Book Reviews: Say Nothing and Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
And some thoughts on re-discovering my reading taste
For a long time, I denied myself the pleasure of reading genre fiction. I would occasionally indulge in reading romance or mystery novels. Though, more often, I would push myself to read dense works of nonfiction or literary fiction. As I’ve worked to unlearn crappy (and elitist) taste hierarchies, I’m having more fun with reading than ever.
I’m also reassessing my reading taste as I try to understand the types of books I actually like to read versus the ones I want to like or think I should like. To do so, I’ve been intentionally experimenting with the types of books I pick up. I’m following my curiosities and trying new-to-me authors. I’m reading recommendations from my favorite indie booksellers (shoutout to Easy City Bookshop, Mahogany Books, and Old Town Books) and other readers whose tastes I understand and opinions I trust. Through this process, I’m slowly finding my way back to nonfiction. And it’s been a joy! I’m remembering what I love about nonfiction and I’m finding books that I feel compelled to read and finish. Which hasn’t been the case for me in a while.
One new-to-me author I’ve recently read is Patrick Radden Keefe. Radden Keefe’s books have been on my TBR for years. Though, it wasn’t until I found myself completely drawn into one of his recent articles for The New Yorker that I realized I needed to bump his work up to the top of my TBR. I’ve since read Say Nothing and Empire of Pain. And wow, I get the hype. Radden Keefe is in a genre of his own when it comes to writing absorbing, utterly bingeable narrative nonfiction.
So, let me add my voice to the chorus of readers who love PRK’s work. And let’s talk about these two phenomenal books that I loved and would highly recommend.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe 🎧
Say Nothing is a narrative-driven recounting of The Troubles, a 30-year period of violent political conflict in Northern Ireland that ended in the late 1990s. I knew very little about this period of history, and I was completely captivated by this book.
Radden Keefe tells the history of The Troubles through the stories of several people who lived through the conflict—both those who were victims of IRA (or the Irish Republican Army) or British violence and those who committed heinous acts of violence on behalf of the IRA and its factions. Central to the narrative is the mystery of Jean McConville’s disappearance and murder (McConville was a young widow and mother of 10 who was disappeared by the IRA in 1972 never to be seen again)— which often gives Say Nothing the feel of a true crime book rather than a history one.
Radden Keefe does a phenomenal job of bringing a wide range of peoples’ stories to life without flattening them into one dimensional caricatures. I especially appreciated the way Radden Keefe’s storytelling helps the reader understand how people can come to believe that violence and armed rebellion are their only options without vindicating or excusing them.
Say Nothing also asks important questions about the formation and function of public memory. How are histories recorded and retold? How do certain stories become The History of record? What types of remembering are necessary for reconciliation? These are questions that I’ve been thinking a lot about over the last few years given ongoing attacks on teaching US history, and considering them in a different sociopolitical context was insightful.
Say Nothing also features so many bonkers stories—including the story of Gerry Adams, a high ranking IRA official who went on to have a mainstream political career by never admitting to any involvement with the IRA (despite an abundance of first-hand accounts)—that I continuously found myself pausing the audiobook to do random internet deep dives.
The audiobook narration was excellent. It felt like I was listening to one very long, bingeable podcast. Though, I did find myself wishing I had a physical copy to refer back to at a few points towards the end.
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
One thing to know about me is that I love an Eat the Rich story. Think Succession, The Menu, and most recently, Paradise. Empire of Pain is, at its heart, a story about the depravity of extreme wealth, and I ate it up.
Empire of Pain is a story about the myriad ways that wealth and power corrupt people and institutions to disastrous effects. The book details the history of the Sacklers—the billionaire family whose scions shaped the pharmaceutical industry into the corrupt behemoth it is today. Though, the Sacklers are perhaps most well known for their role instigating the opioid crisis. The Sacklers (through their privately owned company Purdue Pharma) created OxyContin, pioneered reprehensible approaches to pharmaceutical advertising that dramatically increased opioid prescriptions, cultivated a corporate culture characterized by greed and corruption, and used their wealth and power to evade any serious civil or criminal legal repercussions for their actions. Radden Keefe details this history alongside a broader history of the pharmaceutical industry and the opioid crisis and the manifold ways our public institutions—including those agencies responsible for overseeing the pharmaceutical industry (ahem ahem, the FDA)—not only failed to adequately respond to the crisis, but in some cases facilitated the growth of OxyContin sales.
Now a story about big pharma, corporate greed, and regulatory capture may sound dull. But there is a reason Succession came to mind when I was writing this review. And that’s because Radden Keefe writes propulsive, juicy narrative nonfiction. Empire of Pain reads like prime television. As someone who hasn’t been in the mood to read much nonfiction this year, I couldn’t put this down.
Currently reading
Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir. A weird and funny sci-fi, fantasy novel about lesbian necromancers in space. I’m half way through this and still not quite sure how I feel about it, but I think I’m enjoying the ride?
Night Song by Beverly Jenkins. I’m in my historical romance era and I am now a Beverly Jenkins stan. I’m so excited to tackle Ms. Bev’s extensive backlist after reading and loving two of her books earlier this year.
P.S. Let’s be friends on Storygraph!
P.P.S. If you’re in Northern Virginia, I recently started a non-fiction book club out of desire to connect with more local book lovers! We meet the first Sunday of every month in Fairfax, VA.