Winner of The Irish Times Literature Prize for Non-Fiction.


In 1986 Keenan left Belfast, where he was born into a Protestant, working-class family, for Beirut and a teaching job at the American University. Soon after arriving, he was kidnapped by fundamentalist Shi'ite militiamen and held hostage, apparently because they believed he was British. Despite pleas from the Irish Embassy in Beirut, he remained a hostage. Keenan here unveils a tale of resistance, Irish style, incorporating many of the nonviolent methods that Irish patriots have used over the years--fasting and "going on the blanket," i.e., choosing to remain naked rather than wear prison clothes. Initially confined to a 4 6 cell, he withstood monotony and filth. Eventually, he was moved into a cell with John McCarthy, a British journalist from an upper-class family. The dichotomy in their backgrounds made for instant friendship. Ironically, the "stars" of this memoir are the Muslim guards, religious fanatics who were capable of great kindnesses (a birthday cake for McCarthy) and brutalities (vicious beatings). A riveting and terrifying read that finally ends with the exhilaration of Keenan's inexplicable release (he neglects to tell us, though, about McCarthy's fate).