Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Say Nothing is a brilliant piece of storytelling. Keefe delivers plot and character on such a level, at such a pacing, and with such vibrancy that it's easy to forget his construction relies not only on the truth that these are (or were) real people, but also that he absolutely needs to have his facts straight and events mastered before he can even begin to relay the information with any clarity — much less with the depth and heart he does.
I was a kid in the 80s and a teen in the 90s, and American to boot, so most of what I know of The Troubles (either 1920 – 1922 or 1960s – 1998) has come from movies and books. Harrison Ford throwing himself down by a car as Jack Ryan comes to mind, as does Brad Pitt's depiction of an IRA member hiding as Harrison Ford's house guest (wow, that's two Ford movies...).
The vividness with which Keefe brings this era (and the relevant information from the era prior) into light, holding it against global moments as touchstones, gave me a perspective I doubt I could've gained from any other piece or any other author. But somewhere in the middle of the book, I did doubt — and begin to wonder if this was just a loose collection of incidents.
The epicenter of the disappearance of Jean McConville that opens the book spirals outward with a building momentum that stretches almost to the point of spinning off unchecked. People, events, names, incidents, relationships, and more people flooded the book in and out of a set chronology. However, the brilliance of Keefe stood firm and he began to tie all those untethered ends together, showcasing the importance of a carefully crafted narrative in nonfiction. Just fantastic.
Audiobook, as narrated by Matthew Blaney: Blaney only added to this experience. The importance of having an Irish narrator cannot be understated, and Blaney was the perfect choice for Keefe's writing and construction. With depth and empathy, he spoke softly, with a velvety voice that dipped near whispering at times — expertly giving the listener a strong anchor and a capable captain steering this ship.
