Small Things Like These

By: Claire Keegan

Narrated by: Aidan Kelly

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FOSTER, ANTARCTICA AND WALK THE BLUE FIELDS

'This is a tale of courage and compassion, of good sons and vulnerable young mothers. Absolutely beautiful.' -Douglas Stuart (Winner of the Booker Prize 2020)

'Marvellous-exact and icy and loving all at once.' - Sarah Moss

'A haunting, hopeful masterpiece.' - Sinéad Gleeson

It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.

The long-awaited new work from the author of Foster, Small Things Like These is an unforgettable story of hope, quiet heroism and tenderness.

'[Claire Keegan] creates luminous effects with spare material, so every line seems to be a lesson in the perfect deployment of both style and emotion.' Hilary Mantel

©2022 Claire Keegan (P)2022 Faber & Faber

Critic reviews

'Marvellous-exact and icy and loving all at once.' -Sarah Moss 'A haunting, hopeful masterpiece.' -Sinéad Gleeson

'This is a tale of courage and compassion, of good sons and vulnerable young mothers. Absolutely beautiful.' -Douglas Stuart (Winner of the Booker Prize 2020)

'[Claire Keegan] creates luminous effects with spare material, so every line seems to be a lesson in the perfect deployment of both style and emotion.' -Hilary Mantel

What's the point if we don't help each other?

A novella, and such a powerful one. Simply and beautifully told - you don't get a sense that you're in 1985. But yes, there story is essentially set in modern times. As the story unfolds, it certainly doesn't feel that way - it feels like something out of 1885. And there, in our time, something atrocious - the Magdalene Laundries - was happening in plain sight and no one did a thing about it. In this story, one plain man, a good man, asks - what's the point of being alive if we don't help each other? And where everyone else chooses to look the other way, he lends a hand and helps - well knowing that hardship will come at him and his family from every side once he helps. It's a great read - I read the paperback first, then wanted to listen to it, too. Highly recommended.

Exquisite writing

Claire Keegens writing is exquisite, diamond Sharp, not a superfluous word. You live in the story and the characters are beautifully realized as well as Irish life in 1947. The book is not long but because of her writing one feels the satisfaction and joy of having been utterly absorbed by a much longer novel.

Stunned again

A world of trouble does in fact face all those who act bravely and those who do not. The novelist strikes vivid fear in all of us who have seen small things like these and acted one way or the other. Spellbinding story. The scene between the Mother Superior and the main character is so full of restrained malevolence, I could hardly breathe. Sadly, so many of us have faced such people amongst us. Powerful people - and we lose all agency. Read this.

Magnificent

A beautifully written and excellently narrated story. Subtle and nuanced but incredibly powerful and moving.

Faithful (mostly)..

Largely wonderful… but the reader is questionable… is his accent a good match? His voice / accent are perfect but his intination is somewhat paternalistic and therefore risks a perception of condescension. Another irritation was the at times pronunciation, for example, ‘briquettes’ should have been rhymed with ‘rickets’ to fit with the usage of the time…

Very gently told

I loved the narrator and the story was beautiful if sad. She has a wonderful mastery of the sparce.