It reveals a depth of spirit, a nobility of character and the sheer belligerent will that enables one to fight in the face of inhumane behaviour as well as a sadness at how far short we often fall. Two key takeaways: the importance Keenan places on humour as a humanising quality, and the prison in which both the prisoners and guards were kept (physical versus religious). Keenan is,of course,Irish,not English,as he reminded his kidnappers continously,not that they cared about the difference,but Keenan thinks that it gave him some unique understanding of his kidnappers,It allowed him to judge them as sexually repressed while referring to those do the same sorts of things in Ireland as being innocent,victims of the Brits. Keenan's experience of kidnap by Shia Moslem fanatics in the 1990's was as horrific as it was utterly senseless. But there is a moment where he directly addresses the reader and invites them inside his cell, and I think that a reader can make a decision there, to go that little bit further.

I am so glad I have read the book and have just a chink of understanding of what he and others went through. This book stands up with the classics of prison literature, one of those books that makes you look at even the most mundane example of your daily life and see your freedom in new and appreciative light. I will reveal the moments of physical abuse but with extreme care and sensitivity so that what might be vicarious and even terrifying may be underscored with sympathy.Absolutely, hauntingly beautiful, filled with lessons in moral strength and integrity that all of us should learn, but few of us ever get the chance to discover about themselves. There are occasional beatings but at no point did I feel that the author was in danger of losing his life, those beatings said more about some of his jailers that it did about him; some were sociopaths who were often just as bored and frustrated as the prisoners.

There were certain areas where I do think that he wrote in excess, and could have benefited from being more direct. There may have been more important books than Brian Keenan's An Evil Cradling, but its thoughtfulness and delicacy of feeling are unforgettable.

If you wish to read a book of a person enduring solitary and near-solitary confinement and the mental gymnastics required to get from day to day then you may get something from it.

It is an intriguing study of the emotions of human beings under such adverse circumstances and how, even in these most restricted conditions (for much of his time in captivity he was blindfolded and chained) we are able to experience a range of emotions, adapting to our circumstances and battling to survive.This book is at times almost unbearable to read, it brilliantly relates the static conditions of his captivity and the awful odyssey of his mind, how even the entry of an orange into their monotone world is a remarkable object of colour and beauty.

Anyway,perhaps Keenan explains some of the feelings that he had while held for four and a half years,I don't really believe he explained those feelings better than others but worth the read. Like a good meal or sermon, you want to glean every last nuance and morsel from it ensuring that nothing is lost, that it all sinks in. This is a memoir of his four and a half years as a hostage, enduring torture, beatings, and solitary confinement. He wrote of the trip, "I couldn’t say I was happy and excited to be back – it was far more than that.In contrast are the passages about illness and beatings were the men cared for each other and kept one another going. Scriptural in its resonances and its broad artistry, while being as gripping as an airport thriller ― Observer --This text refers to the paperback edition. I can only justify this by saying it didn't really grab me but then one could argue that there is nothing much in a true account of a horrendous hostage incident lasting over four and a half years to be grabbed by. Overall, I think Keenan struck the balance right between focusing on himself and focusing on others.