The Ghosts of Belfast

Jack Lennon #1

by Stuart Neville

Sooner or later, everybody pays.

Gerry Fegan, a former paramilitary contract killer, is haunted by the ghosts of the 12 people he has slaughtered. Every night, on the point of losing his mind, he drowns their screams in drink. His solution is to kill those who engineered their deaths.

From the greedy politicians to the corrupt security forces, the street thugs to the complacent bystanders who let it happen, all are called to account. But when Fegan's vendetta threatens to derail a hard-won truce and destabilise the government, old comrades and enemies alike want him dead.


Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Thriller.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Ireland, Mystery Thriller, Irish Literature

337 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

I have been a musician, a composer, a teacher, a salesman, a film extra, a baker and a hand double for a well known Irish comedian, but I'm currently a partner in a successful multimedia design business in the wilds of Northern Ireland.

I have published short stories in Thuglit, Electric Spec and Every Day Fiction. THE TWELVE is my first novel, and will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Random House, on July 2nd 2009. It will be published in the USA as THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST by Soho Press, New York, and by Random House Kodansha in Japan.

Reviews

[David Putnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read another one I had somehow missed when it came out. It has languished on my, to-be-read pile for years. Halfway through reading this one I ordered all of them by this author. High praise.
This story is gritty and dark and with dense prose and plenty of details, all too real. The protagonist is an anti-hero, a killer for the Irish rebellion. Ghosts from his prior kills haunt him, following him around until he avenges their deaths. This is not a mystical kind of story the character is mentally ill which makes him an unreliable narrator. Loved this aspect. Each time he kills the person that had ordered the ghost’s death the ghost disappears, in his mind, anyway. The main character wants nothing more than to be able to sleep without nightmares.
One of the main jobs of an author is to endear the reader to the main character. This doesn’t happen until deep into the book when the main character aids a woman and her daughter in distress. Before this happens, the prose and action carry the story. Hence the four-star rating instead of five.
But I love the writing and the voice. I’m confident his other books will be fives.
David Putnam the author of the Bruno Johnson series

[Paula K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony award nominee 2010
Barry award nominee 2010
Macavity award nominee 2010

What a fantastic book. Very dark. A telling of an Irish soldier during the troubles and the repercussions of his actions upon his mental health. Wow this book was so engaging. I listened to the audiobook and was enthralled with the narrator’s voice. I miss this book already. Wanted it to continue on. Want it to be made into a movie.

5 out of 5 stars

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

As children we’re all told that there are no such thing as ghosts. However, when a former hitman for the IRA starts seeing the victims of his murders and seeking revenge for them, it doesn’t much matter whether they’re real or not because if he decides that someone is responsible for their demise, that person will get a chance to investigate the after-life first hand in the very near future.

Gerry Fegan was once a feared and respected killer for the Irish cause, but while serving a long stretch in prison, he started seeing twelve ghosts of people that he killed at the command of others. After getting out of jail, Fegan turns into a hard drinking loner who avoids his old IRA pals. With peace at hand and his old bosses now part of the new government, there isn’t much demand for the services he used to provide any so they’re content to pay him off and let him drink himself into oblivion.

When the ghosts start indicating that they want Fegan to kill off the people who had ordered their deaths, Fegan obeys in an attempt to finally get some peace. However, in the politically delicate climate, the murders of powerful former IRA leaders kicks off a new wave of violence and could derail the peace process.

I enjoyed this as a dark story about the consequences of murder and how some men use causes to further their own agendas. While some of the internal government stuff went over my head, I could usually figure out what the major players were scheming about.

My only complaint was that I found the story of Fegan turning into an instant protector for a young mother and her daughter who has gotten on the bad side of the old IRA leadership as being too quick and easy a way to make Fegan the ‘good’ guy in this story. I would have been more intrigued if it would have just stuck with him being a broken and damaged guy taking a twisted kind of revenge on behalf of people that he killed himself.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2

This is the longest review I've ever written, and most isn't about the book itself.

The Ghosts of Belfast review, Part I
Part II http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Part III http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Part IV http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

First-novel thriller by Stuart Neville, won many awards and plaudits. Would have finished it in two days, but late the second night, maybe 40 pages to go, just wasn’t able to handle those pages, couldn’t bear to continue reading at that hour, mostly because of the presentiment of a horribly brutal conclusion. After sleeping on it, and in the (appropriately) gloomy light of day I was able to finish.

Not really an “historical novel” in the sense that books like Wolf Hall are, wherein actual historic people play minor or even major roles, and real, specific historic events are part of the story line. It is possible that one or two characters (unbeknownst to me) are patterned after actual people, and there is one key event in the book which is similar to an actual occurrence. (See 2nd spoiler section.)

The story itself is a fast-paced page-turner, and has several unexpected plot-twists - but the high rating I’ve given the novel is for the way it caused me to delve into its backstory, the time of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. For that, see the spoiler section so-named.

The following spoiler section of the review deals with the overall plot of the novel, discusses the main character, and makes some claims about other characters; without really going into many details, and without telling anything of the story’s resolution.

However, before entering spoiler land, just a couple comments that may be of interest. First, the novel’s U.K./Ireland name is The Twelve. Second, this novel is now billed as “Jack Lennon Investigations #1”, with two more in the series already published. I’d be interested to know if this first novel had this billing when it was originally published, or whether it acquired it as a result of its popularity and acclaim by various critics. In other words, did Neville and his publisher decide that hey, we’d better get going on a series here … what can we call it? I make this comment because, as anyone knows who has read Twelve/Ghosts, at the end of the book, one might well say “Who the heck was Jack Lennon? Was there a character of that name?” Yes, he is in the book; he’s part of the deep backstory for one of the main characters, and plays no other part whatsoever in the plot; nor is he an “investigator” of anything, although he is a cop.

Okay, on to the spoilers.

Neville’s characters

The story’s main character, and anti-hero, is Gerry Fegan, a former killer for the Provisional IRA. Fegan’s timeline, which is related in flashbacks, many in the form of his own ruminations, runs like this: he’s born sometime in the early ‘60s; when he’s nine his dad dies, right around the start of The Troubles; at the age of twenty (early ’80s) he does his first killing; then in 1988 he’s arrested for bombing a butcher shop on Shankill Road. The bomb, instead of killing Loyalists who were supposed to be meeting upstairs, kills the butcher, a woman customer, and her baby. (This bombing appears to be a fictional version of the famous Shankill Road bombing of 1993, which occurred in a fish shop under circumstances quite similar to those described in the story. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shankill....) Gerry winds up in Maze Prison, with other paramilitary prisoners of all stripes (but mostly Catholics). At the age of 38, after 12 years behind bars, he’s released as the prison is being closed down. He spends the next seven years drifting and drinking, until the novel’s “present” arrives. The year is maybe 2007, Gerry is 45 years old.

And Gerry is haunted - by the ghosts of the twelve people whose lives he took those many years ago. They scream, the wee one wails, he can’t sleep unless he’s drunk, and eventually comes to understand what they want of him – vengeance, not only on Gerry (by making his life unbearable) but on the superiors who gave the orders resulting in their deaths.

To me, this is a pretty noir-ish novel. (Not meant as a criticism!) There aren’t any saints in it, no characters that are extremely likeable. I suppose Marie’s little girl is likeable, and Marie herself comes close to being likeable; you definitely feel that she’s been wronged, and you root for her. But I also rooted for Gerry, despite the fact that he’s certainly not portrayed as a very admirable fellow. Yes, he feels guilty about the lives he’s taken. At least that’s how the prison psychiatrist interprets his ghosts. But you know, a really “good” fellow would have some sort of change of heart. Gerry realizes that he’s been a blood-thirsty son of a bitch and that he’s paying the price for it, but rather than change his life he “expiates” his sins by doing what he does best – killing some more. Yet despite this, Neville succeeded in getting me at any rate to hope that Gerry made it through alive and vanquished his ghosts.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: Riders of the Purple Sage Zane Grey
Random review: The Military Philosophers Powell's Dance
Next review: MaddAddam Atwood

Previous library review: Brick Lane Monica Ali
Next library review: The House of Writers M.J. Nichols
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Next spoiler represents why I gave the novel the high rating. It’s likely more than anyone will care to know about the background to this story, and will no doubt be quite unnecessary for readers in the U.K. and Ireland.

Backstory - The Troubles
(or, The Troubles: A Very Very Very Short Introduction.)
This spoiler is organized into several topics, each hidden in its own spoiler section. Some topics have further organization.

The backstory to the novel is the era of “The Troubles”. This is the phrase used to refer to the period 1969-2001 in which over 3500 people, almost all in Northern Ireland, lost their lives to violence perpetrated with the object of either forcing or preventing the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. The beginning of this period is viewed by some to coincide with a series of civil rights marches staged mostly by members of the Catholic community, protesting various long-felt grievances. These took place in the months June – October of 1968 at various places in Northern Ireland. Many of the marches were disrupted by attackers, with marchers being beaten, etc. In August of the next year disorder culminated in the so-called Battle of the Bogside, three days of rioting in Derry. During this the first fatality of The Troubles occurred. Things went downhill from there.

The novel really got me to thinking about The Troubles. Amazingly, or at least I’m sure it would be amazing to any reader from the British Isles or even Europe who glances at this review, I found I knew very little about The Troubles – other than a vague idea of when this era was, and some idea of the sectarian/religious nature of the conflict.

The novel doesn’t give a reader like me much help in this area, though I don’t fault Neville for that. After all, he’s writing a novel, not a history book, and his Irish and U.K. audience knows this backstory a lot better than I do.

The Basics

“You’re a Republican hero.”

The Wiki article on The Troubles, from which I got much of this information, states that

The key issues at stake in the Troubles were the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the relationship between its mainly Protestant unionist community and its mainly Catholic nationalist community. Unionists and loyalists generally want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom while Irish nationalists and republicans generally want it to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.

(My emphasis. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trou.... ) Another site that has very organized information about the Troubles is http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/index.html


Main Players

Information in this section is from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director... . This article is a comprehensive directory to a large number of the Wikipedia articles related to The Troubles. In listing these “Main Players” I have left out organizations that seem to be “minor” main players, usually because I had never heard of them and I don’t recall them being mentioned in the novel.

Republican Paramilitaries

Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). The PIRA came into being in 1969 when the older IRA (in existence since the Irish War of Independence in 1919-1921) split “over differences of ideology and how to respond to violence against the nationalist community.” Throughout the 1960s the IRA had become increasingly influenced by left-wing thinkers (Marxists). By 1969 they had moved to a “class-based political outlook and the consequent rejection of any stance that could be seen as sectarian – including the use of IRA arms to defend one side, the beleaguered Catholic communities of Belfast”. As time passed, the “IRA” became more and more associated in many people’s minds (particularly those outside Northern Ireland) with the PIRA, since the PIRA was the group advocating and engaging in force to promote their goals. Thus, any time after the mid-1970s, if you see reference to an “IRA” action in the Troubles, it is likely the PIRA which is being referred to. The PIRA was responsible for more deaths during the Troubles than any other group, roughly 1800 or about half the total. About 1100 of these were security forces, with 600-650 of the remainder being civilians. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisio... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Re... )

There were, over the years of The Troubles, many paramilitary factions splitting off from both the PIRA and the Official IRA. Of these, the longest lived one was the Irish National Liberation Army. The INLA was formed in late 1974, and although it declared a ceasefire in 1998, it was not until 2009 that it “formally vowed to pursue its aims through peaceful political means.” From the beginning, its aims included not only removing Northern Ireland from the U.K., but also of creating a specifically socialist united Ireland. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Na... ).

“One insane act … had almost wiped the dissidents out. The disastrous bombing of Omagh …” (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh_bo... )

Another PIRA splinter group is the Real IRA (RIRA). This paramilitary was organized in 1997, refused to endorse the Belfast Agreement (see below), and was responsible for the Omagh bombing in 1998. Based on the quote from the novel given above, it is apparently the RIRA that Davy Campbell has become associated with in chapter 3. ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Iri... )


Loyalist Paramilitaries

“two more were Loyalists, both Ulster Freedom Fighters”

The longest lived and most important of these groups (there were many others) were the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF, 1966-2007), and the Ulster Defense Association (UDA)/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), 1971-2007. The second two were in fact two faces of the same overall organization. The UFF was the name used by the UDA when they claimed responsibility for attacks; publicly it was claimed that they were two separate organizations. This tactic allowed the UDA to remain legal for over twenty years, until 1992, when the U.K. classified the UDA as a terrorist group. The UFF had been outlawed in 1973.

The UDA, responsible for 260 killings during the Troubles, was the largest loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. Their older rival, the UVF, was the deadliest such group. According to one data base, the UVF and a closely linked group, the Red Hand Commando (RHC), were responsible for 481 deaths over the years. 85% of these were civilians, almost all of those Catholics. Some of the UVF’s attacks were carried out in the Republic of Ireland.

(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_V... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_D... )


Security Forces (U.K.)

“two (soldiers) were Ulster Defense Regiment”

The British Army’s Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR), the largest infantry regiment in the Army, became operational in 1970. It was initially formed with seven battalions, but four more were added within two years. The UDR’s mission was the “defense of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage.” Of the UDR, Wikipedia states

Recruiting from the local community at a time of intercommunal strife, it was accused of sectarian attitudes and collusion with loyalist paramilitary organizations through most of its term. The regiment was intended to be nonpartisan, and it began with Catholic recruits accounting for 18% of membership, however due to various circumstances by the end of 1972 the Catholic membership made up around 3% of the regiment's soldiers.

The UDR was merged out of existence in 1992 when it was combined with the Royal Irish Rangers to form the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR). This unit (or probably certain battalions of the combined unit – I can’t tell, honestly) took over the former duties of the UDR until the summer of 2006, when the part stationed in Northern Ireland was disbanded.
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_D... & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ir... )

The participation of the Security Service (Military Intelligence Section 5 - MI5) was no doubt of particular importance during the Troubles. MI5 is the U.K.’s intelligence branch responsible for internal counter-intelligence and security. While MI5 and other intelligence forces have provided support “in the countering of both republican and loyalist paramilitary groups since the early 1970s, republican sources have often accused these forces of collusion with loyalists. In 2006, an Irish government committee inquiry found that there was widespread collusion between British security forces and loyalist terrorists in the 1970s, which resulted in eighteen deaths.” A full accounting of the roll which MI5 played in Northern Ireland during the Troubles has apparently yet to be written, presumably because much of this information is still classified. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MI5 )

Many other segments of the U.K. Defense establishment were involved in Northern Ireland security over the years, including the Territorial Army, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, and the Metropolitan Police.


Security Forces (Northern Ireland)

“Another … was a cop, his Royal Ulster Constabulary uniform neat and stiff”

“Marie McKenna had scandalized her family by taking up with an officer of the hated Royal Ulster Constabulary” (the pretty minor character Jack Lennon!)

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the name of Northern Ireland’s police force from 1922 to 2000. As The Troubles were beginning in the late ‘60s, an “exhaustive inquiry” into the disturbances and the policing situation was carried out by several high ranking members of the U.K. establishment, including James Callahan, the Home Secretary. A report was published in October 1969. As a result, a complete reorganization of the RUC was implemented, with the aim of “modernizing the force and bringing it into line with the other police forces in the UK”.

The revamped RUC, particularly its Special Patrol Group (SPG - an anti-terrorist unit which operated from the early ‘70s to 1980), “are alleged to have colluded extensively with loyalist paramilitaries throughout the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland.” Several reports and inquiries over the years established that at least some of these allegations had a factual basis, and two members of the SPG were actually convicted of terrorist activities. Because of this collusionist reputation, the RUC was a frequent target of Republican paramilitaries during The Troubles. Upwards of 300 RUC officers were killed in the years 1969 to 1998, with 277 of these killings attributed to Republican groups.
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ul... )

The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) (commonly called the “B-Specials” or “B Men”) dated from 1920, and was still active in the very early years on the Troubles. However, it was disbanded in May 1970 as a result of the Hunt report. Wikipedia notes that “The force was almost exclusively Protestant and Unionist and as a result was viewed with great mistrust by Catholics and nationalists. During the 1920s, it carried out revenge killings and reprisals against Catholic civilians in the 1920–22 conflict.”
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_S... )


Political Parties

This section is mainly a copy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director... . None of these parties are mentioned in the novel by name. I assume that the political characters Michael McKenna and McGinty are members of Sinn Fein, as well as having been at one time members of the PIRA; though the Republican Sinn Fein is also a possibility. Each party’s stand on the Belfast Agreement is indicated.

Nationalist/Republican

Sinn Féin (SF). Militant nationalist. Often associated with the Provisional IRA. Pro-Agreement.

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Moderate centre-left nationalist. Pro-Agreement.

The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). Militant nationalist. Political wing of INLA. Anti-Agreement.

Republican Sinn Féin (RSF). Militant nationalist. Often associated with the Continuity IRA. Anti-Agreement.

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32CSM). Militant Nationalist. Often associated with the Real IRA. Anti-Agreement.

The Workers' Party (WP). Marxist nationalist. Formerly Official Sinn Féin. Pro-Agreement.

Unionist/Loyalist

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Radical populist unionist. Originally anti-Agreement; later pro-Agreement.

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Moderate conservative unionist. Pro-Agreement.

The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). Moderate centre-left unionist. Political wing of Ulster Volunteer Force. Pro-Agreement.

The Conservative Party also organises and contests elections in Northern Ireland. Moderate unionist. Pro-Agreement.

Other

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. Liberal cross-community. Pro-Agreement

The Green Party. Environmentalist. Pro-Agreement.

Ulster Third Way. Supports Northern Ireland independence.

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded up because I'll seek out the next book in the series

Winner of the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Thriller.

My Review: First, read this:

“Hate's a terrible thing. It's a wasteful, stupid emotion. You can hate someone with all your heart, but it'll never do them a bit of harm. The only person it hurts is you. You can spend your days hating, letting it eat away at you, and the person you hate will go on living just the same. So what's the point?”

That's the logical, and irrefutable, argument against hate. But there's no chance humans will give up hating. It's an addictive drug, a high that can only be bested by the Absolute Assurance that YOU ARE RIGHT, They are Wrong, and therefore they deserve _____. Ireland's been in the toils of both, Hate and Rightness, for centuries. They've made it the basis for their identity as a nation. It ain't goin' nowhere.

That grim prognostication delivered, the story we're told in this (debut!) novel is based around a single person's efforts to mitigate the toll Hate takes on society as a whole. That he's chosen, um, a counter-productive solution to the problem is...kind of the core of the read. The way there's no out for a person whose persona is warped by war, by violent and utterly anti-social normative training, whose core is eaten out to nothingness by hatred. That is who such a one will be always. And Gerry Fegan is a stone-cold killer, a person whose life is without the sense of remorse that a normal person would have for depriving others of their entire futures.

Which is why they haunt him. Their ghosts won't let him sleep, or think, or be normal.

Discussions of Gerry's ghosts' reality are circular. Real? Imaginary? Guilt phantasms? Doesn't matter. Gerry is the person he's been made into. The ghosts demand something be done to balance the scales of their lost futures. And Gerry being their instrument means that something will be murderous.

This is a huge problem for the world. Men and women like Gerry exist all over the globe, and they represent a ticking time-bomb of violence and chaos in every place they exist. Conflicts based on such idiotic things as religion and ethnicity and national identity are going to sink any "peace process" that ever gets past the hot-air stage. People like these need their Hate-hit to feel good. Feeling good, about yourself, about your superior place in the world, is fundamental to humans' ability to thrive. In far too many cases, that represents itself as Hate for Others. Nothing effective has ever been done about that...can anything effective ever be done about it? Don't look at Ireland. It's a pink-skinned Rwanda.

And this novel, this brilliant noir tale of revenge if not exactly redemption, brings that to its...conclusion is the wrong word. "Stopping place" in the sense of "the buck stops here" is permaybehaps closer. The man Gerry, expiating his sins, commits others...but do they count as sins? They're balancing scales, not to say that the choice of method is one I approve of. But he's made some attempt to redress the vile acts he's committed. By committing others.

The Mahatma was correct. The world continues to ignore him, and the cycle of violence continues to spiral ever downward into chaos.

Finally, let me say that this book's the first in a series called "Jack Lennon Investigations." This will bumfuzzle most readers. "Who the hell's Jack Lennon?" I hear you ask. Well...don't worry your pretty little head about it is my response. Read Collusion and don't fuss. It's well worth your eyeblinks, just as this delight of a violent, nihilistic noir read is.

[James Thane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuart Neville, who formerly worked as a hand double for a "well-known Irish comedian," has written a brilliant, atmospheric first novel set against the continuing "troubles" in Northern Ireland.

In the public eye at least, the men who fought the brutal battles of the long struggle have now given way to the politicians and peace is in the wind. But behind the scenes there are still scores to be settled and discipline to be maintained. Additionally, some of the men who might have once been idealists fighting for a sacred cause have now degenerated into common thugs. And while peace may be at hand, they are determined to protect themselves, their profits and the criminal enterprises they have created.

Into this combustible mix steps Gerry Fegan, an IRA killer who has recently been released from prison. Fegan, who was once one of the most feared men in Northern Ireland, is now drinking heavily, apparently slipping into psychosis, and losing his edge. He is now more pitied than feared by those who knew him in the old days.

But Fegan is a changed man. More important, he finds himself haunted by the ghosts of twelve innocent people that he killed while carrying out his missions for the IRA. These ghosts of Belfast will not let Fegan rest until he has avenged their deaths by killing the men who gave the orders that led to their deaths.

In an effort to salve his conscience, and in the hope of getting the ghosts to leave him in peace, Fegan sets about the task of taking revenge against the men who were once his masters. By doing so, he threatens not only his targets, but the entire peace process itself.

Inevitably, then, Fegan becomes a target himself, of his former bosses and of the establishment authorities who are willing to go to any lengths to keep the peace agreement from unraveling. Fairly quickly the question becomes whether Fegan can complete his mission and satisfy the spirits who torment him before his enemies catch up to him. And along the way, Fegan also begins a very tentative relationship with a woman and her young daughter who may represent his last chance at redemption.

Stuart Neville has a rare gift with language, and this book is beautifully written. The scenes are well set; the characters are expertly drawn, and you will not soon forget them. This is a bloody, violent, and ultimately heart-breaking book, and once it takes hold of you, it will not let go.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τα φαντάσματα του Μπέλφαστ είναι ένα πολύ ιδιαίτερο βιβλίο, για λόγους που θα αναλύσω παρακάτω. Καταρχήν να σας θυμίσω ότι το Μπέλφαστ είναι η πρωτεύουσα της Βορείου Ιρλανδίας, χώρας που υπάγεται στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο και από την οποία η Εθνική ποδοσφαίρου μας κατάφερε να χάσει. Επίσης, ο Φασμπέντερ έκανε μια από τις πρώτες – και άκρως συγκλονιστικές – εμφανίσεις του στην ταινία Hunger, στην οποία υποδυόταν έναν «τρομοκράτη» για κάποιους, «μαχητή» για άλλους του ΙΡΑ, ο οποίος πέθανε από απεργία πείνας στη φυλακή. Μαχητή του ΙΡΑ υποδύθηκε και ο Μπραντ Πιτ στην ταινία «ο τρομοκράτης», την οποία μάλιστα έδειξε πρόσφατα το mega. Αυτές είναι οι εμφανίσεις της Βορείου Ιρλανδίας στον pop κουλτούρα, εκτός και αν εγώ αγνοώ κάτι ακόμα.

Το βιβλίο χαρακτηρίζεται αστυνομικό, αλλά στα αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα ο αναγνώστης προσπαθεί να ανακαλύψει ποιος είναι ο δολοφόνος μέσα από τα διάφορα ευρήματα και ο αφηγητής είναι συνήθως κάποιος από την «ηθική μεριά» του νόμου. Εδώ τα πράγματα είναι ξεκάθαρα από την αρχή, ο δολοφόνος είναι ο πρωταγωνιστής και ο πρώτος φόνος διεξάγεται απόλυτα ξεκάθαρα στις πρώτες 30 σελίδες του βιβλίου. Ο συγγραφέας δεν έχει καμία πρόθεση να κρύψει το δολοφόνο, παρά επιδιώκει να εξηγήσει τις προθέσεις του. Η αγωνία έγκειται αποκλειστικά στο ποιο θα είναι το επόμενο θύμα, πώς και για ποιο έγκλημα θα πληρώσει.

Θα μπορούσα επίσης να χαρακτηρίσω το βιβλίο ως ιστορικό, αλλά τα γεγονότα είναι πρόσφατα, οπότε πάλι δεν μας ταιριάζει αυτός ο χαρακτηρισμός, όμως προσπαθεί να ρίξει φως στα γεγονότα της Βορείου Ιρλανδίας, να περιγράψει τις Ταραχές και τη συνθήκη ειρήνης, καθώς και να εξηγήσει βαθύτερα τα γεγονότα και τις αιτίες τους. Σε αυτό εξαιρετική δουλειά έχει κάνει η μεταφράστρια του βιβλίου, η οποία στο παράρτημα που παραθέτει εξηγεί ονόματα και γεγονότα. Πραγματικά, τη στιγμή που ήμουν εντελώς μπερδεμένη με όσα διάβαζα, οι σημειώσεις της ήταν το κατάλληλο γκουγκλάρισμα, που εξηγούσε λεπτομερώς τι στα κομμάτια ήταν αυτά που διάβαζα.

Θα μου επιτρέψετε, λοιπόν, να χαρακτηρίσω αυτό το βιβλίο ως (παρα)κρατικό πολιτικό θρίλερ. Ο πρωταγωνιστής, ένας άνθρωπος που νόμισε ότι παλεύει για κάποια ιδανικά, έγινε ήρωας, πλήρωσε για τις πράξεις του, αναγνωρίστηκε από το κόμμα, αλλά έχασε την ψυχή του. Τώρα, στοιχειωμένος από τα φαντάσματα των θυμάτων του, πνίγει τον πόνο του στο ποτό και προσπαθεί να βρει το χαμένο σκοπό του. Οι αρχές του καταπατήθηκαν, τελικά ίσως δεν άξιζαν τίποτα, ενώ οι σύντροφοί του εξαγοράστηκαν από τα λεφτά και την πολυτελή ζωή, τελείως αντίθετα σε αυτά που πρέσβευαν εξαρχής. Χρησιμοποιούν την «τεχνογνωσία» τους για συνδιαλλαγές που είναι ξεκάθαρα παράνομες, ενώ αυτά για τα οποία πάλευαν δεν υπάρχουν πια.

Δεν γνωρίζω την ιστορία της Βορείου Ιρλανδίας για να μπορέσω να κρίνω τον ΙΡΑ, ή το ποιος είχε τελικά δίκιο ή άδικο, οπότε αφήνω το συγγραφέα, ο οποίος μάλιστα κατάγεται από το Μπέλφαστ και είναι σε ηλικία που έζησε από κοντά τα τελευταία χρόνια των συγκρούσεων να μας περιγράψει αυτή την ιστορία. Εγώ πάλι όταν διαβάζω για έναν επαναστάτη ήρωα που πάλευε για ιδανικά που κατέρρευσαν και τώρα αναζητά εξιλέωση, ενώ οι συναγωνιστές του εξαγοράστηκαν, μου θυμίζει τη σύγχρονη Ελλάδα. Αυθόρμητα ένας σύγχρονός μας θα αναφωνούσε: «Πώς την πατήσαμε έτσι ρε φίλε; Και τώρα τι κάνουμε;»

Κλείνοντας θα αφήσω το συγγραφέα να μας πει λίγα πραγματάκια:
«Κάπου ανάμεσα στην καταδίκη και στην αποφυλάκισή του, κόσμος είχε αλλάξει. Νότια των συνόρων, στη Δημοκρατία της Ιρλανδίας, το χρήμα και το νέο όραμα για μια νέα χώρα είχαν εξαφανίσει τις παλιές τοπικές συνήθειες. Ο βορράς είχε γίνει ο φτωχός συγγενής, το νόθο παιδί που κανείς δεν είχε το κουράγιο να διώξει. Ο αγώνας για την επανένωση του βορρά με την υπόλοιπη Ιρλανδία είχε αποδειχτεί άσκοπος. Η υπόλοιπη Ιρλανδία δεν τους ήθελε πια».

«Όταν πρωτοήρθε στο Μπέλφαστ όλοι έλεγαν ότι όλο αυτό δεν θα τελείωνε ποτέ. Οι διαφορές και τα μίση ήταν βαθιά ριζωμένα. Ο βρώμικος πόλεμος θα συνεχιζόταν, η μια βόμβα μετά την άλλη, το ένα πτώμα μετά το άλλο. Οι πολιτικοί ήταν πολύ απασχολημένοι με την εκμετάλλευση της μισαλλοδοξίας των ψηφοφόρων τους για να επιλύσουν το πρόβλημα, και οι παραστρατιωτικοί έβγαζαν υπερβολικά πολλά λεφτά για να σκεφτούν οτιδήποτε άλλο».

«Ποτέ δεν έπαψε να τον εκπλήσσει ότι οι άνθρωποι ψήφιζαν εν γνώσει τους εγκληματίες. Εν πίστευε ότι υπήρχε πιο κυνικό εκλογικό σώμα σε όλο τον κόσμο. Ο μέσος Βορειοϊρλανδός ανθρωπάκος μπορεί να καταλάβει μια πολιτική ομιλία καλύτερα από οποιονδήποτε επαγγελματία πολιτικό αναλυτή, δείχνοντας δυσπιστία απέναντι σε κάθε ύποπτη λέξη. Ωστόσο, η ψήφος τους συνέχιζε να είναι προβλέψιμη σε κάθε εκλογική αναμέτρηση».

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well done debut.
With praise from the likes of James Ellroy on the cover you couldn't go wrong.
He was right it does hooks you in also it has a twist of supernatural. There are twelve ghosts, there was twelve innocents that died over a number of years at the hands of politicians and group members. There was battles and fighting for independence, but the twelve were innocent bystanders that got caught in the trail of fire. One by one the ghosts of the dead want revenge delivered and the twelve responsible taken out.
Everybody pays! There is plenty of vengeance and revenge but will there be mercy?
The main protagonist a hitman and a member of the group is haunted by the twelve ghosts and they will not leave him be until he has turned on his own men and executed all of the twelve guilty ones. He finds love in the form of Marie, she was married to a cop Jack Lennon. Marie also has a child Ellen. As news spreads that he's responsible for murder of important political figures, will he be able to keep them safe and out of the firing line?
This was a real surprise, it grabs your attention and unravels into a thrilling, well written and page-turning story.

Review also @ my blog here.

[foteini_dl · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Η δώδεκα φαντάσματα αναζητούν δικαιοσύνη. Ένα πολιτικό θρίλερ θα χαρακτήριζα το βιβλίο. Βέβαια,εδώ γνωρίζουμε από την αρχή ποιος είναι ο δολοφόνος. Ο Τζέρι συνομιλεί με τα φαντάσματα 12 παλιών θυμάτων του, που σκότωσε με εντολές ανωτέρων του. Τα φαντάσματα βρίσκονται συνέχεια μαζί του και για να εξιλεωθεί και να τα διώξει πρέπει να τιμωρήσει όσους ευθύνονται για το θάνατό τους. Ο Τζέρι αρχίζει να δολοφονεί όσους διέταξαν ή συνέβαλαν στο θάνατο αυτών των αθώων ανθρώπων και κάθε φορά που σκοτώνει κάποιον, ένα φάντασμα εξαφανίζεται, αφού έτσι βρίσκει τη δικαιοσύνη που αναζητούσε.
Εξαιρετική γραφή, με την αφήγηση να "ρέει" αβίαστα, και ακόμα πιο εξαιρετικό το ψυχογράφημα του ήρωα. Οι τύψεις για τους άδικους φόνους που διέπραξε των τυραννάν. Και,βέβαια, έχει πλέον αμφιβολίες για τους πολιτικούς ηγέτες, τους οποίους υπάκουε,και τα συμφέροντα που αυτοί εξυπηρετούν.
Πολύ καλή και η επιμέλεια της μετάφρασης που δίνει αναλυτικά στοιχεία για ονόματα, οργανώσεις κλπ όσον αφορά αυτήν την γεμάτη ταραχές περίοδο της σύγχρονης ιστορίας της Β.Ιρλανδίας. Η οποία είναι ένα εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρον θέμα πολλών ταινιών (In the name of the Father, Hunger μεταξύ άλλων).
Το δεύτερο μισό του βιβλίου είναι εξαιρετικά δυνατό. Ε, το λάτρεψα.
Υ.Γ. Είναι σκληρό και βίαιο βιβλίο. Οπότε, δεν ενδείκνυται για όλους.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gritty, haunted crime novel is one of the best debuts I've read in a long time. Gerry Fegan, an ace enforcer in the IRA does a 12-stint prison stint before he's released to live with the twelve "ghosts" of his murder victims. What impresses me is the deft way the supernatural element is stitched into the narrative's fabric. Perhaps going mad, Fegan feels driven to serve as the twelve's avenger of the higher ups who ordered their hits. He performs his grisly mission in efficient but violent fashion. I could easily see a young Daniel Day Lewis cast in the movie role of Fegan. What a meaty, powerful character that would be to see in a film. But to get the full effect, read the book. You can't go wrong by reading this immensely entertaining tale of retribution and redemption.

[Lawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stewart Neville's The Ghosts of Belfast: One Paddy's Lamentation


"I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

From Easter, 1916, William Butler Yeats

The words of Yeats capture the tone of The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville. In Belfast you can never be certain of the loyalty of the people to whom you speak. The result is not beautiful, but it is terrible in every way imaginable.

The troubles in Ireland have changed. There is an uneasy political truce. The tough faces of the IRA look smoother in tailored suits, seated in the House of Representatives. The new voices of the Republicans are Michael McKenna and Paul McGinty. But in their youth, they worked their way up the ranks of the IRA, schooled in the brutality of what it takes to get the Brits out of Ulster by Bull O'Kane, who still pulls the hidden strings of violence from his farm in County Armagh. He is the Bull because of his love of fighting Pits in his tumble down barn where the stakes of the wagers are always high, but not as high as the stakes on the streets of Belfast.

Gerry Fegan was also schooled by O'Kane. He grew up with McKenna and McGinty. He bought all the ideology of bloody resistance to drive England out of Northern Ireland and made his bones while still a young man. When the orders came down to take out a tout, Fegan did his duty. He did his time in the Maze, portrayed by his smoother contemporaries as a political prisoner. But he's not a mere prisoner on a hunger fast, he's a killer and he knows it, haunted by a string of twelve ghosts of those he killed through the years.

Released from the Maze as a part of the political machinations leading to the truce in the troubles, Fegan retains the stature of his reputation as a freedom fighter, looked up to and respected by all those who still look for a united Ireland. But Fegan is no longer the man he was. Gerry has gone to drink to escape the voices in his head. The ghosts are constantly with him. There's the twelve year old boy, a tout, he killed by putting a bullet through his head. The boy's buried in a bog. There are the Brit soldiers. The Royal Ulster Contabulary officers. Worst of all are the butcher, a young mother, and her babe in arms, all killed in the blast of a bomb Gerry left in the shop because the Prod Unionists were meeting upstairs.

The ghosts want vengeance. Gerry will only sleep when he yields to their cry for the blood of those that ordered their murders. When Gerry is approached in a Belfast cemetery by the mother of the twelve year old he caves in to her pleas to know where her son is buried and tells her. She tells him he will pay for what he's done, that everyone pays in the end.

There are eyes and ears loyal to the IRA everywhere. Gerry's meeting with the woman is seen and heard. Word is passed up the line that something must be done about Gerry Fegan. But none of those in the upper echelons of the underground resistance realize that Gerry still retains all the skills he learned as a young man. Fegan has no equal when it comes to the art of killing.

While Gerry sets out to appease the ghosts that haunt him, the IRA has to put the correct political spin on why the bodies of their brothers in the cause begin to mount. The murders are not being committed by one of their own, but by the usual suspects, the Brits, or the victim was someone who deserved to die because they had dipped their fingers into unacceptable business--trafficking in girls with Lithuanian smugglers of young flesh.

With each death, the ghosts of their victims leave Gerry, the twelve gradually dwindling as Gerry seeks his redemption by setting things right. Enter Marie McKenna with her child by an Ulster policeman. She is the niece of Michael McKenna, now seen as an outsider because of her affair with a Protestant Unionist. Gerry meets her at the wake for McKenna and watches her lips silently mouth, "You got what you deserved."

A curious relationship begins to grow between Gerry and Marie. The bond is cemented by his gentle love for her daughter Ellen. When the resistance decides that Marie's time has come to be driven from Ireland, along with her apparent Unionist sympathies, she will not go and the stakes grow higher. If she won't take exile, more extreme measures will be taken. Gerry won't allow any more deaths to occur for a meaningless cause. He becomes their protector.

Don't think this is a simple anti-Republican diatribe. There are no saints in The Ghosts of Belfast. The Brits still have their finger in the pie with Davy Campbell, a former member of the Scot's Black Watch Regiment, inserted as an agent to keep the British supplied with information of what goes on in the ranks of the underground Dissidents. Campbell has blood on his hands, too. He's dispatched to the North to sort out the deaths of the resistance for whom the Brits are being blamed.

Campbell will be the man to take out Marie and her daughter Ellen if necessary, and to kill Gerry, whom Bull O'Kane realizes is the real killer of his minions. If he can take out Campbell in the process--yes, he's figured out Campbell is a plant, all the better.

Neville drives relentlessly to a final confrontation at O'Kane's isolated farm. The tension never slackens. The question of who lives and who dies will not be answered until a storm of bloody violence breaks over O'Kane's farm, a stronghold for the most violent members of the Republican resistance.

Neville is good. It's as simple as that. A master of twists and turns, Neville weaves a subtle web of deception from the wet streets of Belfast to the green fields of the Irish countryside. The conclusion revealing the actions of Gerry's last ghost will leave the reader stunned, wondering if there is ever the possibility of forgiveness or redemption for the commission of evil.

Almost perfect, this is a solid 4.5 star read. Highly recommended. This is the first of three Celtic Noir novels by Neville. I'll be reading them.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars Rounded up as a very impressive Debut!

Gritty, dark, brutal...... I think you get the gist of the content AND authentic language too, so not for those wanting a fluffy read... they can "Away and shite"

Set post Good Friday agreement in Belfast we first come across one Gerry Fegan, an ex-paramilitary released from the Maze prison over a decade before now turned to drink & down the slippery slope for the sins of his past, in a bar, shouting at the ghosts of his past that wont leave him alone, screaming at him every night until he falls into a drunken stupor to escape them. Nice fellah yer say, had it coming!

And then it begins, not a dull moment as the "12 Ghosts" show him the way out of his living hell by ways of redemption & eliminating those that put the 12 in the ground. Sounds a fairly straight forward tale of revenge etc standard fare you might muse & walk on by..... I urge you to stop & give this a go as its a superb piece of writing, seeing too as it's a debut. The characters are very real (you can hear the harsh Northern Irish accent) & the story gives an insite into a country torn apart by violence for many a year. Grubby Politicians, gangsters, thugs, police, military intelligence, happy families even... all there.

I'll be reading more of Stuart Neville, bravo sir!

[Yanper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το βιβλίο αναφέρεται στο Βορειοιρλανδικό ζήτημα που ήταν από τα κύρια προβλήματα επί σειρά ετών του Ηνωμένου βασιλείου. Περιγράφει γεγονότα και ταραχές που συνέβησαν στον αμείλικτο αγώνα της ανεξαρτητοποίησης της Ιρλανδίας που είχε ξεσπάσει σε πολιτικό και θρησκευτικό επίπεδο. Κατ’ άλλους μάχες, κατ’ άλλους τρομοκρατικές ενέργειες για την ανεξαρτητοποίηση που ως συνήθως είχαν παράπλευρες απώλειες. Αυτές οι παράπλευρες απώλειες έρχονται να στοιχειώσουν τον εκτελεστή του ΙΡΑ και να τον κάνουν να στραφεί ενάντια στους παλαιούς συντρόφους του σε μία προσπάθεια να γαληνέψει την ψυχή του και να ελαφρύνει την συνείδησή του. Ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο ιδιαίτερα αν έχει παρακολουθήσει κανείς την ιστορία της Ιρλανδίας.

[Maria Altiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μπορεί να είναι απλοϊκά γραμμένο κ να μην έχουμε να κάνουμε με υψηλή λογοτεχνία αλλά ήταν έναυσμα και αφορμή για να ψάξω κ να μάθω για τις "Ταραχές" στην Ιρλανδία, για την Συμφωνία της Μεγάλης Παρασκευής, για την παρακρατική οργάνωση IRA κ πολλά άλλα. Είναι κατά την γνώμη μου πολύ σπουδαίο να πιάνεις κάποια βιβλία στα χέρια σου κ να σε οδηγούν σε τέτοια σκοτεινά μονοπάτια εξερεύνησης κ γνώσης. Κατά τα άλλα αιματοβαμμένο κ σκοτεινό, με ένα ήρωα στοιχειωμένο από τύψεις κ ενοχές και μια ατμόσφαιρα αγωνίας για την επίτευξη της κάθαρσης!

[Andi Marquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a story about this book. I was visiting NYC recently, and was on my way to dinner in Brooklyn with a comrade. We had parked the car and we were going to walk the couple of blocks to the restaurant. On that walk, I stopped at a brownstone because whoever lived at this particular house had put 3 books outside by the small wrought iron fence that served as a boundary between it and the public sidewalk. In NYC (and probably lots of other cities), when people want to get rid of things -- i.e., give stuff away -- they set it out in front of their houses.

This book was one of the three that the owner had set out. It caught my eye because it was face-up and I recognized it. I'd actually considered buying it a few months earlier but didn't. So there it was, and I needed a book for the plane trip home. I picked it up and put it in the pocket of my cargo shorts.

I started reading it at the airport the next day and couldn't put it down.

This is Irish writer Stuart Neville's first book, and it is a gripping, gritty, downright grungy but satisfying read. It's garnered lots of accolades and awards, like the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. The New York Times rated it as one of the best crime books of 2009.

So is it a crime novel? Yes and no. It's a mixture of paranormal, thriller, and crime. Maybe even allegory for a country trying to reconcile its bloody history with a shifting future. But it also provides a view of a changing Northern Ireland, into the social and economic forces that have created it, wrung it out, and left it in an uneasy marriage between past and future. The main character is Gerry Fegan, an IRA killer who served 12 years in a Northern Ireland prison. He's out of prison, and an uneasy peace has settled over the island, but Fegan is haunted. Literally and figuratively. Twelve ghosts of people he killed will not let him rest. They want vengeance, and in order to appease them, he'll have to kill the men who ordered their deaths.

Strung out on memories, guilt, booze, and the ceaseless prodding of the 12 ghosts, he sets to work on his task, seeking some kind of peace and maybe a personal redemption should he complete it. His reputation keeps him reasonably safe from the new mob politics of the country -- at least at first -- but people know about his drinking, and they know that he's taken to talking to himself. They don't see the dead like he does. And after he kills the first couple of men, the shaky alliances between several opposing factions begin to fray, and Fegan himself becomes a target.

Neville writes Fegan with a hard, gruff elegance, and you'll find yourself drawn to this man, to his brutality and attempts to find a resolution for himself and his victims. Ireland itself is a character here, as well, and Neville incorporates its circumstances and recent history into Fegan's daily stumbles in a way that makes you come to understand, on some level, why Fegan is the way he is. That's good writing and characterization, when you take a broken-down, violent, bitter drunk of a man who murdered innocents in terrorist attacks and torture and imbue him with the weight of his own past and the past of his country so that a reader will feel a bit of sympathy for his plight and his twisted mission. By the end of this book, you will, on some weird level, kind of like the guy.

Neville unfolds the plot carefully and slowly at first, but as Fegan tries to complete his mission and he, too, is in danger, Neville begins to speed the pacing until the last third of the book, when you're practically holding your breath as the final scenes loom. He creates characters and context that make the paranormal aspects utterly believable (and perhaps an allegory themselves), utterly gripping, and well worth the journey through its pages.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook: Finally, a book in which the violence serves the story instead of the opposite.This is the first in a series of novels that portray Belfast and Northern Ireland following the peace accords, which left a lot of violent men with little to do and changing loyalties. Gerry Fegan had been an enforcer for one of the groups of thugs ostensibly battling the British. Now beset by guilt for those he had killed, he’s surrounded by imaginary “followers” representing each of the twelve he had killed and they won’t leave him alone until he kills those who had ordered the killings.

Much as slavery and segregation haunt U.S. history, so do the years of the Troubles for the Irish. Preserving the peace becomes a priority for those in power and they will sacrifice innocents to maintain political stability. That’s one of the underlying themes of Neville’s book. “"Even now [that] the politicians had taken over the movement," Neville writes of the Irish Republican Army paramilitaries, "even though they were shifting away from the rackets, the extortion, the thieving, people still needed to be kept in line." The British still have their undercover agents and one of those is tasked by his handlers with killing Fegan in order to prevent his killings from upsetting the delicate balance.

Note that even though billed as the first in the Jack Lennon Investigations series, Lennon plays a minuscule role unlike the second. It’s all Gerry Fegan.

I read this book after Collusion, the second in the series, and several things became clear in both volumes. I recommend reading the books in order, as knowing what happens in the second destroys any suspense in the first. Very good reading.

[Cathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What we humans do to one another….

“If there’s peace, if it’s really over, then what use are we?” asks a fellow prisoner of Gerry Fegan, an IRA foot soldier, serving his time in the Maze prison. Both Fegan and the other man know that when all of the political parties agree to a peace process, they will be released, and with that, they’ll have to create new selves and to dissolve whatever their past was.

But how do you “un-become” what you had been: a terrorist, a freedom fighter, a murderer, a foot soldier-- a pawn? For Gerry Fegan, his release brings more punishment than his imprisonment ever did. He’s haunted by the twelve he killed; they follow him wherever he goes, wordlessly motioning what he should do, or watching him in full view of him but not visible to others. He talks to them in front of other people. His former acquaintances and neighbors aren’t sure if he’s just turned into a blind drunk or if he’s crazy. For me, as a reader, I was never quite sure if he was being haunted by ghosts or experiencing some sort of psychosis. It doesn’t really matter, though. He drinks himself into stupors every night; he lives alone, choosing isolation but not the pity with which others see him. He’s become an embarrassment to the politicians who used to direct the IRA and him. Those same former IRA leaders have maintained all of their power by transforming into high-ranking politicians, ready to benefit even more from the peace process, and Fegan threatens their potential profits.

In a case of pretzel logic, Fegan decides (or is compelled by his ghosts) to avenge the murders of the twelve innocents by murdering, one by one, those he believes are truly responsible for the killings. Fegan killed all twelve; there’s no doubt about that. But every time he’s sober enough to remember the past, he remembers his orders and the circumstances of those deaths. And he remembers how lies told to him by his superiors made him believe some he killed, like two young Royal Ulster Constabulary, had been involved in executions of IRA members—when they never were. In his most grievous moments, he remembers a young mother, her baby, and a butcher all killed when a bomb he dropped at a butcher shop exploded before it should have. Not one of them, Gerry realizes, should have died, and not one of his superiors cares.

The book is constructed into twelve chapters, and Neville uses that structure to his advantage. While Fegan considers how he’ll avenge each death, Neville fills in the back story of each person’s murder. For me, that combination of past and present evoked such horror, sadness, and tension that I had to put the book down and pick it up after a day or so. The intensity and violence were unabating, and as difficult as this book was to read at times, I never felt as though the violence was unwarranted. It fit.

One of the things I admire about this book is Neville’s ability to make me care about Gerry Fegan, to evoke sympathy for him. The man barely speaks, and we’re given only the slightest glimpses into his interior life, but nevertheless, I felt sympathy for him. To write more about how Neville does that would spoil the book, so I won’t include more about that.

I know this is classified as a “crime novel,” and while that is accurate, to limit it to that genre would be a disservice to the novel. In some ways it reminded me of The Heart of Darkness and the “horrors” of believing in a process or cause corrupted from the beginning. The novel is about human frailty,cruelty and loss; it’s about the manipulation of those young enough, naïve enough, and lonely enough to want to belong and believe, and it’s about—even if ever so slight—the possibility of redemption.

[Gatorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut from Neville is one of the best crime fiction novels I have read in a long time. Smart, tough characters and an interesting premise are handled brilliantly by Neville, who writes dialogue with the best of them. This book had me hooked from beginning to end. The violence was unflinching and added a powerful punch to the narrative. The details of Northern Ireland's social and political struggles never suffocated the story and served as an important backdrop for the motivations of many of the characters. Very highly recommended.

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerry Fegan, a former IRA hit man, has finally been paroled but drinks heavily because he is haunted by the ghosts of the 12 people he killed. He finally embarks on a mission to kill the men who gave him his orders to escape his demons; the book is cleverly separated into chapters, starting with 12 and reducing as he kills off those in the militant IRA underworld, who believe he is a babbling, useless drunk and a liability to their movement. Somewhat incongruent with the rest of the story, Fegan is attracted to Marie McKenna, a relative of one of the newly slain men and a pariah to the Republicans for marrying a cop. So, Fegan tries to redeem himself by saving Marie and her young, innocent daughter.

[Effie Saxioni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό από κάθε άποψη.Πολύ κρίμα που δεν το είχα ανακαλύψει νωρίτερα.Οι εκτενείς αναφορές στην πολιτική κατάσταση στην Ιρλανδία και στις συμπλοκές με τον ΙΡΑ το κάνουν εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρον και το υπόμνημα με τις διευκρινίσεις στο τέλος του βιβλίου είναι απαραίτητο και κατατοπιστικότατο.Απλά,διαβάστε το.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some people like to read about travel and some people like to read about violence. Some people like romance and some people like torture. Neville excels in writing about torture and violence and has used the Irish conflict as his rationale. The book doesn’t pretend to deal with the complexities of the Irish situation, nor does it pretend to create characters one cares for (even the most positive reviews on Amazon pointed that out). For people who seek non-stop action with lots of blood (teeth taken out with pliers) and light entertainment like dog fights, this is a good book. For those who are interested in a thoughtful reflection on conflict and reasons people get locked into these kinds of struggles, the book is a complete waste of time. I like the occasional blood-bath but the only mystery for me was how I was going to get through twelve revenge killings. (I didn’t.)

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may never have read a murder mystery like Stuart Neville‘s The Ghosts of Belfast. For starters, it’s set in the context of war in Northern Ireland, when murder was endemic. The protagonist, Gerry Fegan, is a former hit man for the IRA. He was responsible for the deaths of twelve people (the “ghosts” of the title). And it’s never much of a mystery when he begins killing again. But the mystery lies deeper, somewhere in the vicinity of his stunted family life and the treacherous relationships among the others in his violence-prone faction.

As Fegan reflects, “You can’t choose where you belong, and where you don’t. But what if the place you don’t belong is the only place you have left?”

THE CIVIL WAR IN NORTHERN IRELAND SEEMS UNENDING
The “detective,” Davy Campbell, Fegan’s antagonist, is a Scottish paramilitary officer who has lived underground with the IRA for many years. He’s a killer himself. The contest of wits and physical prowess between these two pawns in the grip of history unfolds against a background of political corruption and betrayal in Northern Ireland. And the action takes place following the Good Friday Agreement that laid to rest—presumably for all time—decades of inter-communal violence between Protestants and Catholics.

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that the Troubles was the “violent sectarian conflict from about 1968 to 1998 in Northern Ireland between the overwhelmingly Protestant unionists (loyalists), who desired the province to remain part of the United Kingdom, and the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic nationalists (republicans), who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the republic of Ireland.”

The conflict brought into the fray a bewildering variety of contending forces. The “peacekeepers” were the British army, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and the Ulster Defence Regiment (later called the Royal Irish Regiment). Their avowed purpose was to interpose themselves between the nationalist Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the unionist paramilitary forces. The IRA viewed the conflict as a guerrilla war for national independence. And the unionists characterized the IRA’s aggression as terrorism. As Britannica observes, the Troubles were “marked by street fighting, sensational bombings, sniper attacks, roadblocks, and internment without trial.” Civil war raged for thirty years, leaving a legacy that sours relationships to this very day.

NO ONE COMES OFF WELL IN THIS STORY
The Ghosts of Belfast is skillfully written. His characters are all believable, all the more so for their profound cynicism and greed for power and money. (To my mind, such greed is a principal reason for the long-lasting violence.) No one comes off well in this story of war in Northern Ireland, not Fegan and Campbell, and not the men who manipulate them. I suspect that anyone who witnesses sectarian violence first-hand anywhere in the world might feel the same about the central actors on both sides of the wars they observe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As Stuart Neville notes on his author website, his “debut novel, The Ghosts of Belfast (published in the UK as The Twelve), won the Mystery/Thriller category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was picked as one of the top crime novels of 2009 by both the New York Times and the LA Times. He has been shortlisted for various awards, including the MWA Edgar and CWA Dagger . . . as well as the Irish Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year.”

Neville was born in 1972 in Northern Ireland and grew up there. He is the author of ten novels and two collections of short stories.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a violent, bloody novel where the violence and bloodshed actually serves a purpose, rather than just trying to shock the reader. It's a revenge story, a political thriller, and a tale of redemption, with the main character being a former IRA thug who's now trying to atone for his past crimes. His atonement, however, consists of killing a lot more people, because the ghosts of his former victims won't leave him alone until he does.

The question of whether the ghosts are real or only in Gerry Fegan's head is only slightly interesting. They are real to him, and as a result, he's put on a path of bloody retribution in which he takes down former comrades, party bosses, and other important people in the fragile new peace of Northern Ireland. Initially introduced to us as a merciless thug and killer, someone who did hard time in prison and deserved it and probably should have stayed there longer, Fegan becomes one of the most sympathetic characters in the book. He wants nothing more than to wash the blood off his hands, but he can't because his ghosts won't let him. So he has to keep killing, and as we learn the stories behind each of the men he kills and the ghosts demanding the next sacrifice, we see that Fegan was never more than a small cog in a big, bloody, grinding machine. Everyone in Northern Ireland, from the IRA to the Unionists to the Brits, played very, very dirty. You have to keep reminding yourself just why Fegan is being haunted or you'd start to like the guy. He genuinely wants to redeem himself, and yet his killings threaten to unleash a new wave of violence.

This sort of loose cannon run amok story is standard fare for Hollywood, and I think The Ghosts of Belfast would make a great movie, though they'd probably screw it up. It's not written like a movie, though. There is a lot of introspection and angst and some delving into the politics of the "movement" before the peace accords and the current state of the Irish criminal underworld. The writing is taut, not overly verbose, not full of narrative flourishes, and lean on descriptive details, but it was good work and carried the story along. Most of the non-Fegan characters aren't developed much, since they're basically ducks being lined up to die so all you need to know is why, but this is a story where characters definitely take a back seat to plot and action.

For all the bloodshed, it was never gratuitous and never went on overly long. I found this is a compelling listen with a good plot, and will look for more from this author.

[Alexandra Matobookalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πρόκειται μάλλον για ένα θρίλερ (δύσκολα μπορείς να το κατηγοριοποιήσεις) που έχει σα φόντο την πολιτική κατάσταση της Β. Ιρλανδίας. Αν και ξέρεις από την αρχή το δολοφόνο και καταλαβαίνεις πως θα πάει η ιστορία, η αγωνία είναι στο δεις τελικά μέχρι που θα φτάσει και πως και ποιοι θα τιμωρηθούν. Εάν σε κάποιον δεν αρέσουν τα βιβλία με πολιτικά στοιχεία δε θα το συνιστούσα, αν και οι σημειώσεις της μεταφράστριας είναι πολύ καλές.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Ghosts of Belfast’ by Stuart Neville is very good! It can be read as a pure revenge novel, similar to the Jack Reacher series or the John Wick comics. There is a lot of violent shoot-em-up fun killing bad guys and some (very few if a reader is looking for happy endings) feels of closure, but the novel’s true underlying purpose is to write about the Northern Ireland’s destructive civil war called The Troubles. The book doesn’t do a deep dive, but it is upfront a thriller with The Troubles being the reason behind every character’s personal difficulties.

The Troubles made of Northern Ireland a land of endless terrorism. Every single individual, whether Protestant or Catholic, whether an adult or child, or whatever job they performed, no one ever knew if they would end the day by death from torture or a bomb or a bullet. Every day fear haunted every single person. Every day there was an extortion threat whether it be of money or a demand that their business or home be used as a paramilitary safe house. Any person could claim to the paramilitaries that any other person was not supporting the cause based on the flimsiest evidence or suspicion, which was a death sentence.

Gerry Fegan, the main character, is tortured by guilt. He was a cold-blooded assassin. He is a respected Catholic Republican because of his paramilitary career, having killed British soldiers, and police officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and Loyalists belonging to the Ulster Freedom Fighters. He also accidentally killed four civilians, including a young mother and her baby - twelve victims in all. He spent years in prison for one of those assassinations but has been recently released. However, he has become a drunken sot. Worse, he is always talking, pleading, to people that aren’t there. Everyone has noticed. His former commanders and peers, one now a respected politician, are becoming very concerned. They are afraid Fegan will become a “tout” - what we call a snitch in America. Many of the former paramilitary members are also guilty of murder, bombings. intimidation, protection racketeering - all in the name of freeing Northern Ireland from the “tyranny” of the British and the Irish Protestants. However, people are worn out from the fear and blood and death, so everyone is eager to sign peace treaties.

Well, almost everybody.

Many different members of the involved organizations, too many to name, are not fully on board with stopping the bloodshed. For some, the civil war became very profitable and stopping the shooting means losing income. For many, the hatred for their enemies that they carry in their hearts has not abated. Others have become addicted to violence. On the other side of the coin, of those who are eager for peace, some no longer support the political causes they cynically say they do, now that they have publicly respectable and financially secure careers from being the frontmen or leaders of the various paramilitary organizations. But the money from Americans is drying up, so. Peace it is, even if the paramilitaries are continuing their extortion and protection schemes under the radar. They can’t give up the power, or the money, or the awakened need for violence.

Fegan is not at peace for a completely different reason. He drinks because twelve ghosts are haunting him, all of them screaming. The dead young woman with the dead baby especially gets to him. He can’t stand hearing them, seeing them. He remembers everything about their deaths, what he did to them. Every time Fegan meets one of the Republican murderers and assassins in the pub or street who were also involved in the ghosts’ deaths, the ghosts become insistent, louder, pointing their fingers in the shape of guns at the paramilitary thugs. What they want is clear. Fegan must kill those responsible, or they will never leave him alone. He can’t sleep, can’t eat, can’t think. The ghosts will most certainly drive him mad if they don’t go away. Maybe that is the wrong tense, gentle reader. I think the ghosts have already made him insane! Fegan has to kill his former compatriots and bosses who helped to murder the ghosts because that is the only way they will go away. But are the ghosts real? To Fegan they are, and he is done trying to ignore them. I think the ghosts are real because one of the murderers, Davy Campbell, whom Fegan kills, sees the ghosts too as he is dying!

This is an excellent thriller! It also is a very brief history lesson (some readers may not know anything about the civil war in Northern Ireland and this book will not really explain it). The book really shows the kind of terror and fear the Northern Irish lived with for decades.

Below is a Wikipedia link to The Troubles:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tro...

[Daniel Sevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasingly grisly revenge thriller set in Northern Ireland after the Good Friday agreement. There were some neat narrative notions which raised this above the commonplace and the action sequences were satisfyingly executed. A solid and entertaining read.

[Normita Normito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πόσο μου άρεσε ο Τζέρι κ πόσο τον λυπηθηκε η ψυχή μου.:/

[Makis Dionis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα καλό δείγμα για το πως έχουν χτιστεί οι δημοκρατίες...Όπως πάντα δηλαδή.
Το στήσιμο του Neville απλά εκπληκτικό, αν και αφελές λίγο το τελείωμα. Να δούμε πότε θα βρεθεί χρόνος να πάμε και στο Μπέλφαστ!!

[Nick Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read a couple of Stuart Neville's novels before, I knew what to expect with regards the violent visceral nature of his books. I had been slightly disappointed by 'Ratlines' and 'Collusion' - they went a little over the top with the dark people and dark acts to the extent that I began not to care about what was happening - but having heard that this debut novel was perhaps better than what followed, I wanted to give it a try.

I am glad I did - the grim Irish setting and the style of plot was similar to others, but this had a couple of aspects very much going for it. Firstly the central character - an ex-hitman now determined to right his previous wrongs - made for a convincing and sympathetic character.. realistic and complex with the reader left feeling empathy with a man committing terrible acts. Secondly, I found the supernatural/hallucinatory aspect of the story (our central character haunted by the 'ghosts' of those he killed) added an interesting aspect.

The plot was excellent, the writing fast-paced and involving, and I am possibly convinced to read others in the series, even if they don't reach the heights of this debut.

[Tom Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read some negative reviews of this book, I let this sit on my shelf for far too long. Once I did pick it up, though, it was hard to put down. It was an engaging thriller about an aging IRA gunman literally haunted by his past. I highly recommend it.