Doomed Love Affair in Northern Ireland
Written: Nov 28 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: true story told simply and with painful honesty
Cons: could have done with more judicious editing
The Bottom Line: A true story of a forbidden and doomed love set against the backdrop of Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s, with all the inherent sectarian violence.
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| jc_hall's Full Review: Scott Graham - Violent Delights |
Subtitled ‘The True Story Of An SAS Hero’s Love For An IRA Killer’, this novel is not likely to be picked up by a reader who insists on a happy ending. Fittingly enough, the title ‘Violent Delights’ is taken from Shakespeare’s play of star-crossed lovers.
“These violent delights have violent ends,
And in their triumph die; like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume.”
Romeo and Juliet Act II, Scene VI
The year is 1974 and the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland is rising and soon to reach a peak. The British Army has been sent to maintain the peace, but the Catholics feel that they are siding with the Protestants, and so anti-English sentiments are high among the Catholics in general and IRA sympathisers in particular. The story begins as Scott Graham locks eyes with a pretty young girl in a Belfast pub. She speaks in a lilting Irish brogue and he cannot disguise his own English accent. He figures that if he were to tell a young Catholic Irish girl that he’s a soldier with the British Army, chances of his being spat on (or worse) would be high, so he tells her he’s a welder. She in turn does not reveal all about herself, but the attraction is mutual, and soon they develop a physical and emotional relationship, despite the fact that they cannot be seen together by family, friends or colleagues.
As this forbidden relationship progresses, Scott keeps up his pretence of being a welder, telling Mairead that he’s off on lucrative welding jobs in other parts of Europe when in fact he’s being sent back to England for training. In the meantime, as Mairead struggles to live in a country where discrimination and violence form a big part of daily life, she finds that her sense of injustice and outrage can no longer be suppressed. Joining in major street demonstrations whets her appetite for more political activism, and soon she is given the chance by the IRA to plant a bomb. Completely unaware of Scott’s true identity, she discloses to him details of this, and her indecision as to whether she should go ahead with it. What Scott chooses to do next seals the fate of not only Mairead but himself, propelling the two of them through years of regret that would come to a head only more than a decade later, with disastrous and tragic consequences.
Scott Graham’s story is a true one and, one suspects, needed to be told as much as a sinner needs to repent. The entire story is told in first person, a device that works well in this case. The writing style is simple and straightforward, and could have done with better editing, but what it lacks in style and art, it makes up with openness and honesty. Indeed, the account is painfully honest, and though this reader could not help but think that the tragedy might have been averted if only the author had handled the first crisis differently (honestly would have been useful then), the fact remains that it happened, and needs to be told as such.
There are 4 pages of photo inserts in the middle of the book, and I would advise readers not to look through those until you get to them, otherwise you’d pretty much be expecting something you don’t want to know from the very beginning.
There are lots of details regarding the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s, and unless you are already well acquainted with this, it may take a while to get all the terminology straight and understand who’s who and against whom. Other than that, this is a story that would appeal to anyone with an interest in Northern Ireland (the Rock of Gibraltar incident, in particular, is covered in great detail), the British Army (there are interesting details of Scott’s rise to become part of the famed SAS), and doomed and forbidden love.
This is an entry in Lean-n-mean IV being hosted by Sleeper54.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jc_hall
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Member: JC Hall
Location: Toronto, Canada
Reviews written: 199
Trusted by: 53 members
About Me:
Going back to Vancouver for Christmas! Happy Holidays, everyone!!
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