Silver Linings: Travels Around Northern Ireland Book

Silver Linings isn't just another book about Northern Ireland's history. Martin Fletcher's book is about the people of Ireland, their community spirit (built out of adversity, and perhaps all the stronger for it), traditional pastimes and old-fashioned names. "In the course of my work," the author tells us, "I met some of the most chilling people I have ever come across in 18 years of journalism: paramilitary leaders, terrorists, bigots consumed by mindless hatred. But I also met some of the most inspiring: former bombers and gunmen striving to make amends for past misdeeds, victims of terrorism who have managed to forgive, women who have stoically endured the most crushing losses, clergymen and community workers battling the evil in their midst." The book is also about the country itself; its lush green farmland, and the city of Belfast at the head of the Belfast Lough, "straddling the Lagan River valley and ringed by high hills". Martin Fletcher tells his story in clear, precise prose that never falters, never resorts to sentiment or hyperbole. He was initially sent to Northern Ireland as a reporter for The Times, but while reporting on the tortuous peace negotiations his wife was meeting the ordinary people, finding "a charming and delightful side of the place that outsiders never hear about". Although essentially a tour of the country, the real story is told in endless digressions, with the author hunting rats on an island in the middle of the Strangford Lough ("My wife, Katy, was strangely reluctant to come") and participating in the ancient game of road-bowling, in which players compete to hurl iron balls along two or three miles of country lane. "If the ball hits a grate, or a signpost, or someone's leg, that's tough."--Daren KingRead More