My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sectarian wars are notoriously violent and notoriously difficult to narrate due to the climate of fear that can pervade a society long after the conflict has officially ended. The Troubles, the period of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland from the lates 1960s to the late 1990s, is no exception, especially since the conflict has never been fully resolved and many of its participants are still alive. Thus, any history of this conflict is bound to be difficult to document in its entirety. This book, however, relying on interviews with both participants and victims alike, gives readers a pretty darn comprehensive history that also acts as a meditation on how fragile post-conflict societies can be without an accompanying truth and reconciliation process.
Starting in the late 1960s with civil rights protests by Northern Irish Catholics, Mr. Keefe shows how peaceful demonstrators were violently opposed by Northern Irish Protestants, which led to radicalization and sectarian violence for decades. At the very heart of this history though is a mystery: the disappearance of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10, who was abducted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in December 1972. Jean McConville’s disappearance was just one of many such incidents in this conflict that left over three thousand people dead. It is also the story of key figures in the IRA: Gerry Adams, the IRA brigade commander turned politician; Dolours Price, one of the famous Price sisters who took part in the peaceful protests, but soon became radicalized and violent; and Brendan Hughes, one of the best known IRA street fighters of this period. Each one of these characters gets an incredible amount of attention and are presented as very nuanced characters in their own right.
This book is divided into three parts and while Jean McConville’s disappearance takes center stage in the first and third parts, it almost completely disappears from the second part. This is not actually a bad thing as to understand her disappearance you have to understand the history of the Troubles as well. The mystery also serves an important function in part three as it allows the author and the reader to meditate upon the long-term consequences of a conflict that has never been fully resolved, nor has there ever been a true reconciliation process as has been seen in such societies such as post-Apartheid South Africa. The past very much lives on in the present, so much so that former participants are still being charged and people who talk even today are at risk of being murdered. Thus, justice has never been fully delivered in an even-handed manner. This offers lessons for societies in the future coming out of periods of intensely violent sectarian conflict.
This was an incredible read. The characters, history, and mystery are all written about with a level of nuance and empathy that is often lacking in many nonfiction books. Mr. Keefe does not shy from narrating the complexities of the Troubles and is miraculously able to wrestle a comprehensive narrative into this book that is both coherent and detailed. There are even moments of pulse-pounding action and suspense, particularly in part two. This is not a dry history book, but one that puts you into the heart of the Troubles. It is also not afraid to ask a fundamental question any post-conflict society must answer: what hope is there for long-lasting peace if there is little or no accompanying justice? Both the history and this question will stick with me for a long time.
Overall, this is an outstanding book and may be one of the best nonfiction books published in awhile. Whether you are interested in post-conflict societies in general or in the Troubles in particular, this is one book you should not fail to pick up.
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