Dec 3

Dec 3 Small Things Like These

Author: Claire Keegan
Publisher: Grove Press
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

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.

TL;DR Review

Small Things Like These is a deceptively simple, deeply resonate little book about a dark part of Ireland’s (not so distant) past and the danger of community complacency. I really, really liked it.

For you if: You like short books that pack a punch.

Full Review

Small Things Like These is a very short but impactful novel that probably never would have made it onto my radar if it hadn’t been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. But I’m so glad it did! I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this one.

The novel itself is set around Christmastime in a small Irish town. Bill Furlong, who runs the local coal plant, is wrestling with some mid-life what-ifs, but otherwise has a lovely life with his wife and daughters — especially considering his parentage, which includes an unknown father and unmarried mother. Luckily, his mother’s employer gave Bill a secure childhood and saved them from landing in a bad situation. In the present day, Bill finds himself face-to-face with the town’s terrible open secret, and he must decide whether to keep his head down for the sake of his family or act and risk the consequences.

This book is soooo short (only a little over 100 pages), but it packs a big punch. Claire Keegan’s prose is straightforward but also cinematic, and she does a lot with seemingly so little. She really makes you think about individual responsibility in the face of group complacency, what it means to be true to your values (in Furlong’s case, Christianity), and the complexities of morality. I closed the book and thought, “Wow, that was really excellent.”

I also really enjoyed meditating on her decision to set this at Christmastime — can any of the characters be likened to figures from the Bible? How does this story interact with the nativity? I’d say more, but I don’t want to give spoilers — but come to this month’s #BookerOfTheMonth book club chat and let’s discuss it!