A review by karteabooks
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

 I picked this book up as it perked my interest as it is one of the books on the Booker longlist this year. 

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant, and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. 

Having read this during a heatwave, I feel that I can’t quite give it all the stars, maybe if I’d read this around Christmas, it would have felt all that more atmospheric and it would have gained another star. But conversely, it did give me lots of mouth dropping moments as I read about women’s struggles and the way that they were treated for things that weren’t always within their control, or they had no way to protect themselves against the consequences. All the hurt and suffering with the blessing of the Church and ‘ordinary’ people just turning a blind eye, as that was what happened then. I was starkly reminded as I read that this was still happening, within my living memory, up until 1996! That just left me speechless, and for me there were just no words. Thankfully the main character, Bill decides to start to make a difference, and give everyone the chance to have their own voice. 

 This novella was beautifully and poignantly written, and the ending gave me just a flicker of hope for their futures.