This book was not what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed it none the less. Through the eyes and experience of a poor coal and timber merchant, we get a glimpse of conditions in the Magdalena laundries in Ireland. What is shocking is that this narrative takes place in 1985 and not 1895! The narrative is juxtaposed from the narrator's experience, whose own mother (a household maid) gave birth to him out of wedlock and yet his mother was not shunned by her employer but welcomed into his patron's family even when his mother died. When he stumbles upon a shocking situation during his coal delivery to the convent/ laundry on Christmas eve, he makes a decision that changes his life. This is truly a well written, yet brief story, which needs to be read and discussed and reflected upon by all moral people who uphold the dignity of life and want to learn from history. I would rate this book an enthusiastic 5 out of 5.
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

I feel like Claire Keegan has a talent for writing a perfectly poignant and hard-hitting short story. In ‘Small Things Like These’ Keegan pays tribute to the many Irish mothers who were sent to Magdalen laundries (otherwise known as mother and baby homes). These women were incarcerated, forced into work, and often separated from their babies. Women died, their babies died, and this was allowed to happen until 1996 when these institutions were finally abolished.

Keegan is very good at creating the surrounding with which her writing is set. Her writing reads like folklore, and ‘Small Things Like These’ is no different, with Keegan showing us the events that lead up to the protagonist's current life and the choices that the protagonist, Furlong makes.

In some ways, this is the story of a man’s reconciliation with having no father figure, being taken in by the kindhearted Mrs. Wilson, and the ways that this upbringing has affected him.

I couldn’t see where the plot was heading to begin with, as it details a lot of Furlong's early life, growing up, and present-day family life. However, the text comes full circle in a lovely way - with his mother unexpectedly falling pregnant out of wedlock and being taken in by Mrs. Wilson, Furlong’s moral compass is solid and he aspires to always do right. Despite not being socially acceptable, Furlong does the right thing by helping a young girl at the Magdalen Laundry institution. Within the story’s own context this was a brave, but morally right thing to do and the story opens up a conversation about how many lives could have been saved, had more people like Furlong noticed the abuse taking place within these institutions.

The characterisation is interesting because often characters grow and develop but in this one, Keegan allows furlong to keep his moral standing intact throughout, which is think is a refreshing approach to characterisation.

Small Things Like These is a beautiful and chilling novella. The cold weather of the setting, the lead up to Christmas, perfectly matches the deeper subject matter of the Church’s treatment of young vulnerable women. I found myself shivering more than once and being thankful for the warm family home I have.

The story ebbs and flows slowly, matching what I imagine to be the steady tread of Bill Furlong as he goes about his business. Through her main character Keegan not only challenges the actions of the church, the Magdalen laundries and the Irish government but she faces a profound question: does where we come from and who are parents are matter? How much of who Bill Furlong has become is shaped from the people who raised him and how much is a result of his unknown father?

For a short story Small Things Like These is rich in characters. From the cold harsh Mother Superior at the convent to the chatty friendly Mrs Kehoe who runs the local canteen. They are all alive and it is clear they have their own stories and worries to carry around with them. This is an Ireland and people that I remember from my childhood holidays visiting the village my grandfather grew up in. The men standing outside the church before mass, the gossiping and the ever watchful eye of the church.

Heartbreaking, challenging and stark Small Things Like These will leave you grateful for times we now live in.

A little bit powerful book with a message more Catholic than what the church espousedin Ireland during these times. This book is about forgiveness and being true to yourself and your beliefs. A very very high recommend

This novella is so worth every minute of your time. It is the story of a Christmas when Bill Furlong makes some unexpected discoveries that have a profound effect on him and his path forward. Rich writing, restrained emotions, step by step reveals that unfold the story. It is astounding to me that this was still going on when I was of the age of these young girls in the story. This story lingers in your consciousness. This novella brings a novel’s worth of experience and emotion into its few pages. It is a moving story—particularly the contrast between Bill’s own history, his comfortable family life, the insulated world that surrounds him, the way others are tacitly complicit with the reality he discovers.

This novella by Claire Keegan is a poignant glimpse into the Magdalen houses of Ireland. The writing is poetic, please spend an hour of your life experiencing this.

A moving story told well. It juxtaposed Bill's warm family life with the life of the unmarried young mothers in a convent, which he supplies with coal.

Quite disturbing if this is your first encounter with the "love" of nuns in the Magdelene Laundries, and may encourage you to research more about these places, where the love of god was shown through the wrath and hatefulness of the nuns. Even more sobering when you find out that this book is just the tip of the iceberg of what really happened in there.
It's quite a short book, a novella, but a very good read.

Recommended.

Claire Keegan has written a beautiful novella and I would highly recommend it to others. This was a sweet story about a man who is reflecting on his past as he examines his actions in the present. As Christmas approaches, he meets a young woman in unusual circumstances and can choose to protect her or walk away. This book shone a spotlight on the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. Many young unmarried women went there to have their babies and were set to work. They were treated poorly and it is only recent years that the reality of these abusive institutions is being revealed.
Claire Keegan's novella has gently pulled back the curtain on how these women were treated. I really enjoyed this story and her writing was beautiful. I will definitely look out for her future work.

The story is told by Furlong, who lives in a small town and owns a coal delivery company. It is near Christmas, busy as can be, and he finds himself working from early morning till late at night 6 days a week and wonders ...is this all there is? Married with 5 young girls, his wife seems demanding and has little compassion for others. Furlong though was brought up by a rich widow who his mother worked for. His mother got pregnant at 16 and he realizes that without the kindness and generosity of Mrs. Wilson, he and his mother would have ended up in a workhouse or convent similar to one where he delivers coal. Throughout the story there is a sharp distinction between Furlongs sensitivity to others and his wife’s. The convent plays a integral part in the story, but no spoilers!
A quick thoughtful read, it made me once again remember to appreciated the good things in life and the need to help others less fortunate.

Absolutely beautiful book about kindness. This book is a great example of how a story can be told in minimal words and pages. Loved it.

This is a beautifully written and deeply powerful novella, a very human and quiet emotional exploration of the horrifying truths, myths and beliefs surrounding the Magdalene Laundries of Ireland and how the predominantly abusive Catholic institutions turned 'fallen' women into viciously abused slaves.

Set in a small Irish town in a bitter winter in the 1980s, the main character is a coal worker Bill, the story weaves around his life, his family, the town, religion and economic challenges at that time and his upbringing.

So beautifully written and engrossing, the story highlights very quietly the power and absolute authority of the church at this time, especially in a small town / close knit community.

Small Things Like These is a very low key, quick read. It’s about Furlong, a gentle man who works hard to support his wife and daughters, and quietly does what’s right.

It touches on the Magdalen Laundries, which have recently been exposed in Ireland. It is a very moving story about the dreadful lives young, unwed mothers face. Furlong, by chance, comes across one of these girls from the ‘training school’ run by the Good Shepherd nuns. In spite of knowing that he would be facing a world of trouble, he makes a decision to make things right.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Small Things Like These. Well done.

It is the days before Christmas in Ireland, 1985. As a coal and timber merchant, Bill Furlough is up before dawn and home after dark each day working to support his wife and daughters. He loves his family dearly. He wants his daughters to know they are loved, something he did not have when he was a child. His father unknown and his mother, a worker in Mrs. Wilson's grand home, died when he was very young.

One of his regular deliveries was to the local convent where the nuns ran a laundry and had a home for girls. It is here where the mettle of his beliefs is tested.

The story examines family, religion and morality. Are our values simply something we talk about or do they guide our everyday actions? This is a beautifully written short story in which Claire Keegan has carefully curated her words. This could have been drawn out into a bigger more complex tale, but the economy of words leaves the reader no place to hide from self interrogation.

This is a historical fiction, but the question is valid in today's volatile society. What do we owe our neighbors in a time of pandemic and racial and political divide? Will we just avert our eyes and keep walking? Keep ourselves to ourselves?

Small Things Like These makes a big impact.

This book was really good but also, short. Did you like it, world? It was very specific! I liked it.

At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this story. Late autumn turning into bitterly cold winter, small Irish town, economic downturn - the scene is not a happy one. But Christmas is coming up and this somehow puts you in the advent mood, waiting for something good to happen. I am glad I didn't give up reading.

The book really got me when the protagonist, Furlong, one night is having a chat with his wife about poor children hanging around on the streets, obviously cold and hungry. His idea of and attitude toward these kids and his fellow people is so different from those around him that it clearly shows that Furlong is not one of their kind.

To me this book is not about the Magdalene Laundries - being from another country, I had not heard of them before. It is about moral questions like: Is it OK to mind our own business and turn a blind eye to what's happening to less fortunate people around us? Should we follow our conscience even if we put the well-being and future of our family in risk?

I am grateful for Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an Advance Reading Copy.

I really enjoyed this novella. I felt sorry for the bullying Bill Furlong received as the product of an illegitimate birth, but admired his calm acceptance of his lot. Although he had humble beginnings, he eventually built his own legitimate family life with a wife and five daughters and his own business. Claire Keegan has drawn a likeable man who faces adversity with courage, who appears to have a stillness inside him, along with the quiet of snow falling on a struggling Irish village. But then the plight of the young women forced to labour in the convent laundry disturbs the quiet of the village and the sameness of Bill’s existence. His yearning for something different doesn’t seem achievable but yet his decision to take the girl away from the convent suggests a huge shift, not only in Bill’s life, but that of the wider community. His act of kindness and protection echoes the hand that Mrs Wilson extended to him as a child, and the promise of social reform.

This is a beautiful book. It takes place in Ireland in 1946 and 1985 and tells the story of a kind, dutiful man who was born to a single mother. Bill Furlong and his mother are helped by a generous and strong-minded widow who is like a mother and grandmother to them. There are no extras for these people but they keep each other going. Bill's mother will not tell him who his father is and he suffers much humiliation and bullying as a child due to his lack of a father. The sequelae of this are the core of this book. Bill is married to a strong woman and they have five daughters. His job is supplying coal and wood for home heating to people of the little town where he lives. He is at a crisis point but keeps slogging away, taking care of everyone but himself. All of this comes to a head at Christmas time when Bill has to decide between what is the "right" thing to do according to his wife and social mores, and what in his soul he is compelled to do out of a deeper humanity. There is tremendous depth in Ms. Keegan's writing and understanding of the human heart, and I look forward very much to reading more of her work.

Wow, this novella really is a slow burn. So poignant and I’m left with so much to think about.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Small Things Like These is a superb novel from Claire Keegan, on a difficult subject; the tragic lives of young underage mothers that were sent off to the Magdalene's Laundries.
The short novel follows Furlong, an entrepreneur who distribute coal. He is content with his life (a wife and five daughters), he considers himself lucky. When he is sent to bring coal to the local asylums led by nuns, a young girl, looking filthy and distressed, asked for his help.

This book has totally gripped me. Her prose is so stylish. in a few words, the reader feels the dark winter of Ireland. I felt that this book was almost like a Christmas carol; Furlong, besides his simple life, is full of humanity. There are a lot of themes here that are so well weaved together that I can only recommend to read it .This is a book that is already a classic.

Small Things Like These is a short novella centering on the inner turmoil of Bill Furlong as he learns more about his own life and the goings-on around him in 1985 small town Ireland. Raised by a single mother in the home of a rich widow who offered to help the two of them, Bill has a lot of things in his past that he struggles to quantify and recognize. He is married and has five beautiful daughters, and he works as a coal merchant, delivering burnables to families preparing to face the long winter. It's around Christmas that Bill begins to realize that despite the fact his life has turned out to be everything he could have wanted, he still feels as though something's missing. And he can't stop thinking back to an incident up at the church the other day.

In order to understand a good portion of this novella, you need to know about the Magdalene Laundries of Ireland, horrifically run 'homes' for young unwed pregnant women. While the story focuses on Bill, the Laundry is perpetually in the background, something he doesn't notice at first but that everyone in town knows something about, on some level. The novella raises to us the question: If you could do something, would you? There's so many levels to the decisions characters make in the novel, and when you reach the end you're caught up in whether you would have carried out the same actions, and whether you think the characters should have done what they did. The novel is left open on purpose, so that we as the readers don't get the satisfaction of knowing whether the ultimate decision was the right one.

I read this in one sitting, then found myself thinking about the implications present for quite a while after. Understanding the difficulty Bill, as well as the others in town, faces throughout the novel is an ongoing thought process. And again, it's easy to think we would do the right thing in any situation, but it's much more difficult to know what is right when you're in the situation yourself.

For a story focused on women, there's not a lot of character to the women. That's my one gripe. A novella describing the lives of women as seen from a man's perspective, while engaging, made it difficult to truly understand what was going on in the minds of all of those involved. We get little snippets of the women surrounding Bill, and I would have loved seeing more of them on the page.

Thank you so much to Grove Atlantic/Grove Press and NG for the ARC!