Book review: Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These is one of those rare novels that don’t have a lot of words but they all count and will stay with you once you close the final page. Claire Keegan is well known for short stories, sometimes expanding them into ‘long short stories’, but she describes Small Things Like These as a novel, despite its 128 page length.

At the heart of the story is coal and timber merchant Bill Furlong, a fundamentally good man. He runs a respected business in an Irish town, treats his workers well and is kind to customers who are experiencing hard times. He and his wife Eileen have five daughters and while the family doesn’t have much, it has more than many and he adores his girls.

What drops into Bill’s world in this powerful story is knowledge. So the question at the heart of Small Things Like These is what he will do with it. To set the scene, the book takes place in the run-up to Christmas in 1985. It’s a busy time of year for Bill, but as he goes about his work and life it’s clear he has something on his mind; in time that is revealed as something he witnessed while delivering coal to the local convent.

While there have been other books and films about the horrendous Magdalen laundries, they have focused on the experience of the girls and women incarcerated in them. As Keegan explains in her note on the text, ‘These institutions were run and financed by the Catholic Church in concert with the Irish State’.

In Small Things Like These, she explores the perspective of someone who becomes aware of what is happening and wrestles with his conscience. Can Bill ignore what he has witnessed to avoid risking his daughters’ future at the church school next door to the convent?

For sure, ignoring it is what happened in many Irish communities. As Bill is told by cafe owner Mrs Kehoe, “‘Tis no affair of mine, you understand, but you know you’d want to watch over what you’d say about what’s there? Keep the enemy close, the bad dog with you and the good dog will not bite”.

But for Bill, it’s not that simple and we understand why as Small Things Like These reveals more about him and his childhood. Despite its length, the book gives us a clear picture of his life and the conflict he faces.

It’s a beautiful, moving book and it’s no surprise that only three years after publication there’s already been a movie version in cinemas starring Cillian Murphy and produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I’ve already added that to my watchlist but would recommend reading the book first. It won’t take long and will definitely be time well spent.

As with many books I read, I borrowed Small Things Like These from my local library. Or you could try a secondhand book retailer like Oxfam or Awesome Books. And for more book reviews visit the Books section of my blog.