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A review by caoilo
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
5.0
Thank you so much to Faber and Faber as well as NetGalley for this amazing ARC.
There is not much I can say about this book, not because it was bad, I actually liked it, but it's so short that almost every word I wright might be considered a spoiler. I promise to do my best.
Keegan describes the idyllic Irish life so well you almost forget her dedication at the front of the book. We are swept up in her description of this small town that can almost seem like eons ago and at the same time just a decade or so. We follow Bill and his life, switching between the current day, which is set in 1985 and his childhood, perhaps around the 1950's. In some ways his life has been blessed but not without hardship. Yet if there is one person in the town to be known for their kindness it is Bill Furlong. And that is exactly why he is the main character. We watch as he struggles to decide if he should act with kindness, or keep to himself for the sake of conforming to social convention. Help someone less fortunate or incur the wrath of society?!
This book is powerful in the way that it contrasts the beauty of the country with the ugliness of it's society. The faces who smile back at you when you meet them in the street but are self serving in private. The culture that said " love they neighbor" and yet ignored those most in need. Said "judge not lest you be judge", yet acted as judge, jury and executioner all because they had the power to.
Any one reading this book should find it easy to pick up on the abuse women suffered and suffer. This is a skilled piece of (in my opinion) feminist work. Keegan doesn't need to may it loud and brash, she lets the truth do the work.
It is impossible for any feeling human to come away from reading this book with no emotions. I had to wait days just to be able to write a coherent review.
My only complaint about this work is that I wanted to know what happened to Bill, his family and his new friend. There was no way this went without consequences. Even though Keegan broke my heart and left me in a dark void with no answers I have to give this a five.
There is not much I can say about this book, not because it was bad, I actually liked it, but it's so short that almost every word I wright might be considered a spoiler. I promise to do my best.
Keegan describes the idyllic Irish life so well you almost forget her dedication at the front of the book. We are swept up in her description of this small town that can almost seem like eons ago and at the same time just a decade or so. We follow Bill and his life, switching between the current day, which is set in 1985 and his childhood, perhaps around the 1950's. In some ways his life has been blessed but not without hardship. Yet if there is one person in the town to be known for their kindness it is Bill Furlong. And that is exactly why he is the main character. We watch as he struggles to decide if he should act with kindness, or keep to himself for the sake of conforming to social convention. Help someone less fortunate or incur the wrath of society?!
This book is powerful in the way that it contrasts the beauty of the country with the ugliness of it's society. The faces who smile back at you when you meet them in the street but are self serving in private. The culture that said " love they neighbor" and yet ignored those most in need. Said "judge not lest you be judge", yet acted as judge, jury and executioner all because they had the power to.
Any one reading this book should find it easy to pick up on the abuse women suffered and suffer. This is a skilled piece of (in my opinion) feminist work. Keegan doesn't need to may it loud and brash, she lets the truth do the work.
It is impossible for any feeling human to come away from reading this book with no emotions. I had to wait days just to be able to write a coherent review.
My only complaint about this work is that I wanted to know what happened to Bill, his family and his new friend. There was no way this went without consequences. Even though Keegan broke my heart and left me in a dark void with no answers I have to give this a five.