Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

 

Summary (from the publisher): 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.

Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.

Review: It is almost Christmas in a small Irish town in the mid-1980s. Bill Furlong is a coal merchant with a house full of daughters. One morning when he is out delivering coal to a local convent, he discovers a dark secret that forces him to confront his past and also the ways the town relies on complicit silence due to the control of the Catholic church. 

This was a very brief novella length story that features Keegan's characteristic spare but moving prose. In many ways, this novel is a reflective one, as Bill considers his past and how different his own life might have been had if his single, unmarried mother had not received the kindness and help she did when raising him on her own. And he contemplates his origins and who his father might be. His childhood clearly impacts the choices he makes in raising his own five daughters, and in the kindness he wishes to extend to others down on their luck and facing hardships. 

In many ways, this novel is about doing the right thing regardless of the consequences. Bill is a good man who recognizes how he has benefitted from the kindness of others and wishes to live by the same principles. A beautifully written novel that illuminates both the best and worst that coexist in every community. 

Stars: 4

Related Title: 

• Foster by Claire Keegan