Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe — the best book written about the Troubles, a narrative non-fiction account centred on the murder of Jean McConville in 1972 and its long aftermath. Gripping, balanced, and deeply researched, it gives a clearer picture of what the conflict actually felt like for those who lived through it than any academic history.
Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson — the funniest and most humane novel set in Belfast, written in 1996 just as the first ceasefire took hold. Two friends navigate the absurdities of a city on the edge of peace, and Wilson writes with extraordinary sympathy and wit. The best introduction to Belfast through fiction.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is not set in Belfast, but Across the Barricades by Joan Lingard — set in the Falls and Shankill during the Troubles — is worth reading before a trip to understand the sectarian geography of the city. Originally written for young adults, it remains sharp and moving.