I really enjoyed Claire Keegan's "Small Things Like These" so I was really excited to read this collection through Net Galley. I didn't actually realize these were previously published short stories. All three were excellent. Keegan does an amazing job of portraying her characters so solidly especially when you consider the short length of some of these stories.

This is a short collection of Keegan’s works, made up of So Late in the Day, The Long and Painful Death, and Antarctica.

The first, So Late in the Day, posed some difficult questions for me and how I have thought about those I have dated in my life – what it is that I had expected and what the implicit energy behind my actions had been.

The Long and Painful Death is another tale of an author - nothing spectacular, but with the added benefit that I learned about the Heinrich Böll cottage and the 2-week residencies that they offer authors who want to just go and write and be.

Antarctica is one of her oldest pieces, repurposed for this collection. It was certainly the most surprising in terms of tone and content matter, given what she has done previously with Foster and Small Things Like These.

If you love Claire Keegan, I am willing to bet that you’ll be okay with most of what happens here.

Thank you to Grove Press for the ARC.

Thanks to Grove Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Claire Keegan's 'So Late in the Day.'

Claire Keegan's work is sparse and spare and kicks you in the guts. This collection of three short stories/novellas is no different. Men do not come off well in these stories but, then again, nor do women, especially, so it's probably fair!

'So Late in the Day' sees a young man who was raised in a particular family dynamic unable to shake that behavioral-type when he meets a woman he thinks he'd like to spend the rest of his life with only to find that, in the course of a generation, things have changed.

'The Long and Painful Death' sees a female author beset by an entitled male author who thinks he's more deserving of the privilege that has been afforded to her.

'Antarctica' is a somewhat different story than I've previously associated with Keegan and features a woman who embarks on a 'final fling' and who's left in a predicament she didn't see coming.

Claire Keegan's writing is, as always, to the point and cutting while remaining beautiful.

It's Claire Keegan, so every word and sentence is precise and considered for the effect she's creating. But man, if Foster and Small Things Like These evoked hope and the reassurance that people (men, especially) can be good, then this collection reminds readers of how awful people (men, especially) can be.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

REVIEW
So Late in the Day feels like a departure in Claire Keegan’s work. The short novella evolves around a day in Cathal’s life. A seemingly ordinary day of work, commuting from Dublin to home in Arklow, a microwave dinner, and watching a random television show, while eating leftover cake. But Keegan wants us to pay attention to the details, the title of the book the woman sitting beside Cathal on the bus is reading, the knife used to stab the plastic of the Weight Watchers chicken and then to cut the cake, the tab of small amounts of money that Cathal keeps in his head, how Mathilde the cat is locked in and locked out, the socks left by the sofa.

So Late in the Day is the story of a brief relationship between Cathal and Monika and Keegan’s exploration of misogyny. The construction of the narrative is deceptively simple, but Keegan is a master at her craft, and while the perspective appears to be that of Cathal as readers we are seeing his thoughts and actions through the eyes of Monika. The device is effective and the result is a narrative written in a language that is full of the mundane, scarce, direct, and devoid of the lyricism of her earlier works. The action takes place in a series of interiors from the office, to the bus, and house, where Cathal closes the curtains blocking the summer light from coming through the window. The claustrophobia of the enclosed spaces on a hot day in July echoes the hopelessness of the story. Perhaps a woman escaped, but others are walking into doors in Ireland in 2017, where couples attend a Vermeer exhibition and some men look at the masterpieces and just see portraits of women sitting idly as if waiting for their male counterparts to give them animation or meaning. Similar to her previous work, So Late is a compelling story to reread and unveil layer upon layer of meaning and I invite you to do just that when it comes out later this month.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for this proof. Reviews of the other two stories included in this collection coming soon.

Three fantastic short stories, exploring the relationship between men and women. Misogyny is rampant.
The style of Keegan's prose always reminds me of Joyce's Dubliners, haunting slices of daily life.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan to read and review.
So Late in the Day is a collection of three short stories, which all center around a certain theme, and showing men to be just, well, awful. But also the women are possibly no better. In the case of 'Antarctica', a woman decides to cheat on her husband, and unfortunately the man she chose to sleep with was an awful possesive person. Was that maybe the price she had to pay for her actions.
Out of the three stories, i felt the first one and the title of the book was the better, I really felt I could understand Cathal and was in his mind.
Unfortunately, 'The Long and Painful Death' and 'Antartica' made me feel quite uncomfortable and I didn't enjoy those so much.
Short stories are newer for me to read and i'm starting to learn what I do and don't like in them. While I read Claire Keegan's previous book 'Small Things Like These' and really enjoyed it, this one didn't quite hit the same mark.

Even though I had already read two of the three stories in this collection I savored reading them again and certainly got a greater appreciation rereading them. I had never read the story Antarctica before and can say this goes to a place you are not expecting (not a literal place like Antarctica however) The author treats a number of ways that things between a man and a woman can go wrong from condescension and extreme selfishness to quite an extreme( to say more would be a spoiler). After finishing this collection I read the author’s earlier collection Antarctica and now I have read all the published Claire Keegan that is readily available.

I’ve read the two latest hits from Claire Keegan, the Booker Prize nominated Small Things Like These and the recently re-published novella Foster. I enjoyed them both very much, but this is definitely my favorite of her works I’ve read thus far.

Keegan clearly excels in the short form. This upcoming collection of 3 of her previously published short stories (“So Late in the Day”, “The Long and Painful Death”, and “Antarctica”) takes a look at the complexity of relationships between men and women. Each character in these stories is wanting: companionship, independence, or maybe brief human connection. And Keegan masterfully subverts these characters’ expectations with masterful attention to detail.

Her every word feels deliberate, but not overwrought. Keegan’s ability to write succinctly about a characters emotional state or their physical surroundings is a pleasure to witness. She also captures Irish dialect and dialogue with such naturalness.

I loved these stories. I would definitely read them again. And I think fans of Keegan’s work will find a lot to enjoy in this brief but powerful collection. I only wish it had included more stories!

Three short stories – all of which have previously been published but which are thematically linked by the difficult dynamics between men (particularly those bought up to resent females) and women.

“So Late In the Day” was published in the New Yorker in 2022 (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/02/28/fiction-claire-keegan-so-late-in-the-day), “The Long and Painful Death” was part of her 2007 collection “Walk The Blue Fields” and “Antarctica” was the title story of her 1999 collection of the same name.

“So Late In the Day” features an office worker Cathal reflecting on how his actions/inactions/lack of generosity caused a relationship to break up, just as he was about to get married. A highlight of the story is a brief tableau he remembers of how he and his brother’s tricked his mother, and how his father’s amused rather than furious reaction probably made Cathal the man he is today and therefore still alone. If I had a criticism of the story, it is that the last line seems delivered like it’s a twist when it is anything but.

“A Long and Painful Death” is about a short story writer taking up residency at the real-life Henrich Boll Cottage in Achill Island, being harangued by a self-righteous German literature scholar and taking revenge in writing a short story in which he has the fate of the title – this was I thought a clever little story although I was unsure quite how metafictional/autofictional it was.

“Antarctica” was my least favourite as I really did not understand what I was meant to take from the story – a married woman decides to have a one-night stand just to experience sex outside marriage but what initially seems a diverting experience takes a serious turn.

These stories to show Keegan’s mastery of the short story form – although I prefer her at more Novella length.

My thanks to Grove Atlantic for an ARC via NetGalley.

I loved this collection of three short stories by Claire Keegan, all of which take place in Ireland. Though the book is short in length, it is deep and intense. The main theme running through all three stories is the unexpected emotional and physical violence delivered to women by men..

The first story, and the book's title, is So Late in the Day. The protagonist is Cathal, an emotionally stingy and withholding man. He reflects on his prior relationship with Sabine and how it went wrong. Not only were there misunderstandings, but Cathal resented Sabine's expectation of mutual love and respect. Now that the relationship has ended, he villainizes her and revels in his perceived power. He has chosen denial in order to make himself look like the winner in this misguided relationship.

The second story, A Long and Painful Death, is about a 39 year old woman who has been granted a residency for her writing at the Heinrich Boll house on Achill Island. She is interrupted by knocking at her door and reluctantly answers. It is an older man, a German professor, who is envious of her residency and whose presence makes her uncomfortable. Her personal space is violated and, after he leaves, she envisions giving him a long and painful death in her writing.

The third story, Antarctica, is the most powerful and violent. A married woman with children tells her husband that she is going out of town to buy Christmas presents. Her intention, however, is to pick up an unknown man and have anonymous sex with him. What transpires had me transfixed and horrified.

Claire Keegan is a brilliant writer. Her ability to display a situation without apparent drama, allows the reader to visualize and imagine what is communicated between the lines. She is a wordsmith who weaves beauty out of language.

The way Claire writes is beyond beautiful. She can write about rural Irish life like no other. the yellow of the shaving light, the sounds and smells took me back to childhood. You hate and love a character all at the same time, So Late in the Day was my favourite and I will be thinking of Cathal for a long time to come, he reminds me of a friend, the sad realisation that they will never change.

A master at the top of her game.

Claire Keegan gives us these three stories in this collection:

So Late in the Day
Long and Painful Death
Antartica

A thread which I found ran through the three stories was the theme of giving and receiving.

In the first story we have a man unable to give and unable to receive in good spirit leaving him in a very lonely place. I thank God that Sabine made the right choice rather than spending a life giving without receiving.

In the second story we have a woman who has her own way of doing things. She meets a man who tries to impose his way of doing things on her and who is willing to take and impose without even giving a small complement as a sign of appreciation.

In the third story we again see 'giving' as a mutual giving between a woman and a man which is then turned on it's head when the giving is abused and turned into 'taking'.

An ARC gently provided by author/publisher via Netgalley.

This was my first time reading Claire Keegan and I discovered her when she was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
This small collection of short stories surprised me with their direct approach and the strong message that they convey. Violence towards women is the thread that unites them.

You can see different types of violence directed towards women in this stories. The first story for me is the most intimate and the saddest because the violence comes from someone who you love and don't expect to be hurt by them. I suppose the blow is more painful because of this supposed love between them.
The third story provokes in you a feeling of utterly injustice and desperation. On one hand, women are not objects you can posses and on the other hand we are always so much condemned and so severely punished for our choices than men have been through history.

Thank you for this advanced copy.

A short story looking over what ‘may have been’ if you played your cards right, or if you said something different. Cathal with a bottle of champagne thinks of how Sabine could have been his wife if - there were many ifs here.

Cathal is troubled from the beginning - did the relationship spin too fast, did it get out of his control. The cracks appeared with his frugal ways - with feeling as well as money. Cathal seemed to be his own enemy . He said the wrong thing at the wrong time, did not think through what he said, or it was omission on his part of saying nothing when he should have said something.

The book was contained and seemed just right for this story. Anything more would have been too much.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this advanced copy. I've loved Claire Keegan's writing since reading Small Things Like These and Foster. So Late in the Day didn't disappoint and what it gave were three interesting short stories. I found there were strong messages across the three - of women, relationships, masculinity and power - which stayed with me once I finished the collection. Antarctica was by far my favourite, the ending was quite something (without spoiling anything). However, The Long and Painful Death fell flat for me and dulled the experience somewhat. Overall though, an enjoyable read and just what I was hoping for from the author.

I loved the first two stories in this collection. These were really interesting separate stories connected by the common thread of a person narrating from outside of a marriage. Isolation is a key theme but loneliness seems to be a choice for some characters.
I hated the last story but I was surprised by how gripping and tragic I found the final pages to be. I wish there was more to read! Thank you for this arc.

These three Short Stories, almost extended essays in length, have been published between one and nearly twenty five years ago. They tell tales of men and women against an Irish backdrop. "So late in the day" paints a poignant picture of an Irish-French relationship shattered by misunderstandings. The second story, "The Long and Painful Death," melds real-life events with European academia in a semi-rural setting. "Antarctica" delves into anonymous intimacy, showcasing diverse perspectives on relationships. While the first two stories resonate deeply, and remain memorable, the third explores a more conventional theme and is almost a cliche often depicted in popular media. This collection , all previously published, explores love, connection, and miscommunication and leaves a lasting impression.

Claire Keegan's writing remains a treasure trove of emotion and description, and her latest collection of three reworked short stories is no exception. Each novella, characterised by Keegan's signature sparse prose, is a gem in itself. While standalone, they collectively explore the intricate gender dynamics and the looming spectres of control, violence, and unrealized expectations within relationships.

"Antarctica," my personal favourite, chronicles a woman's journey out of town for an affair with a stranger, capturing the essence of the anthology's overarching theme. Keegan's deft exploration of these themes is a testament to her skill and craftsmanship as an author.

For fans of Claire Keegan's work, this collection is a must-read, a showcase of her ability to evoke profound emotions with economy of words.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions shared here are entirely my own.

"Women falling out of love. The veil of romance fell away from their eyes."

Claire Keegan presents three short stories bundled together with the kiss of an eye-opening touch. She explores women at the core and men at the peripheral of relationships half-kiltered because of faulty decisions......decisions on the giving and on the receiving and on both ends.

So Late in the Day tells the tale of the caustic Cathal reflecting back to the days spent with his fiancee, Sabine. Sabine is Normandy French and Cathal is from Arlow outside of Dublin. She swirls with the right side of her brain working in the Hugh Lane Gallery and creating lush desserts. He leans to the left side of his brain hunched over his desk with facts and figures and budgets. And yet, the destiny of opposites seemed to attract.......at least momentarily. And just who walked away when the pressures of pleasing the other became too much?

The Long and Painful Death is one of discovery. A young woman writer has been gifted with access to the Boll House used as a working residence by the late Heinrich Boll, a Nobel Prize winner for Literature. She's brought all the items of her craft, but she can't quite seem to settle into her writing mode. The beauty of Nature and Achill Island beckons to her. That is until an unexpected German professor interrupts her with his boldness. And, ironically, he'll become her focus for the day.......irritating and clearly misogynistic in his carriage.

Antarctica, my favorite, showcases a woman running away from her present life and towards something nebulous to fulfill her in the moment. She's been bogged down by an unfulfilling marriage and the unending demands of childcare. She plans a Christmas shopping excursion by herself for the weekend. And what transpires in that weekend will leave you quite startled.

Claire Keegan is a gifted writer. She has captured the essence of these characters so well even in the confines of short stories. We 'feel" them on both sides of the equation: male perspectives and female perspectives. We observe psyches caught up in certain concrete expectations never breaking free towards change. Brilliantly written, So Late in the Day is a must read.

I received a copy of these short stories through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Grove Press and to the talented Claire Keegan for the opportunity.