Home › Books › A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention…
A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder
by
91/99
Critics' Rating Index
9/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
96/99
Volume of Reviews
77/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.
About This Book
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE From the award-winning author comes the gripping tale of one of the most scandalous murderers in modern Irish history, at once a propulsive work of true crime and an act of literary subversion. "A masterpiece"— The Observer • "Disturbing [and] compelling"—Colm Toíbín • "Superb and unforgettable"—Sally Rooney • "Brilliant"— New York Times Book Review • "A masterly work"—John Banville • "Fascinating"—Emmanuel Carrère • "Morally complex and mesmerizing"—Fintan O'Toole Malcolm Macarthur was a well-known Dublin socialite. Suave and urbane, he passed his days mingling with artists and aristocrats, reading philosophy, living a life of the mind. But by 1982, his inheritance had dwindled to almost nothing, a desperate threat to his lifestyle. Macarthur hastily conceived a He would commit bank robbery, of the kind that had become frightfully common in Dublin at the time. But his plan spun swiftly out of control, and he needlessly killed two innocent civilians. The ensuing manhunt, arrest, and conviction amounted to one of the most infamous political scandals in modern Irish history, contributing to the eventual collapse of a government. Winner of the Wellcome and Rooney Prizes, Mark O'Connell spent countless hours in conversation with Macarthur—interviews that veered from confession to evasion. Through their tense exchanges and O'Connell's independent reporting, a pair of narratives a riveting account of Macarthur's crimes and a study of the hazy line between truth and invention. We come to see not only the enormity of the murders but the damage that's inflicted when a life is rendered into story. At once propulsive and searching, A Thread of Violence is a hard look at a brutal act, its subterranean origins, and the long shadow it casts. It offers a haunting and insightful examination of the lies we tell ourselves—and the lengths we'll go to preserve them.
Reviews
"The unbelievability is probably most resonant."
"Or is it a beady-eyed journalist, probing for information and — above all — any evidence of guilt, while deploying literary strategies to shield his own engagement?"
"Erudite, seemingly emotionless, haughty, absolutely unrepentant, and elusive, Macarthur evaded easy analysis."
"there are moments when the delicate ethical arithmetic falters and the suspicion arises that O'Connell is trying to have it both ways, especially around his responsibility to the victims and their families."
"Which brings us back to that epigraph from Camus."
"Thus a specter haunts O'Connell's book."
"But in the context of this book, especially to readers unfamiliar with the story, it means they become ciphers ..."
"The moral murkiness of writing such a book at all is intrinsic to its architecture: there's no getting around that, by fixing his attention on a double murderer, the prestigious writer effectively signs an endorsement on the jacket cover of Malcolm Macarthur's life, declaring it darkly riveting, profound in its moral implications ..."
"...an engrossing and intimate glimpse into the psyche of an actual yet improbable murderer ..."
"Swirling together dogged reporting with questions about the media's coverage of crime, O'Connell manages a gripping account that casts a skeptical eye on its own genre."
Preview
Reader Reviews
0 reviewsSign in to write a review.
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!