A Modern Classic

I thought I was reading a short classic story, so much is it perfectly structured with a definitive theme of kindness. However, it is written currently by an Irish writer, Claire Keegan. She studied in the United States and at the University of Wales.

It’s the story of Bill Furlong and it’s Christmas time in a small Irish town. Bill is a coal merchant with five daughters, his wife, Ellen, who is a practical wife and mother. She is a strong participant in traditions. The relationship between Ellen and Bill is a bit murky and cold, sometimes resembling the harshness of the Irish winter. Yet, Ellen, with minimal dialogue, adds to the strength of the town, steeped in its customs.

Bill never knew the identity of his father and his interactions with his daughters are sincere and protective. It is Christmas time and busy for a man delivering coal. He is generous, forgiving those who cannot pay and is well aware that the town is controlled by the Catholic Church. It is 1985, but it seems an earlier time of obsequiousness to the Church.

He finds a young girl locked up on the Church grounds and he confronts the nuns. The reader knows that he will circle back to this child and the essence of goodness and courage gives us hope.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.
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Short and sweet . Tackles the situation of unmarried mothers in Ireland, in this case in the 1980s (I for one did not know that the situation was like this then) . Written from the viewpoint of Furlong, a sweet man father and himself the son of an unmarried mother. He documents what he sees and does his best for all, helping those less fortunate when able'.
Definitely a subject that needs to be reported more. I liked the writing style very much
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I did read the summary of this book provided by Netgalley, but I still felt lost throughout the story. The writing style was good and the writing itself enjoyable to read, but I found myself constantly confused. What time period were we in? What was going on? What was the “action” of the book? I looked down to realize that the book was almost over and still wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be gleaning from the story.

I read in the acknowledgements that this was a tribute to the Magdalen Laundry houses which they had in Ireland. That helped clear up a bit, and I appreciated that Furlong had this experience of his own mother being protected and finally stepped up in the end to do the same.

There were two unexpected uses of the F-word. Caught me a bit off-guard and didn’t seem much needed. Overall, I enjoyed the actual reading because the writing style was good, but thought the storyline and cohesion could have been better in order to make the story more interesting and more understandable.

Furlong is a hard working, head-down kind of guy in rural Ireland who one day comes into contact with the Magdalen laundries. This is a slow, evocative, beautifully written novella about small communities, the Catholic Church and personal conscience. Highly recommended, especially if you like William Trevor’s short stories.

Bill Furlong "came from nothing". His mother, a domestic for well-off Mrs. Wilson, was pregnant at sixteen. Mrs. Wilson nurtured and educated Bill, becoming his benefactor, even providing him with start-up money for his coal and timber business. Bill never knew his father. Ned, Mrs. Wilson's farmhand, lived in the house with Mrs. Wilson and Bill. Bill had worked his way up in the coal yard. "It seemed both proper and at the same time deeply unfair that so much of life was left to chance." In his case, he was taught to treat people the way he wished to be treated.

It was coming upon winter of 1985 in the town of New Ross, Ireland. "...nights came on and the frosts took hold...blades of cold slid under doors. Bill's employees were tasked with packing up orders of coal, anthracite, logs, briquettes and bottled gas. During the busy Christmas season, Bill made most of the deliveries himself. "Some part of his mind was often tense:...many an unfortunate he'd seen around town and out the country roads. The dole queues were getting longer." The times were raw but Bill Furlong felt all the more determined to carry on, to keep his head down and stay on the right side of people, to keep providing for his girls, to see them...completing their education...".

Furlong was a forward thinker. His mind was always on tomorrow. Where was the next delivery route? Every day seemed to be a replica of the day prior. What mattered most in life was his wife and five daughters. With Christmas at hand, memories emerged of a simple gift that spoke volumes. Ned, the farmhand, had given young Bill a hot water bottle as a Christmas present supplying him with warmth and comfort.

Ahead of schedule, Furlong made a delivery to the Magdalen Laundry and Training School. By coming earlier than expected, he spotted shoeless girls scrubbing floors in filthy attire. Quietly, one girl begged him to take her to the river, release her from captivity. The girls worked from dawn to dusk, doing penance, and being reformed. Why? Unlocking the coal chute to the shed, Furlong made an appalling discovery. "If you want to get on in life, there's things you have to ignore, so you can keep on." But...where would he be now if Mrs. Wilson had sent his mother to a training school for unwed mothers? Bill Furlong is confronted with a monumental decision.

"Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan is a powerful, eye-opening read of historical fiction that exposes the scandal of the Magdalen Laundries. These institutions were run and financed by the Catholic Church in concert with the Irish state. "Most of the records from the laundries and mother-and-baby homes were destroyed or made inaccessible...It is not known how many girls and women were concealed, incarcerated and forced to labor in these institutions...thirty thousand is probably...accurate." Author Claire Keegan introduces us to Bill Furlong whose moral dilemma and resultant decision might send shock waves through his family and alter the trajectory of their lives. Is he brave enough?

Thank you Grove Atlantic and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very melancholic and beautiful story about courage and how hard it is to oppose the bigger ones when you are small, as well as how much the small, everyday gestures matter. I also learned about the existence of Magdalene Laundries through this book, which was very interesting. Unfortunately, the story is short, and I couldn't get as much out of it as I would have liked. I felt there was a lack of in-depth information on a few topics mention within the novel.

Thank you so much to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

This novella had a very cozy and gentle feel for dealing with such a dark subject matter. I was completely absorbed into this story, and felt all the emotions along with the main character, Furlong.

It is reiterated several times in the story how you often cannot see things that are right in front of you. This is shown in every aspect of the novella, especially the convent that the town seems to keep as an open secret. Essentially this book is Furlong reflecting on his life, the little things people have done to get him here, and how one action of his can cause so much change.

One of my favorite scenes is when Furlong is lost on an unfamiliar road. He stops and asks where the road leads, but is told that the road can take him wherever he wants to go. I really feel like this reflects on the decisions we make everyday, and foreshadows the decision that Furlong will have to make later in the story.

I truly found this novella to be lovely, reflective, and heart-breaking. It was a beautiful reading experience, and I cannot wait for it to be released so that I can purchase my own copy. In the mean time I will definitely be checking out this author's other works.

If I think about authors who write short books, but nevertheless impressive ones, Claire Keegan is one of the first who comes to my mind. I really love Foster and already recommended it to so many people. I also like her short story collection Antarctica a lot. So when I received an ARC for her new book, that will come out on November 30th, I was very much excited.
Claire Keegan writes very tenderly and atmospheric about an important and horrific part of the Irish history. Her main characters are normal people, often struggling with poverty and the decisions they have to make, are often difficult ones. She also describes society very well and how it can make people suffer unnecessarily. If I read her books, I can feel the love for her country and her criticism of certain parts of its history, doesn't do any harm to this love.

Please find my review also on The Story Graph. I am ameliasbooks on there. Unfortunately can't put in the link, it isn't accepted.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book. A short but interesting novel about the man confronted with the truth about what goes on behind the walls of a convent in Ireland. His decision to help a young mother and face the truth about his past are the pivotal pieces to this story.

Three stars from me for a novel which tries to deal with a serious issue in Ireland’s history.

"...was there any point in being alive without helping one another? Was it possible to carry on along through all the years, the decades, through an entire life, without once being brave enough to go against what was there and yet call yourself a christian, and face yourself in the mirror?"
I enjoyed this beautifully written short book. I'm not sure how to accurately describe it, but somehow the writing felt calm and peaceful. I had to keep reminding myself it was the 1980s. It seemed like it could have been 50 or 100 years earlier. It was a lovely book.

Thanks NetGalley for my copy of this book. I was somewhat surprised at the short length of this book. I had learned to like the main character and felt that there was insufficient time to get to really know him and his circumstances. The introduction of the nuns and what went on behind closed doors was fascinating and I felt more could have been done around this part of the story. I wanted to know the consequences of his actions — but that was left up to the readers imagination. This could be an outstanding book if the author expanded on the characters and the story

A small book to precisely show how the small things matter.

I thought this was beautiful, poignant and heartfelt. It was quite, a slow burn with such vivid imagery and feelings. I could feel exactly what Furlong, our main character was feeling, instantly making me feel connected to him and his story, the town and the exploration he does.

It was really a brilliant character study and a brave one too, for commenting on the magdalene laundries, where so many were wronged & so many stories were erased and forgotten.

Claire Keegan did an excellent job in exploring what matters and to do morally good things you may have to step out of the mould society tries to place you in. She combines a character study with a personal tale as well as an important event in Irish history. It was a very well done novella that packs a lot of feeling into such few pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an uncorrected proof.

This is a delightful novella about an Irish man from hard beginnings that has built himself a good life with a lovely family, and then is confronted with evidence that maybe not everything is beautiful and true in his world.

The author starts off with absolutely lyrical descriptions of the landscape, which immediately drew me in. Throughout the novel I thought the author did a fantastic of of describing so you could almost feel you were there without going completely over the top with descriptions.

When I started the book, I didn't realize it was a novella and was expecting more development of the situations and the relationships between the characters. Therefore, I thought the story was left with a lot of room to grow, and the ending was a bit abrupt, almost feeling unfinished.

It's a beautiful, well-written story, I would just like to see it as a full novel and not the more abbreviated format.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
#SmallThingsLikeThese #NetGalley

A beautifully written book that's easy to devour in a single sitting. While it obviously touches on Ireland's horrific history of the Magdalene Laundries the overall tone of the book was rather gentle. It was an interesting take to centre the story around Bill rather than the female victims which gave the book a whole different angle. I also found it surprising and quite liked how the author left the ending. However I won't elaborate on that as to not spoil it for others.

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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.

Bill Furlong has never known his father. Born to an unmarried mother, he knows he has been more fortunate than most in this position. He runs a successful business, works hard, and spends the rest of his time at home with his wife and five daughters.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is a powerful and moving vignette of the obligations and undercurrents in a catholic community in Wexford in the mid 1980s, Bill is restless, and he isn’t sure why. The girls are doing well, two of them up at the convent already, but family life feels formulaic.
This novella lays bare the scandal of the Magdalene Laundries and the moral debate over going along with it. The community of New Ross had some idea what was happening in their midst, and over this entire island, but the status quo was firmly in the hands of the Church supported by the State.
When Bill stumbles upon a situation he feels compelled to address, he lets himself be mollified by the nuns initially, but not the second time. Then he does the right thing, aware from the outset that he and his family might well be shunned over future business contracts and even places at the school.
Claire Keegan has produced another strong and beautiful work and it is a pleasure to read it.

*Many thanks to Claire Keegan, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
The book which tackles the problem of how much what we received we should give back and of how much we are shaped by our past.
A story about a catholic, a father of five daughters, who did not know his own father and was raised in a house of a protestant lady who accepted his pregnant mother rathe rather than sent her away. Bill has seen a lot and has gone through a lot but the compassion has never left him. When confronted with an appaling treatment, he makes the choice.
The plot is interesting although I did read more emotionally engaging books on the ways nuneries treated and profited from young women who were confined in them. Bill Furlong is definitely the star of the book.

What a great story about kindness, hope, compassion and courage. It's a treasure of words that delivers a short but intensely powerful historical fiction inspired by the Magdalene laundries/asylums for "fallen women" that operated in Ireland from the 18th to the late 20th century.

The novel is set during the harsh winter in a small Irish village around Christmas time 1985. Bill Furlong, born fatherless to an unmarried 15 yr old maid, works as a coal and lumber merchant. He has a good, simple life married to a protestant woman with whom he has 5 daughters. Despite his apparent contentment he often ruminates, wondering if there's more to life than what he has. One day when delivering items to a convent he comes across a terrified young girl locked up in a shed. He then encounters the rumors of the nuns and church about exploiting unmarried young women, enslaving them and selling their babies abroad. 

This book was like a loving caress. An endearing light touch full of warmth and meaning. Claire Keegan delivers an exquisite story full of humanity and heroism. 

Thank you so much to #netgalley for this e-arc.

I'm not a big fan of religion so I was a little worried after reading the synopsis on how I would relate to and feel about this book. I should not have been concerned at all about the religious factor because while there was great discussion around Catholicism it fit with the direction of the book and I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. It was an easy read and dealt with forgiveness, kindness and finding your way. I highly recommend and I'm also looking forward to reading more from the author.

This is a lovely novella that is set around Christmas 1985 in a small Catholic community in Ireland. The characters are richly described, believable and the main character, a middle class coal and lumber merchant is trying to get through his busiest time of the year in a town where a lot of people are barely getting by. While delivering coal to a convent, he happens upon a young girl locked in their coal shed and tries to help her. There is a great deal about the Magdalena Laundries run by nuns as well as their care and treatment of young unwed mothers and their babies. A lot of this has been investigated over the past few years and much of the cruelty exposed. He can’t seem to get her plight out of his mind as the days pass and begins to worry why the nuns have treated her so harshly and where is her baby? He, himself, is the child of an unwed mother who was allowed to remain in the home of her employer even after her baby was born and became a part of the family.

This is a gentle story of courage to confront the control of the Catholic Church in a small community while simultaneously realizing how his own upbringing could have been so different without the love and compassion he and his young mother were shown.