Watching the Door by Kevin Myers
Watching the Door is the memoir of an ordinary young man who drifted into a war zone, made it his home and, somehow, emerged unscathed. After Kevin Myers graduated from university in 1969, a chance job application landed him a position as a journalist in Belfast. There, he was absorbed quickly into the local community. Soon he became privy to the secrets of Protestant and Catholic paramilitaries alike. In his darkly funny account of life on the streets, Myers evokes with searing clarity a society on the brink of civil war. His memoir is a remarkable portrait of those divisions, from the dedicated violence of loyalist gangs and provos to the behaviour of paratroopers, squaddies, Northern Ireland's police force and the wider population. Raw, candid and courageous, Watching the Door recalls the bloodiest time in Northern Ireland's recent past. It is a coming-of-age story like no other.
"'Dark, witty, grim, caustic, despairing, wise, searingly honest and beautifully written.. The best informed and most exciting personal account of the Troubles ever published... Brilliant.' James Delingpole, Mail on Sunday * 'Watching the Door will become an essential part of the history of the troubles. It is the most astonishing memoir of its kind that I have read in years.' Jack Higgins * 'Ghastly, hilarious, black with humour, black with death and cruelty, and lucid with humanity... The best book you will ever read about Belfast in the 1970s.' Mary Kenny, Literary Review * 'A visceral, unrelenting account... You almost feel you are walking those streets, taking hasty cover as a cannonade of machine gun fire barks fatally into the silence.' Tom Adair, Scotsman * 'Lyrical, savage, richly comic' Melanie McDonagh, Daily Telegraph * 'So remarkable that after finishing it you will find yourself casting the film that will surely get made.' Byron Rogers, Spectator * 'Raw and memorable... sharp and laconic... A book that will be read after many others about that horrible turbulence are forgotten.' George Brock, TLS * 'A masterpiece' Michael Henderson, Daily Telegraph"
Kevin Myers, writer, broadcaster and novelist (Banks of Green Willow, 2001), is also author of Kevin Myers (2001). He is now an Irish Independent columnist.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781843548201 |
| ISBN 10 | 1843548208 |
| Title | Watching the Door |
| Author | Kevin Myers |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Atlantic Books |
| Year published | 2009-02-01 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |