Wounds
A Memoir of War and Love
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Wounds
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Narrated by:
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David McFetridge
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By:
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Fergal Keane
About this listen
A family story of blood and memory and the haunting power of the past.
2018 WINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER EWART-BIGGS MEMORIAL PRIZE
2017 WINNER OF THE NON-FICTION IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
After nearly three decades reporting conflict from all over the world for the BBC, Fergal Keane has gone home to Ireland to tell a story that lies at the root of his fascination with war. It is a family story of war and love, and how the ghosts of the past return to shape the present.
Wounds is a powerful memoir about Irish people who found themselves caught up in the revolution that followed the 1916 Rising, and in the pitiless violence of civil war in north Kerry after the British left in 1922.
It is the story of Keane’s grandmother Hannah Purtill, her brother Mick and his friend Con Brosnan, and how they and their neighbours took up guns to fight the British Empire and create an independent Ireland. And it is the story of another Irishman, Tobias O’Sullivan, who fought against them as a policeman because he believed it was his duty to uphold the law of his country.
Many thousands of people took part in the War of Independence and the Civil War that followed. Whatever side they chose, all were changed in some way by the costs of violence. Keane uses the experiences of his ancestral homeland in north Kerry to examine why people will kill for a cause and how the act of killing reverberates through the generations.
©2017 Fergal Keane (P)2017 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 03-04-20
excellent
the kind of tale that is all too rarely told.
essential reading for anyone with an out cr of interest in Irish history
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 18-11-17
Essential Reading
This book should be on the curriculum for every school in Ireland. Educational organisations take note.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Colm Finn
- 30-06-21
Brings a new perspective
excellent and insightful book that gives new perspective to the one-dimensional history we are often fed
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- APE
- 18-04-18
Engaging read
Nothing really new to learn as a history but the the near first hand observations made it interesting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mister Peridot
- 06-03-18
Ireland's revolution and civil war
The author relates the events of the Irish war of independence and subsequent civil war through the events of County Kerry where his own family come from and who themselves played a part in this upheaval of Irish society which laid the basis for the modern Irish state. Keane writes throughout with sympathy and a questioning mind as to how people felt at the time and subsequently about the rights and wrongs of the British, the Irish free staters and the IRA. And he relates his own experience of witnessing war as a reporter and how profoundly that has affected him. The reader David McFetridge, who does an excellent job, sounds a lot like the author to me. But perhaps thats because they are both Irish and I'm not. Hopefully more people will learn about modern Irish history through this book and have a greater understanding and sense of forgiveness in consequence.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Kevin McPhillips
- 26-09-18
Humanising history
This is a very accessible book on the Irish civil war, the years that led up to it, and the repercussions and events that followed,
FK makes it all the more engaging by overlaying the stories of families, friends and neighbours in a complex situation, how it affected their lives, and those of their children.
It’s not at all judgemental - the story is told by a highly experienced reporter, incorporating work from writers and poets and as well researched local history.
Informative and touching - well worth a read
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 05-12-17
Links Irish history to real people
Where does Wounds rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
As non fiction its right up there but I have a huge interest in the topic which is little written about.
What did you like best about this story?
I liked the fact that the way the lives of the participants is described long after the war and how it affected them. It causes the "southern Irish" reader to pause and consider the parallels between the War of Independence Vs the Modern troubles in N Ireland. (Of which there are many)
What about David McFetridge’s performance did you like?
Easy to listen to.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
?
Any additional comments?
None
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. M. C. A. Winters
- 03-12-20
Wonderful book
A really great listen. Keane superbly dissects the complex situation in County Kerry during the War of Independence followed by the Civil War. Then examines the cyclic reoccurrence of violence through to the Troubles in N Ireland. Fantastic narration by David McFetridge.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- sarah thewlis
- 04-04-21
So very good
A complex history so very well described and brought up to modern times with great insight.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 08-05-22
Excellent and interesting
Loved this insight and knowledge of times gone by in Ireland , really well told , God bless the Island of Ireland
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