Brian Keenan

In the mid 90's I read a lot of the books written by the hostages taken in Lebanon. The hostages were released when I was in my late teens and I still remember the pictures of these frail men leaving planes. Of all the books, this is the best. It is literate and emotional. Brian Keenan is incredibly honest about how he felt. It can be a hard book to read - several pages were read through a haze of tears. But what I remember most about it is the relationship between him and John McCarthy and show more how they kept each other sane during an insane situation.
Don't miss it. show less

I've read a few prison memoirs, and while you may feel immense sympathy, and while the writing process may have been cathartic, they tend to be pretty samey and dull.
So I wasn't expecting to find this a *5 work, but it totally is. Brian Keenan had been away from Belfast on a teaching post, in Beirut for 4 months when he was kidnapped by islamic 'jihadists' and held prisoner for four and a half years.
This is an entirely engrossing read as Keenan delves into the recesses of his mind to show more explain how humans cope (or not) with the endless days of solitary confinement, the alternating friendly overtures and casual brutality of their jailers, the uncertainty - release now? later? or slaughter? ...and the mind numbing boredom. Eventually sharing a cell with fellow hostage John McCarthy (and at times with some Americans) he elaborates on the process of friendship amid such dire conditions. Their efforts to find amusement in makeshift games and humour, to confront their aggressors with whatever resistance they could.
Very memorable and well written account. show less

A sometimes harrowing but never gratuitous account of the author's experiences as a hostage in Lebanon in the late 1980s. Superb writing, full of compassion and honesty, tinged with some violence and extreme emotion. I had not expected to enjoy this book, nor to find it so very readable, but it was a selection for my local reading group, and turned out to be an excellent choice.

There's some dark humour here and there, and a light touch as the author writes as if observing his reactions at show more times. I don't know when I last found a non-fiction book as compulsive as this one - I expected to skim, but (other than a few poems) read every word.

Very highly recommended.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2020/06/an-evil-cradling-by-brian-keenan.ht... show less

Variable. Some genuinely well written and interesting experiences of life as a tourist in Alaska, interspersed by a lot of spiritualist nonsense, that frequently fails to make any kind of sense whatsoever. One assumes that it too is the literal experiences of the author, who has failed to understand the world around him. Given some of the extremely naive experiences he undergoes without the spiritualism this might well be a reasonable conclusion.

Based on a little more than a whim the author show more decides to take his family for an extended holiday - from their native Ireland, too one of the most extreme places on earth, Alaska. Little detail is given about the fmailiy's reaction to this, or to the arrangements required - it seems the author had contact with a lot of friends who did most of the hard work. Once there they move around a bit with the family, and alos just the author on his own while the family are left behind to amuse themeselves. This is somewhat disappointing as the observations of the family could have added a great deal to the commentary of life in Alaska.

Some of the experiences the author undertakes visiting various people who live in Alaska permently are quite revealing - the degree of clothing and preperation required for any trip outside was quite extensive. It is therefore unfortunate that the author only learnt this through experience, rather than listening to his friends and contacts. He escape relatively unharmed, despite offending the tribes he was staying with.

I'm not going to comment too much on the annoying spiritual bits, because I largely skimmed them. They were mostly incomprehensible, or else blatently mis-interpreting or understanding the world around you. Eg. when a wolf walks across your path, there is no deeper meaning to this. He is not your spirit guide (which you've previously claimed was a bear anyway) neither is he your ancestor - you're Irish you have no ancestors in Alaska. It is just a wolf, even if they aren't usually seen in this area. Count yourself lucky, and revel in the joy of being fortunate enough to watch nature at work - something the author does manage to do on other occasions.

In summary - could be better. Probably only worth reading if you know something about life in Alaska. show less