Naomi Marchand

     From a young observant writer comes a work of fiction that reminds adults in our modern era of our recent history with the perils of religious prejudice.   

     The Troubles, is a historical thriller belonging to the innocent victims of both sides of the prolonged IRA struggle.

    This book is set in 1971 Belfast. The ‘Oglaigh na hEirheann’ has evolved through many factions since its inception in 1913.Tensions have been building during this era and while colorfully painted, peace lines have been erected to theoretically protect warring Catholics and British sympathizing Protestants who live, but seconds from one another, all is not calm and war is coming.

    Though the subject matter appears to be somewhat traditional, the author’s specific take transforms Belfast’s struggle into an entirely new dilemma. The focus on two protagonists emphasizes the human cost on both sides of the conflict and draws in empathy for both from its readers.

    Alastar Taggart is a young Catholic, though spiritually Druidic man, who gets manipulated and drawn into IRA action by a scheming figure. Meanwhile, a naïve Kiera Flanagan, the daughter of two pious, Protestant parents, is pursuing Irish Paganism as her only virtual solace. Both young adults are united not physically by tangible proximity, but by the shared belief that by beholding their verdant land’s ancestral religion all violent conflict may be tamed. By delving into the nature-based doctrine of paganism, they attempt to remedy themselves and the island of all that is ill! What they must do first is counteract their own human instinct for revenge as blood is spilled and they have life-altering choices to make.

    This novel allows the reader to feel what it was like to live in Belfast when there was such strife. Romantic desire and religious apathy may have an affect upon any citizen from within their own land, which is the crux of the story. Throughout the exploration of the main characters disillusionment and subsequent desire for one another, another force is guiding the story, one that cannot be trusted, full of malicious intent. Can both protagonists survive their saboteur and live their lives peacefully away from Belfast? Perhaps their crosses will be too heavy to bare.