Living with War: 2a Belfast Diary

All right, I only spent 6 months in the city, which is hardly any time at all, but from what I saw and heard, Sally Belfrage's wonderfully ballsy and observant book hits it right on the head. I fell in love with Belfast, and when you read this book, you'll see why. I know a few people over there who swear by "Living with War," - which has none of that partisan nonsense, thank heavens. Finally a book as crazy, funny, sad, thought-provoking and phenomenonally surreal as the city itself!

Sally Belfrage is an American who lives in London and attempts to unscramble the obvious, intricate dissenion that exists in Northern Ireland. An almost impossible task for anybody. I was therefore sceptical at first when picking up this book and wondering how anyone, who has spent a fragmented year in Belfast (which is a short time) to write a book on this very complex problem. I was pleasantly surprised as she handles her topic in a professional, unbiased, journalistic approach. For the novice that knows little of the Northern Irish conflict, she summarises in brief but accurate detail the origins of each group and then progresses into introducing the different points of views, fears, anger of the various groups. She does this by introducting you to everyday people and their lifestyle, not limiting it to any one particular section of this multi-faceted area, always trying to show as many angles as possible. Her style of writing is swift and visually descriptive so that the reader is able to obtain a very accurate description of what it is like to actually be in Northern Ireland. It is filled with horrific stories but at the same time with inspirational reflections. Her stylistic tempo never wavers or slows down. I realised after reading this book, that it is often an outsider who will give a reader the broadest and most unbiased story of all if they have researched their topic sufficiently, which she has