So Late in The Day by Claire Keegan is a collection of three previously published short stories, in lieu of a new book, that will assume be out next calendar year, and in response to the global demand for anything, anything, from the sudden (? She has been winning awards for many years, but has not been on the A-List circuit til recently) sensation and literary fiction author.

The three stories in this collection have in common men who are jerks among other things. And very fine insights into male-female relationships. And superb writing as we have come to expect from Keegan.
1) “So Late in the Day” is a short story that was published in The New Yorker in February 2022. It’s maybe the most “contemporary” story I have yet to read from Keegan, whose work has a kind of fifties quality to it, with a touch of fable or myth thrown in. I just reread “A Forester’s Daughter,” about a loveless marriage between Deegan and Martha, set in the fifties, maybe, and this story made me think the two were connected in many ways. But here we are in contemporary Dublin, where a man, Cathal, who works in an office, develops a relationship with Sabine, who grew up in Normandy. The fact of her being an outsider provides some of the perspective here on Irish men.
As with the man in “The Forester’s Daughter,” Cathal is feeling his age, and thinks he ought to get married, but he has an odd way of approaching Sabine on the issue: “Why don’t we marry?” (As the story proceeds, we can make a long list of why not, actually!) She laughs and urges him to explain what this is all about (and he never says love):
“About making a life, a home here with me. There’s no reason you shouldn’t live here instead of paying rent. You like it here—and you know neither one of us is getting any younger.”

Deegan, in “A Forester’s Daughter,” similarly is concerned with aging and money--being financially responsible, not romantic--for instance, not wanting Martha to spend his hard-earned cash on roses. Nor does he speak of love; this is a marriage of convenience.

In “So Late in the Day” Cathal objects to the cost of the engagement ring, (as with almost everything they buy):
“Do you think I’m made of money?” Sweet guy, right?

Sabine, as with Martha, is getting older, as she lives with three “younger” roommates. Her time for marriage may be passing! We don’t see why it is she finally decides to marry him, but as with Deegan, it’s not obvious to the reader that there are many advantages!

The story is at times as we have come to expect from Keegan, subtle; Cathal works on writing rejection letters (ha!) to arts grant applicants, as later we see the story is about rejection.

While both stories focus on misogyny--the French title of “Late in the Day” is “Misogynie”--”The Forester’s Daughter” is maybe a bit more subtle and complex. “Late in the Day” is seen--and I like this--from the perspective of the shallow Cathal, but his view of women is sometimes just too much on the nose: “That was part of the trouble—the fact that she would not listen, and wanted to do a good half of things her own way.” When she moves in she’s “pushing things aside, as though the house now belonged to her, too.”
“I just don’t know about this stuff, that’s all.”
“Which stuff? My stuff?”
“These things. All your things. All this.”

As the story proceeds she confronts him on why he has never thanked her for any of the cooking she has done for him, why he never does the dishes, why he always gripes about the cost of things he buys for her. “And why is it so many Irish men seem to refer to women so crudely as ‘c---ts?’” He shrugs all of these things off.
Rather than just show us, however, we are lectured on misogyny:
“You know what is at the heart of misogyny? When it comes down to it?”
“So I’m a misogynist now?”
“It’s simply about not giving,” she said. “Whether it’s not giving us the vote or not giving help with the dishes—it’s all clitched to the same wagon.”

Not that she isn’t right, but it’s too pointed, theme-pointing. It’s better when we see Cathal sitting alone, drinking champagne and stuffing himself with cake, watching a BBC series on Lady Diana, in the dark: “. . . he felt himself falling into its relief and a new darkness.”

That is powerful, to be sure. He’s lost but doesn’t know it. And he’s not sorry, except for all the expense. So this is an unhappy relationship as was the relationship between Deegan and Martha. This is that same story, part two, in a way, updated, as if to say: This is a tale of some Irish men; nothing has changed.

Here you can read it yourself as you hear Keegan read it aloud:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20…

2) The second story, “The Long and Painful Death,” the opening story in her collection Walk the Blue Fields, is about a writer who gets a grant to write at a writer’s retreat, in the same cottage once occupied by Heinrich Böll. She is visited by a man who thinks all who have written there are unworthy of Böll’s name. It’s maybe a little slight, but Chekhovian light, writerly, a writer looking at a writer. But the man is a jerk, a misogynist, a snob. As above, he is not willing to give her anything, including the benefit of the doubt. As with Cathal, this man does not respect her, does not see her. He's threatening, threatened by her in some ways, too.

3) The third story, "Antarctica," is the first story in her collection by the same name. The story is about a married woman who decides to find out what it might be like to sleep with a man other than her husband.
“It was December; she felt a certain closing on another year. She needed to do this before she got too old”-- again, this business of feeling we have to do something quickly because time is passing.

I thought it had echoes of the wistful longing of Joyce’s “Eveline,” who is kind of paralyzed by her circumstances, with time passing, and a man in the picture. Then, there's the ending that Joyce could never have written--different times, less innocence--that is the thing many readers seem to feel had the most impact in the whole collection, and I get that, though I felt a bit disappointed by its predictability. The man is again, a jerk, but more than just threatening. It's not a typical Keegan story. Yes, these things do happen in the world.

Well, Keegan is currently one of my favorite authors. Foster is brilliant, and her short story collections in general are also amazing. These three stories are not my favorite of her stories, but they do give you three different perspectives on misogyny. Iff you are reading these stories for the first time, and this is all you have ever read by Keegan, you will probably rate this five stars. I just know more of her work to compare them to.

Oh hail the Queen! In my mind Keegan is the undisputed Queen of the Short Story and this collection just reinforces my belief.

The first of the three, the title story, is the longest and to me the most moving. She just writes about mundane every day life but then boom hits you with a line that completely stops you in your tracks. She's just has such an insight into the human psyche and relationships. She's not frivolous or wasteful with her words and can say so much in so little.

The second story The Long and Painful Death was a strange and moody little one. I thought it was so clever and just so unexpected. Geez she's good. You can picture every detail without being overloaded with detail. Such a skill.

The final of the three Antarctica is also the first and the title story in the separate Antartica book, that I only just realised is full of her short stories. I am picking it up ASAP. It is a little darker, a little grittier - and I was here for it! I read it last night and woke up still thinking about it.

Loved it and highly recommend anything written by Claire Keegan!

These three short stories encapsulate the complex interchanges between men and women and for me, provoked thought on the biological and sociological differences between us that make these connections so difficult.

The first story follows a usual day in the life for protagonist- Cathal, as he reminisces on an old relationship turned sour. Despite Cathal’s masculine derived toxicity and refusal to accommodate and negotiate with a woman he’s supposed to love- the reader still ends up feeling astonishingly sorry for him. This illustrated for me a seemingly innate capacity for emotional understanding that women possess which reinforces the longevity of misogynistic treatment.

The final chapter was my favourite. The intertwining of love, lust and a deep hunger for power, this vibrantly powerful story follows a woman as she cheats on her husband and relieves herself of her daily duties. We learn quickly though, at what cost. The protagonist suffers what seems an eternal purgatory in a horrific ending.

It was nice to see Keegan move away slightly from her usual normalcy in terms of story line here.

It left me hoping that if one is abused, manipulated and killed simply for being a women- then let death be kinder then man.

I’m *almost* positive that all of these 3 stories are reprints, repackaged to look like her 2 bestsellers. They were good! And unsettling.

Three feels-inducing, fast-paced short stories with super-smooth prose and vivid descriptive language that will leave you wanting more is how one should like to spend their lazy evening. All three of the stories play around several intense themes including regrets, attachments, love, lust, disloyalty, and misogyny, just to name a few. I personally liked the second and the third one better. They all are so simple yet so thought-provoking. You somehow end up in those stories among the characters, looking in like an old lady who lives across the street with cats.

If Claire decides to fledge out these stories in the future into whole novels, I’m definitely going to be here for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

My only complaint is that I wanted more. I could read Claire Keegan forever. She captures what it is to be human like no other.

Keegan is a master of the short story form, and these three short stories are her at her best. The titular story, ‘So Late in the Day’ is particularly powerfully told. These stories each display different relationships between women and men, and are each perfect commentaries on gender, misogyny, and modern relationships. The women in these stories, especially, are beautifully complex characters who find themselves at the mercy of the men in their lives, and each make for enthralling (and at times terrifying in the case of Antarctica) tales of womanhood.

There is little else I can say about this book other than just demanding that you read it; however, I’ll quote some lines that I think will just about convince you to pick this one up.

From ‘So Late in the Day’:

‘What did you imagine?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Not this. Just not this.’

‘That was the problem with women falling out of love; the veil of romance fell away from their eyes, and they looked in and could read you.’

‘He had looked at her then and again saw something ugly about himself reflected back at him, in her gaze.’

From ‘The Long and Painful Death’:

‘She undressed, lay down and reached for her book and read the opening paragraph of a Chekhov story. It was a fine paragraph but when she reached its end she felt her eyes closing, and happily she turned out the light knowing that tomorrow would be hers, to work and read and walk along the roads to the shore.’

‘Ireland is not the same,’ he said. ‘People here were poor but they were content.’
‘Do you think it’s possible for poor people to be content?’

From ‘Antarctica’:

‘He kissed her then as if there was something in her mouth he wanted. Words, probably.’

This mini-collection of three long stories should please fans of Claire Keegan who are clamoring for more of her distinctive work. The title story was published in The New Yorker in February 2022 and is the subject of a recent TNY podcast in which George Saunders analyzes what makes it a truly great story. https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/fiction/george-saunders-reads-claire-keegan

"So Late in the Day" introduces us to a man in his office, distracted by some recent event, which his co-workers appear to know about. But everyone maintains a "stiff upper lip" and proceeds as usual. Keegan slowly reveals the source of his preoccupation and pain, performing a surgical dissection of a complex relationship.

The other two stories are from earlier collections. In "The Long and Painful Death" (from Walk the Blue Fields, 2008), a writer receives a retreat in Heinrich Boll's former cottage on the Irish coast but has trouble getting to work. A visit from an opinionated German academic disturbs her peace and serves as the catalyst for her writing.

"Antarctica," the title story of Keegan's 2001 collection, follows a married woman as she takes a weekend trip to shop and enjoy the thrill of taking a lover. But things do not turn out quite as she'd planned.

Keegan's placid, elegant prose is a contrast to the stormy inner lives of her characters. She maintains tension and a sense of mystery as she carefully exposes the truth about these three "relationships." Across 128 pages, she never makes a misstep in her prose or storytelling craft. Each story is a near-flawless diamond that rewards examination from many angles. If you haven't read Small Things Like These or Foster, put them at the top of your TBR list.

Thank you Netgalley for this e-ARC!

So Late In The Day is a masterfully curated collection of stories that explore interpersonal depths and the meaningfulness of life. Each story presents a highly detailed and complex conjunction of emotions and Keegan is an expert at capturing the deeply isolating experience that is life.
While The Long And Painful Death stands out the most, all three stories make for a wonderfully pleasant and engaging read. Keegan's writing is languid and gleams with the poise of a narrator all too aware of how to keep the audience coming back for more.

Claire Keegan’s short story collection, “late in the day”, is very thought provoking and introspective. I found myself pondering the purpose of life and the position that women hold in society. While these stories reflect a lot of individuals experiences in life, I found it slightly sad and hard to read some of them.

“So late in the day” is the first novel, focusing Cathal, a man who lost his fiancé and now is in a self reflective state reminiscing on life and his choices. This short story was difficult for me to really lose myself in just because this is the experiences of so many women in the world. And I suppose that’s the purpose of this story, to prompt us to think about gender and the preconceived ideas prescribed to women and their life.

“The long and painful death” focuses on a woman and her experience traveling to stay at the böll house for a writing retreat. She interacts with a self important rude German man, and finds inspiration for her story.

“Antartica” is about a woman leaving her family for a weekend to find a short fling. Little does she know she is walking into the grasp of a scary predator who will do anything to keep her. As a young woman, this story was the hardest for me to read. This woman just wanted a fling- and although I wouldn’t have don’t it, - she didn’t ask to be held against her will and potentially killed for wanting a one night stand. Unfortunately this is the fate for countless women who find themselves victim to the will of a stronger man. This is so real and so sad that it exists.

Overall it’s very well written, and I could envision these stories happening in real life. The characters were very well developed, and I think we all know at least one of them in real life. I didn’t super enjoy any of them just because it was kinda depressing for me, but I appreciate having been made to think critically about life and being a woman.

Thanks to netgalley for being given an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Compulsively readable. The writing flows and I sped through it in a day. The chosen stories work well as a collection and support each other thematically.

Here are my reviews for each story and a rating out of ten.

So Late in the Day 8/10:
The alternating timeline was effective and the chapters made it easier to read. The start was a bit weak, a bit forgettable. By then end, I couldn't remember the story's intro or why it was relevant. A satisfying ending.

The Long and Painful Death 8/10:
I loved the setting of the seaside house. Impressed by how naturally character details were revealed. Like the previous story, a weak introduction that didn't hook me, but I loved how the story unfolded and it's conclusion.

Antarctica 10/10:
Perfect! Very strong introduction that grabbed me from the first line and did not let go. I liked the ending, but I didn't love it. Strong dialogue that was used well and sounded snappy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this short book by Claire Keegan.
Claire Keegan is a wonder. She is, in my opinion, up there with great short story writers like George Saunders and Kelly Link.
These three stories all address the relationship between men and women. I understand that they are expanded versions of earlier works. They seem perfect to me and I wouldn't want to go back and read the original. There is a melancholy to all of them that builds throughout. The dialogue is pitch-perfect for today's people. Keegan doesn't force endings that would make a reader happy. The endings are what they are and leave us thinking for a long time.
I will be reading this beautiful book many times.
I hope other readers do too.

I went into this book completely blind, which was a fun experience. It is made up of three short stories, all three exploring a woman being constrained by a man in different ways. Keegan’s writing is brilliant and I devoured it in one sitting. I particularly liked the first story, as it was more nuanced and I felt I know several men who would have similar internal dialogues to the main male character (ick). These stories are not light, and the third is particularly dark. I would highly recommend this for some very well written, thought-provoking feminist stories.

Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don't frequently give 5 star reviews, but this book is fantastic. I've read several of Keegan's novellas and enjoyed each of them, but I found these short stories to be more personal and relatable. Each story centers around a woman navigating her place in the world despite the constraints of men. The stories are written to be savored-the events unfold slowly, layer by layer, but simultaneously build to deep plots. The writing felt akin to Rachel Cusk's Outline trilogy, though I felt a stronger connection to the women in these stories. This is a book I will read again and again.

Claire Keegan is brilliant. Her writing is captivating and her characters so real. I find I read a paragraph over and over because I just can't get enough. Her writing is sparse and reminds the reader it doesn't take many words to convey a feeling, to connect to a character. These stories are poignant and take my breath away.

I wasn’t able to vibe with these stories. Out of all the stories I was able to follow Antarctica the best because there was only two people conversing in the story. I found myself searching for what the narrative of the other stories was trying to tell me. I appreciate receiving this arc but I think stories this short aren’t for me because I’m not able to be in the narrative long enough to enjoy what’s happening.

Claire Keegan is always a must read for me, so I was very excited to see not one, but three short stories from her! To be honest, I lost a bit of interest as the stories went on, but I think that’s just because I enjoyed “So Late in the Day” more than “The Long and Painful Death” and “Antartica”. (Also, “So Late in the Day” isn’t quite as sad or shocking as the other two!) These stories are very quick reads, but definitely heavy and emotional.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"So Late in the Day" was my first Claire Keegan work; I've heard about this author's other works such as "Small Things Like These" and "Foster", so it was a pleasant surprise to see her latest work on Netgalley.

At barely over one hundred pages, this was a quick read. The collection was comprised of three short stories, the central focus being on the relationships between different sets of men and women. Keegan's insights into everyday sexism and misogyny were clear, concise, and poignant. Additionally, there was a thru-line of feminine escapism in their many forms, which wound up being the most intriguing bit for me.

Overall, a solid trio of short stories.

(The third story, Antarctica, was my favorite.)

I consider Keegan’s two short novels Foster and Small Things Like These to be small masterpieces, and so was keen to read this collection of short stories. Sadly they did not live up to my expectations. Although well written, I didn’t find them particularly original, and in fact one of them was surprisingly predictable. Her particular skills are in evidence but strangely toned down and lacking in the nuance and intensity I so enjoyed in the novels. All three of these stories have been published before and I suspect the publisher has brought this volume out now to cash in on her current renown. Unfortunately they don’t show Keegan at her best and I was disappointed.

He likes her, fell in love, and asked to marry her. She gave her life, and he starts complaining; about every itty bitty, trivial details.
A man, with his massive audacity, complains to a woman on how she should live her life.
And there's Antartica. Woman, went on vacation, planned to cheat on her husband, and got what she deserved.