how bombs are legitimate weapons of war or tote bomb makers as heroes. Though, I did appreciate that the IRA had codes of conduct regarding the warnings etc.

Overall though the style was clear and explained the history well but I didn’t fall for or particularly like the book.
I would recommend Reading In The DarkReading in the Dark, by Seamus Deane. For an far better account of what it was like to grow in a republican family Northern Ireland in the 1940’s and 50’s . It’s an amazing read and is about the problems that occur when someone keeps a secret from their family.

[John]

It is strange for a book, which is loosely based on a real person also seems well researched and involved in many real events in history, but I loved it. It was first book I have understood motivations of characters on both sides in a convincing way. Says some where in the novel that "Bombs are the poor soldier's weapon", but I don't think you can ever truly know what a bomb placed in a civilian environment is going to do. That point is proven in the final chapters when things go wrong and children are killed. But atrocities are committed on both sides in the novel and one can see how the desire for blood ramps up. Strange how both sides are also able to coldly separate their Christian beliefs from their political and violent methods. I will take your suggestion Maria of reading "Reading in the Dark" next to get another perspective. Thanks again for the great list of novels and for everyone's ideas about the writing.

[John]

I didn't know about "My Traitor", so thanks for the tip. I read the blurb about it and it looks interesting. So does "Reading in the Dark".
I'd think if you did not understand how he could betray those close to him then you would have to think that the novel failed its purpose, which i see as convincing the reader that it was no more destructive than being a spokesperson for the IRA. For me, it was convincing and i could empathize with his decision, as he was more concerned with the way he would be viewed if the truth got out (the one who shot his friend and then claimed it was the Brits), and his eventual belief that the whole independent movement was pointless.

[Kara]

I didn't know about My Traitor either i added to my TBR list :)

[Patrick]

I recently finished the novel and I thought it was quite good. I knew very little about "The Troubles," before I read the book, so I felt it was quite insightful.

I had heard about the Shankill Butchers before I read the story - from hearing Sarah Jarosz's cover of the Decemberist's song describing the murderers - so I was surprised they weren't mentioned. Perhaps there were so many terrible deeds perpetrated by both sides that the author had to carefully choose which terrorist actions he described in order to avoid writing a thousand page tome.

[Patrick]

Thanks for the book recommendations, Emma. Good references for further study.

I visited Belfast 3 years ago. It seemed very peaceful and beautiful. Hard to believe there's been so much sectarian strife there for so many decades. Of course, we have the same kind of prejudice (mostly race-related) in the U.S., too. These are now labeled "hate crimes," which have much longer prison sentences. Hard to say at this point whether more severe punishments will help prevent violence stoked by multi-generational fear and the perceived need for retribution.