In 1981, the conflict in Northern Ireland was a deadly serious battle. In graceful glimpses, Hunger establishes the context of murderous attacks by the Irish Republican Army on the one hand and ruthless repression by Margaret Thatcher's government on the other. The focus stays on Raymond Lohan, an officer working within one of the prison's infamous H-Blocks in the Maze Prison; Davey Gillen, a young and terrified new prisoner; Gerry Campbell, Davey's cellmate and personal guide to the harsh realities of the Maze; and H-Block leader Bobby Sands. In acutely observed scenes, Sands and his fellow inmates launch a protest, demanding to be treated as political detainees and refusing to wear prisoners' uniforms or to bathe. Conflicts escalate, prisoners are beaten and, as the dispute spreads beyond the Maze, no officer remains secure. It is this unrest that leads Sands to the extreme decision to begin a hunger strike. Cameron Bailey