While Claire Keegan's book Small Things Like These may only be a short book – 128 pages – it really packs a punch. It's the story of a man, Bill Furlong, who is born illegitimately in Ireland but through the kindness of his mother's employer navigates his childhood and becomes a coal deliveryman. While delivering coal to the Magdalen laundry, he meets a girl locked in a shed who has recently given birth but who hasn't been able to see her child. Initially he is reluctant to become involved but finds himself back to try to help the girl.
One of the things I loved about the book was not just how it was written but how much wasn't written. Once the girl is with Furlong, the story ends but we've had so much detail about the repercussions about what might happen going up against the powerful catholic church that we know that there's a whole other tale to be told. And there's no need to tell it – this isn't a Disney movie – and we can let our minds spiral off through all sorts of permutations and wonder what might have happened.
We really enjoyed the story and it led to a lot of discussion about the church and social mores.
Our next book is The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin. See you at Nice Guys on Nov 1!
