Louise O'Neill is someone who I would class as a hit-and-miss author. I've read two of her books before this: Only Ever Yours in 2016, which I really liked; Almost Love last year, which I DNF'd. After the Silence, weirdly enough, is a hit-and-miss book in itself. There were many aspects that I really liked alongside many that I thought could have been done better or didn't quite work in specific areas. Díaz, J. 2012c. The Search for Decolonial Love: An Interview with Junot Díaz. Interview by Paula M. L. Moya. 26 June. https://bostonreview.net/books-ideas/paula-ml-moya-decolonial-love-interview-junot-d%C3%ADaz.

Great George Street will be closed to the public on Remembrance Sunday. Access between Victoria Street and St James Park will be via Storey’s Gate. I really hate it when a premise to a book promises something so much more than the book itself actually offers. Such was the case with AFTER THE SILENCE by Louise O'Neill. What was meant to be about the ten year anniversary of the murder of Nessa Crowley ended up something far more discombobulated to the point of boring and uninteresting. This book is full of intrigue and intensity, with a really great past and present storyline interspersed with interview dialogue between the documentary crew and the locals on the island. The main character of the book is 47-year-old Keelin Kinsella who appears to be a complete stranger compared to the woman who celebrated 37 years on the night Nessa was murdered. Now, Keelin's every move appears to be controlled by her husband - but it's Keelin who asked him to do this in the first place. Her son hides in the bedroom, and her daughter doesn't want to spend any time with her. Yet Keelin is a woman full of kindness and gentleness, with an urge to help others but secrets she must keep hidden away. So she hides herself. On Sunday 12 November, the National Service of Remembrance will be held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London. First-aid facilities, provided by St John Ambulance, will be available at various locations along Whitehall.

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The killer couldn’t have escaped Inisrun, but on-one was charged with the murder. The mystery that surrounded the death of Nessa remained hidden. But the islanders knew who to blame for the crime that changed them forever. Subramanian, S. 2018. In the Wake of His Damage. The Rumpus, 12 May. https://therumpus.net/2018/05/in-the-wake-of-his-damage/.

hooks, bell. . 1994. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge. The music was later incorporated into military funerals and played as a final farewell to symbolise that the duty of the fallen soldier was over and they could rest in peace. The book focuses on Henry and Keelin Kinsella, whose lives changed forever when a young woman, Nessa Crowley's lifeless body lay in their garden after a wild birthday party at their big house.The mystery is satisfying, but heart of the book is domestic violence, and the many shades it can wear. I felt that it made me look and think differently about why women stay. And it made me angry and sad. It got right in under my skin and made me itch with all the uncomfortable feels. Beliso de Jesús, A., C. Beltrán, L. Catelli, E. Creed, M. Cuesta, A. Dávila, Z. Dinzey, et al. 2018. Open Letter against Media Treatment of Junot Díaz. Chronicle of Higher Education, 14 May.

Space will be available for wheelchair users and other spectators who might find it difficult to view from the general public areas. This area is located on the west side of Parliament Street, close to the junction with King Charles Street. Space in this enclosure will be offered on a first-come, first-serve, basis. One carer or guest per person will also be admitted and a toilet for those with accessibility needs will be available nearby. A few notes on the general story: O'Neill habitually sprinkles Irish words and phrases throughout the story in a way that feels somewhat... unnatural. As a multi-lingual speaker, I rarely see second languages interspersed in that specific way within a narrative which makes me feel as though these words were researched just to 'Irish-ify' the story a little more. I also didn't really understand Jake's character. He goes through a period of victim shaming and gaslighting which felt really uncharacteristic, and it seems this was completely looked over as he and Keelin are friends again in the next scene as if nothing happened. I do wish Jake and Noah had more of a prominent role.I loved the premise of this book, wherein a documentary crew decides to investigate and re-visit all evidence relating to a long unsolved murder. As a first foray into a new genre, After the Silence is a change in direction for the Cork writer, but one that still plays to her strengths. Our protagonist Keelin Kinsella has a troubled past, having fled an abusive husband with her young son Alan in tow. She remarried to the wealthy and charismatic Henry, son of a prominent hotelier. They have a daughter together and live comfortably well-off on the fictional, windswept island of Inisrun, off the Irish coast. However, Keelin is haunted by more than one event from the past. On a stormy night ten years prior, a much-loved local girl Nessa Crowley, one of the beautiful, smart and popular 'Crowley Girls’, was killed at a party in their house. The murder is unsolved, and the islanders presume either Henry or Keelin responsible, although nothing has ever been proven. Magnet, S., C. Lysandra Mason, and K. Trevener. 2014. Feminism, Pedagogy, and the Politics of Kindness. Feminist Teacher 25 (1): 1–22.