West Belfast begins quietly in a city in the 1960s, much like any other European city, with children playing in the streets and young people such as John O'Neill and Angela McCann exploring life and love. But it is a city that is just about to explode into violence when the Civil Rights Movement, demanding equality for Catholics, is suppressed by the government. In response, the IRA (Irish Republican Army) begins an armed struggle against the British Army and the Northern Ireland state, and we see the tragedy of people at war, the devastating effect it has on families and the lives of their children. Unlike any other modern novel about the Irish Troubles, West Belfast offers a unique perspective. The author, Danny Morrison, is a former IRA prisoner who was also Director of Publicity for Sinn Féin for eleven years and is intimately, indeed emotionally, familiar with his material.