Welcome to Litsy!

49%in I bail. Audio narration by Bríd Brennan is great, Kennedy an outstanding author. I find the relationship at this point not disturbing but gross. He‘s at least 26 years older, knew her father, some of the sex scenes, although not explicit, feel wrong and I‘ve noticed that in Kennedy‘s short stories as well, some of it sounds more like rape but is almost portrayed as passion? I just can‘t …

Book 2 in The Mobile Library mysteries. I'm struggling a bit because, while the stories are entertaining, they're not written in a way that you can "solve" the mystery along with the characters. Information is withheld to make a bigger reveal when they figure it out. Israel is not adapting to his new environment at all. We should be seeing his grow as a person along the way. Can someone please tell me what SPK means in this context? #28-2024

Beautifully written, a light touch that nonetheless brings the pain and fear of Northern Ireland at the peak of the troubles to life. Cushla is not an easy to like protagonist but her challenges, her ambiguous relationship with her religion, her deep care for her student soften off the edges of some of her poorer decisions. Would be a five star read but for the fact I was a bit icked out by the ‘great love story‘ which felt v unhealthy to me

Loved this. The narrative voice is amazing, really enjoyed the characters. It reminded me quite a bit of Derry Girls in its tone and humor.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1) tagged book & his book on the Sackler family, Empire of Pain.

2) Neurotribes,(Steve Silberman)

3).Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family and Nazi Politics (Claudia Koonz)

So many more!

Cushla, a young Catholic woman, starts a relationship with an older married Protestant man during the Troubles in Ireland. Although they don‘t live in the heart of the violence, the relationship is not without danger and a series of seemingly unrelated events creates chaos. I found this a fascinating lens with which to look at how the Troubles and the prejudice affected everyone during the period, even those not in Belfast.

Joining #12Booksof2023 late, but this was my January pick, interweaving the stories of several individuals and one kidnapping to describe the Troubles and some of their aftermath.

#12Booksof2023 March

A book about a mother raising her 10 children alone who goes missing in 1972 at the high of The Troubles.

How was this possible? How did this impact her children? What else was happening in Northern Ireland that got more attention that a missing person?

Richly detailed account of “The Troubles” conflict and its aftermath in Northern Ireland. I had little background knowledge about the era, but this helped to fill in some gaps. Keefe brings it to life with personal accounts of some of the victims and key actors. I can see why PTSD must have been commonplace with the violence and coercion perpetrated by both sides. Unfortunately, it resonates with the current Israeli/Palestinian conflict. ☹️