Bondi Literary Salon Book Club: Say Nothing

Join the Bondi Literary Salon for our book club, hosted by Dave Francis! In our gathering, we will discuss Patrick Radden Keefe's book, Say Nothing.

WHEN: Tuesday, 18th March 2025, at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore; please arrive at 6.45pm for a prompt 7pm start.

TICKETS: Admission; $25.00 (excluding external fees). Your ticket includes a drink on arrival and nibbles during the evening.

From the author of Empire of Pain – a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.

About the book: Say Nothing

One night in December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of ten, was abducted from her home in Belfast and never seen alive again. Her disappearance would haunt her orphaned children, the perpetrators of this terrible crime and a whole society in Northern Ireland for decades.

In this powerful, scrupulously reported book, Patrick Radden Keefe offers not just a forensic account of a brutal crime but a vivid portrait of the world in which it happened. The tragedy of an entire country is captured in the spellbinding narrative of a handful of characters, presented in lyrical and unforgettable detail.

A poem by Seamus Heaney inspires the title: ‘Whatever You Say, Say Nothing’. By defying the culture of silence, Keefe illuminates how a close-knit society fractured; how people chose sides in a conflict and turned to violence; and how, when the shooting stopped, some ex-combatants came to look back in horror at the atrocities they had committed, while others continue to advocate violence even today.

Say Nothing deftly weaves the stories of Jean McConville and her family with those of Dolours Price, the first woman to join the IRA as a front-line soldier, who bombed the Old Bailey when barely out of her teens; Gerry Adams, who helped bring an end to the fighting, but denied his own IRA past; Brendan Hughes, a fearsome IRA commander who turned on Adams after the peace process and broke the IRA’s code of silence; and other indelible figures. By capturing the intrigue, the drama and the profound human cost of the Troubles, the book presents a searing chronicle of the lengths that people are willing to go to in pursuit of a political ideal, and the ways in which societies mend – or don’t – in the aftermath of a long and bloody conflict.

About the author: Patrick Radden Keefe

Patrick Radden Keefe is a staff writer at The New Yorker, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, and the author of ‘The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld' and the ‘American Dream and Chatter: Dispatches from the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping'. He writes about legal issues, crime, national security, and foreign policy. (And pop culture occasionally, too.)

In 2014, Patrick received the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing, for his story "A Loaded Gun." The recipient of a Marshall Scholarship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and fellowships at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Patrick has been a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Overseas Press Club's Cornelius Ryan Award for Best Book on International Affairs.

Patrick grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts and went to college at Columbia. He received Masters degrees from Cambridge University and the London School of Economics, and a JD from Yale Law School.

'Unquestionably one of the greatest literary achievements of the 21st century.' - Nick Hornby

About The Bondi Literary Salon

Bondi Literary Salon was established in 2018, it is the in-house book club of beloved Bondi institution, Gertrude & Alice. The Bondi Literary Salon endeavours to explore the vast world of literature each month, with a selection that reflects a focus on diverse writers and stories; delving into both classic and contemporary fiction, as well as non-fiction. 

Our philosophy has always been to use language and literature not only as a tool for connection and community, but as an insight into worlds we have not had the pleasure of visiting ourselves. We welcome all - young and old, those with a life-long love of literature, or whose relationship may be only beginning. Join us in the unmatched comfort of an after-hours bookstore, accompanied by wine and cheese, for an evening spent discussing books and building community.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some home made chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.

Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland.