Group Reads -> November 2020 -> Nomination thread (A book about the Irish troubles won by Milkman by Anna Burns)

[Nigeyb]

The theme for our Group Read in November 2020 is The Troubles in Ireland

The Troubles have inspired plenty of fiction and non-fiction

Your nomination can be either fiction or non-fiction

Please supply the title, author, a brief synopsis, and anything else you'd like to mention about the book, and why you think it might make a good book to discuss.

If your nomination wins then please be willing to fully participate in the subsequent discussion

Happy nominating

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Here's a few lists that I came across via an online search....

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/trou...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

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[Nigeyb]

My nomination is…


Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (2019) by Patrick Radden Keefe

To say it looks good is an understatement. It’s got an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon UK based on 1,149 customer ratings, it won the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2019 and it was The Times’ best nonfiction book of 2019

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Here’s some reviews….

The Times's #1 Best Nonfiction Book of 2019

‘Say Nothing rightly won this year’s Orwell prize for political writing. It is a superb piece of reportage and writing … It is a book that could become worryingly relevant again.’ Times, the best current affairs and politics books of 2019

‘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 … A searing, utterly gripping saga.’ New York Times, best books of 2019

‘Breathtaking in its scope and ambition… Keefe has produced a searing examination of the nature of truth in war and the toll taken by violence and deceit… Will take its place alongside the best of the books about the Troubles’ Sunday Times

‘A horrible, chilling tale and I’m glad someone has at last had the guts to tell it. There have been, thus far, only two good books to emerge from the Troubles. This is the third.’ Jeremy Paxman
‘A gripping and profoundly human explanation for a past that still denies and defines the future… Only an outsider could have written a book this good … If conclusions are possible, Radden Keefe’s is that everyone became complicit in the terror… I can’t praise this book enough: it’s erudite, accessible, compelling, enlightening. I thought I was bored by Northern Ireland’s past until I read it.’ Melanie Reid, The Times

‘An exceptional new book, Say Nothing explores this brittle landscape to devastating effect.’ Wall Street Journal
‘Keefe’s narrative is an architectural feat, expertly constructed out of complex and contentious material, arranged and balanced just so… This sensitive and judicious book raises some troubling, and perhaps unanswerable, questions.’ New York Times

‘Vivid and rightly shocking… Say Nothing is an excellent account of the Troubles; it might also be a warning.’ Roddy Doyle

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More information about Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland…

Patrick Radden Keefe writes an intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.

In December 1972, Jean McConville, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. They never saw her again. Her 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.




NOMINATIONS so far....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

[Roman Clodia]

Say Nothing is brilliant - I've read it and will happily join in the discussion as I annotated it extensively.

My nomination is Milkman which is hilarious, terrifying, dramatic, cynical, sardonic, tender, horrific and occasionally absurd - an absolute tour de force of a book which has one of the most original and compelling narrative voices ever.

I know some of us have read it, but it's one I'm keen to re-read, it's that powerful. The audiobook is also fantastic read in the cadences of the Belfast accent.

The blurb:

In an unnamed city, middle sister stands out for the wrong reasons. She reads while walking, for one. And she has been taking French night classes downtown. So when a local paramilitary known as the milkman begins pursuing her, she suddenly becomes “interesting,” the last thing she ever wanted to be. Despite middle sister’s attempts to avoid him—and to keep her mother from finding out about her maybe-boyfriend—rumors spread and the threat of violence lingers. Milkman is a story of the way inaction can have enormous repercussions, in a time when the wrong flag, wrong religion, or even a sunset can be subversive. Told with ferocious energy and sly, wicked humor, Milkman establishes Anna Burns as one of the most consequential voices of our day.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks RC. Not arguments from me - Milkman is stunning.


NOMINATIONS so far....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Roman Clodia: Milkman by Anna Burns

[Susan]

I have both the above on my TBR list, so am already torn. I don't think I will nominate this month, but look forward to seeing what everyone else suggests.

[Nigeyb]

Susan wrote: "I have both the above on my TBR list, so am already torn. I don't think I will nominate this month, but look forward to seeing what everyone else suggests."

Thanks Susan. Needless to say I would be happy with either title. I'm sure we've got one or two more enticing selections coming soon to make our decision even trickier

NOMINATIONS so far....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Roman Clodia: Milkman by Anna Burns

[Susan]

I might have nominated Eureka Street, which I loved, but it is not on kindle and the paperback is expensive. Always a balancing act to nominate a good book, which is easily available.

[Val]

I have tried putting every key word I can think of into the library search and not found anything on NICRA readily available, so I may not be nominating either.
In the meantime, here is the BBC bitesize module: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides...
It is a little pro British establishment imo, but not enough to distort the situation. (There is no justification for 'claimed' in this sentence, for example, 'NICRA claimed to be open to both Protestants and Catholics, and also stated that it was not trying to create a united Ireland.' Did the US Civil Rights Movement 'claim' to be open to white people, or would it be more accurate to point out that not many joined?)

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Val, and thanks Susan


It looks as though we may only have two nominations then?

Who else is thinking of nominating? If anyone.


NOMINATIONS so far....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Roman Clodia: Milkman by Anna Burns

[Hugh]

I probably won't, because anything else I think of is unlikely to rival those two.

[Roman Clodia]

Ooh, a head to head, maybe!

[Jan C]

I do have Say Nothing and have been intending to get to it.

But just for a little more choice, I will nominate Tim Pat Coogan's On the Blanket: The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest. I'm about halfway through and maybe this will push me to actually read the rest of it.

An investigation into the H block prisoner protest. Republican prisoners campaigned for political status by refusing to wear prison clothes and daubing their cell with excrement. Were they properly convicted criminals, or martyrs to injustice?

[Roman Clodia]

Thanks Jan. The H block dirty protests and hunger strikes are something that I'd like to read more about. The sections covering these events in Say Nothing are harrowing.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Jan


And then there were three

Anyone else thinking of nominating?


NOMINATIONS so far....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Roman Clodia: Milkman by Anna Burns
Jan: On the Blanket: The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest by Tim Pat Coogan

[Nigeyb]

The poll is up


Vote now....

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

NOMINATIONS....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Roman Clodia: Milkman by Anna Burns
Jan: On the Blanket: The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest by Tim Pat Coogan

[Nigeyb]

We have a winner....


Milkman by Anna Burns

Milkman is our Irish Troubles themed choice for Group Read in November 2020


The accompanying Mod read will be....

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe


Thanks to everyone who discussed, nominated, voted and generally got involved.

Here's to another month of great books and insightful discussions



NOMINATIONS....

Nigeyb: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Roman Clodia: Milkman by Anna Burns
Jan: On the Blanket: The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest by Tim Pat Coogan

[Susan]

Looking forward to both. I have been meaning to read Milkman for ages.

[Roman Clodia]

Yes, two excellent books which also complement each other brilliantly.