Michelle Dunne’s novel While Nobody is Watching is released on June 27, so the timing is perfect for a guest piece here. And, of course, she’s an Irish author who lives in Ireland, so why wouldn’t I want to include her guest post? She has some book suggestions that might appeal to nonfiction readers. After her post about Entertainment, I’ll talk a little about her novel published by Bad Press Ink.
Thank you, Michelle.
Entertainment
My taste in books is quite varied, but having been raised on Who done it’s, I do tend to lean towards fiction – thrillers mostly, with Lee Child, Karen Slaughter and their ilk never failing to impress. That said, I’ve had an ongoing love affair with the writings of Ireland’s sweetheart, Marian Keyes, which started somewhere in South Lebanon in 1998. Following weeks of shelling, morale was on the low side in our tiny UN camp when I received Rachel’s Holiday in the post from home. Being the only female in camp at that time, Marian was the perfect tonic… but not just for me. Having been spotted laughing out loud, more than once, when in real life, there wasn’t much to laugh about, the first man to take the book when I’d finished (with fake begrudgery), proceeded to read it in secret for fear of being caught indulging in chick-lit. But in an area roughly the size of a postage stamp – there were no secrets and over the course of the next few weeks, men were seen chuckling left, right and centre. Thanks to Marian, a small queue formed to take Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary from me, which had come in the same package. So called chick-lit brought smiles and LOLs to a camp fuelled by stress and testosterone, at a time when it was sorely needed. So while I love to be brought to the edge of my seat, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for a book that can make you laugh out loud, even when you really don’t want to.
So yes, I’m a massive, MASSIVE fan of all things fiction. However…
When it comes to non-fiction, I have a particular interest in Irish military. As a neutral country, our military tends to be severely underestimated by the rest of the world and for the most part, they never get to hear just what we’re really made of. Three books in particular absolutely need to be read.
Take Declan Power’s The Siege of Jadotville for example (became a film in 2016). It tells the true story of how a battalion of Irish peacekeepers, 150 men with very limited fire power and equipment, withstood a siege by 3000 Congolese troops. It’s an incredible story that the whole world should hear.
Hidden Soldier by Pádraig O’Keeffe is most worthy of a mention given the fact that it’s bloody outstanding and hard to believe that it’s a mémoire rather than a Kathryn Bigelow movie script.
Shadow Warriors: The Irish Army Ranger Wing by Wayne Fitzgerald & Paul O’Brien gives the first ever look inside Ireland’s secretive special forces unit.
But there is a down side to reading exceptional and inspiring stories like these, for me at least. Have you ever closed a book and felt annoyed by each and every bad movie you’ve sat through in your lifetime? Do they not know that stories like these exist? And if so, why aren’t they putting them on the big screen and bringing them to the rest of the world? How many more alien invasions do we need to be saved from (by a drunk in a crop duster) before anyone tells the story of a man’s journey from a small Irish town to the French Foreign Legion, to security services, to Cambodia, to Bosnia to Haiti, to Iraq, to a hospital bed in Germany, not to mention how he managed to survive the bullet holes? And all that AFTER he was denied entry into the Irish army. Unsuited to the life apparently (Hidden Soldier).
Outside of books and movies, I do like to switch off with a good box-set from time to time. Homeland is one of my favourites, though it always freaks me out how spot on it is, politically. For example, I just watched an episode where Sol is in peace talks with the Taliban leader. The following day there was a US announcement that they’ve entered into peace talks with the Taliban! How do they do that – EVERY season??
My idea of entertainment hell though… Real Jersey Housewives of Love Island, or whatever passes for reality TV these days. I just can’t do it.
But escapism comes in so many forms; books, TV, music, podcasts – whatever takes your mind off the humdrum of daily life can’t be a bad thing… unless its hour after hour of mindless scrolling through other people’s (fake) fantastic lives. Or am I the only one who thinks there’s no inspiration to be found there? Spare time is so valuable in this high stressed, crazy world. Let yourself be transported to another world from time to time. Choose wisely and you’ll hardly ever regret it.
*****
As I said, While Nobody is Watching is released on June 27. Here’s the summary.
A semi-inflated football and a curious little girl.
They called it peacekeeping. For Corporal Lindsey Ryan it was anything but.
It’s been three years since that bright day in the Golan Heights and the explosion which killed two and changed the survivors forever.
Now Lindsey deals with the many problems of the city’s troubled youth, to distract her from her own. But as damp days turn to night the kids return home, or somewhere like it, and she returns to her own private war. One that exists solely for her.
Certain that she’s being watched and certain that she’s losing her mind, Lindsey battles with the demons of post traumatic stress, while a very real threat edges ever closer until she finds herself face to face with someone who wants nothing more than to finally help her to die.
And it’s the last person she ever could have seen coming.
Blue helmets and blurred lines – While Nobody is Watching delves into the dark world of PTSD and a battle scarred soldier struggling to find a place in her new world.
While Nobody is Watching by Michelle Dunne. Bad Press Ink, 2020. ISBN 9781916084537 (paperback), 308p.
I just put Marian Keyes, on my library list, as well as a few others mentioned here. Thanks.
Thank you, Gram!