Member Review

Claire Keegan’s ‘Small Things Like These’ takes Ursula K. Le Guin’s hypothetical about the ethics of ignorance from Omelas into the lived experience of 1980s Ireland. It’s a short book that focuses on a working class, middle aged father Bill Furlong, as he grapples with what it means to have just enough, while also having much more than most.
To me, this was primarily a story about confronting my own power and powerlessness. This book is Bill Furlong’s anxiety-ridden introspective journey from feeling helpless, to recognizing (with gratitude) the privileges and kindness he has been granted, to ultimately seeing himself as an individual with choice and power despite not being in an apparent position of power. At the core of this book is the choice between ignoring your conscience, and confronting the invisible power structures that you as an individual benefit from. The people of this small Irish town also remind the reader that each of us has the ability to wield kindness, cruelty or generosity with every interaction.