Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Small Things Like These

Set over the course of a few days in Ireland, a man is forced to confront his own demons when he unwittingly stumbles upon one of Ireland's infamous Magdalene Laundries a few days before Christmas.

This was a quick little read, just barely over novella length.

The prose was lofty and beautiful. The characters were packed a big emotional punch. To my only criticism ory the book is that I wished it were *slightly* longer. By the time I felt like it really got going, it was almost done. In an odd way it reminded me of Emily St John Mandel’s “Sea of Tranquility” despite being very different in terms of genre. Something about how lyrical and yet short and sweet it was.

There's also a movie adaptation with Cillian Murphy that just premiered at Berlinale, which looks great. This book is great for anyone looking for a quick yet still deeply emotional read

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m_a_j's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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fightmemacbeth's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A coal delivery man in 1985 Ireland goes about his regular life in the weeks leading up to Christmas. But he wonders about more than just living in endless routine.

I thought the writing style was beautiful, even though some of the dialect was new to me. The narrator of the audiobook did a really good job.

"nothing ever did happen again; to each was given days and chances which wouldn’t come back around. And wasn’t it sweet to be where you were and let it remind you of the past for once, despite the upset, instead of always looking on into the mechanics of the days and the trouble ahead, which might never come."

I related heavily to the main character, who didn't know his father and thought about it regularly. But he also struggled with wanting to help others and doing what is best for himself and his family. Not in a selfish way, but he had a lot of kindness and not a lot of resources. I could feel his ache and understand his struggle. The internal battle between knowing there is goodness in people, but also seeing the worst of people.

Summarizing the whole book without spoiling it would be difficult, but it definitely took a turn I wasn't ready for.

I really liked this book. I wish I would've have looked for content warnings, so I knew a bit more of what I was getting into.

THE ENDING HOWEVER. I struggled with the endings ambiguity. There were so many loose ends and things left unknown, and I really don't like those kinds of endings.

I would recommend this book to someone looking for something deep and thought provoking, who may not have a lot of time on their hands.

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kaiulanilee's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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afion's review

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3.5

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Like interesting but kinda disappointing cause i wasnt rly a fan of the writing tbh, girl rly said ‘he let out a breath he didnt know he was holding’ 😐

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eveningreverie's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very beautifully written and poignant. The last couple pages threw me off a bit—it felt a little bit “men should care about what happens to women because they have mothers”—and I think there was some way Keegan could have approached the zenith of the story with a little more universal emotional resonance, but all in all this was an immensely successful presentation and framing for this story.

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ellagrady's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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