The Butchers' Blessing

Written by Ruth Gilligan

Narrated by Heather O'Neill and John Keating

Every year, Úna prepares for her father to leave her. He will wave goodbye early one morning, then disappear with seven other men to traverse the Irish countryside. Together, these men form the Butchers, a group that roams from farm to farm, enacting ancient methods of cattle slaughter.

The Butchers’ Blessing moves between the events of 1996 and the present, offering a simmering glimpse into the modern tensions that surround these eight fabled men. For Úna, being a Butcher’s daughter means a life of tangled ambition and incredible loneliness. For her mother, Grá, it’s a life of faith and longing, of performing a promise that she may or may not be able to keep. For nonbeliever Fionn, the Butchers represent a dated and complicated reality, though for his son, Davey, they represent an entirely new world?and potentially new love. For photographer Ronan, the Butchers are ideal subjects: representatives of an older, more folkloric Ireland whose survival is now being tested. As he moves through the countryside, Ronan captures this world image by image?a lake, a cottage, and his most striking photo: a single Butcher, hung upside down in a pose of unspeakable violence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705003831

Reviews for The Butchers' Blessing

[rsairs_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting book, showing the remarkable similarity of strongman leaders.

[ericcostello-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was disappointed in this book, largely because I think the inclusion, semi-inclusion and omission of various leaders is either random or all-too-deliberate. The book purports to be a study of how strongman regimes are similar in that they have similar characteristics, such as violence, corruption, misogyny, &c. What is bizarre, however, is that the author simply waves away Communist regimes as being part of "closed societies," which to my mind arbitrarily excludes Fidel Castro, even though Francisco Franco is included. For that matter, there are occasional references to the Chinese and Soviet-era governments, which makes you wonder why the strongmen of those regimes were excluded in the first place. There are also a number of other curious omissions, such as Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, Ferdinand Marcos and Juan Peron. Some of the other strongmen listed as "protagonists" in the front of the book, such as Saddam Hussein, and Recep Erdgogan, only flit in and out of the book now and again, which makes you wonder why they're included at all. The statement that Indira Gandhi did not seek to "destroy democracy" is quite dubious, considering she ruled under emergency decree for a number of years, unlike Berlosconi, Trump and Bolsonaro. If the latter three are included on the grounds of seeking to destroy democracy, the author doesn't really explain how two of them left office via elections, one twice (though the author does try to shoehorn in the "January 6th" incident). While some commonalities are discussed, I think the odd omissions of other cases, and the obvious reaching to try to tag Berlosconi and Trump as strongmen, make this a weak book, and it's not recommended by me.

[jeremybrashaw · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nothing really earth shattering or “new” here. However it is a well-written and engaging introduction for those who maybe aren’t as versed on the topic.

[write5review · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How Authoritarians Gain, Keep, and Lose Power

New York University historian and cultural critic Ruth Ben-Ghiat draws on her experience analyzing and publishing on Fascism to give readers a clear-eyed perspective on modern (post Mussolini) authoritarians and wannabes like the former president of the world’s leading democratic republic. What openminded readers and the observant will find so striking about Ben-Ghiat’s analysis is how U.S. political leadership parallels the toolbox used by some of the world’s most destructive authoritarians. She focuses on a real rogues gallery of depots, with special emphasis on Mussolini, Hitler, Erdoǧan, Gaddafi, Pinochet, Berlusconi, Putin, and America’s own Donald Trump. What makes her work at once enlightening and frightening is how well the authoritarian toolbox has worked here in the U.S.

Ben-Ghiat divides her analysis into three parts. She begins by drawing on historical records to show how strongmen use demagogic techniques to rouse the most base aspects of human nature among a usually disgruntled minority, and how power brokers who see something to gain and misread their own power to control the strongman enable him. Once in power, she cites example after example of how these empowered strongmen employ a variety of techniques, now well known to Americas, to maintain their power, while also self-deluding themselves. Among these are what we have come to know as the MAGA appeal; propaganda, which includes distortion of facts, destruction of fact and critical thinking, and outright lying; any number of demonstrations of male virility, from bare-chested exhibitions (Mussolini and Putin) to flagrant abuse of women (Mussolini, Gaddafi, and Trump); violence, from intimidation and murder, to silence opposition (all in the gallery); and turning groups and associates against each other. Thoughtful readers who cast their minds back on the past several years of U.S. history will easily visualize much of this in our own land. But nothing lasts forever and strongmen are no exception. After people finally wakeup to the real facts, that their lives have taken a turn for the worst, they eventually rise up to oust the strongman, who in the wake of the people’s wrath topple, sometimes into a puddle of incredulity regarding their weakness, both psychological and physical.

Some people have criticized Ben-Ghiat for omitting purported communist leaders. However, tyrants of any political persuasion are at heart tyrants. When you look at the likes of these modern demagogues, such as Castro, Chávez, and others you might toss out, they operate from a similar playbook. While these rogues might have begun with noble ambitions, to the man they transformed in dictators like Ben-Ghiat’s cast of bad men, with similar sad and destructive results for the people they ranted about helping.

Only one more thing to say: read this book; learn the toolkit; and keep you eyes wide open.

[wellreadcatlady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book I read this year that included the made cow disease BSE as part of the setting in a historical fiction. I loved the story being told from different perspectives and how it all wraps up being related. Una and Gra believe in The Butchers and are left to wait for Una's dad when he is doing his work around Ireland, Fionn and his son Davey live at a farm the father is making bank during the Irish Beef Boom that can pay for his wife's treatment while Davey wants nothing to do with the farm. Then there is Roan who is taking photos as art and captures something truly disturbing relating to The Butchers. There is a lot that happens in this 300 page book and the writing keeps the plot interesting and the story moving in a haunting tone. Highly recommended!