Like her short novels, Claire Keegan's short stories deserve to be read slowly, with careful attention, in order to best appreciate the subtlety with which she pulls of her writerly feats. These three stories, "So Late in the Day," "The Long and Painful Death," and "Antarctica," center on a woman's place- the expectations we put on her as a society- and what happens when she upholds or thwarts those expectations. They are not plot-driven (in the first two, arguably, very little happens), and yet, they are so rich, because each detail bears weight. You feel Keegan's labor over every word-- not one feels wasted. While I favor the first of the three stories, all three are exquisite.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

So Late in the Day - Review - Claire Keegan (Booker Prize Finalist author)

Short Summary - Three short stories -

⚪️ In "So Late in the Day," Cathal is stuck in his mind over a missed opportunity with a woman he could have spent his life with. It’s a short story of one weekend.

⚪️ In "The Long and Painful Death," a woman writer finds herself at a residency, only to be stunned when an unknown man shows up at her door. What unfolds is a twisted tale of envy, resentment, and psychological unraveling. It’s a short story of a single day.

⚪️ In the third story, a middle aged woman goes to a bar to cheat on her husband but things take a dark turn when she gets kidnapped by a mysterious man! This third story wasn’t something I would really like to read…but the rest two were fine.

Thank you @groveatlantic for sharing the Advance Reader Copy with me in exchange of honest review. The book will be published on November 14, 2023! #arc

Do you like reading short stories?

Once again I was awed by Claire Keegan’s writing in her new story collection ‘So Late in the Day.’ The three stories are about men and women and women and men and prove once again that she is a master. I loved one of the stories, liked one of them, and was disturbed by one of them. All were compelling and included complex characters, for good or bad. Heads up for fans of her previous 'Small Things Like These' and 'Foster' - these are not gentle stories like those two books. And maybe that's a good thing.

I don't think anyone writing right now manages to hit on how people in love feel, or interact, as they go about attempting to live lives that coincide with that feeling, the way Claire Keegan does. This book is a gift.

So pleased to have discovered Claire Keegan (apparently eons after everyone already has) through this! I’m really not one for short stories and novellas in general, but each of the three stories here felt self-contained and impactful, which I think owes a lot to Keegan’s prose. The subtly menacing undercurrent throughout all three stories was gripping, but I do think the collection in itself feels short and could benefit from the addition of a few more stories.

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Claire Keegan is probably the short fiction writer of our time. She effortlessly distills human nature into seemingly simple stories that slowly unfurl into something more complex, stories that have lives of their own well after you’ve finished them. I enjoyed the titular story the most, it felt the most Keegan-y to me in that we are pretty much along for the ride in a character’s thoughts. The last story, Antarctica, was a bit more unexpected and shows that Keegan could write a pretty effective thriller, though it lacked that kind of quiet finesse her other stories have, turning in favor of more plot than character work. These three stories worked very well together in terms of theme and tone, if you enjoy short, character-driven fiction this is the collection for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press for the eARC!

Popped my Keegan cherry, finally!

An interesting collection of short stories that captures the very punch Keegan has been praised for. In such grand economy, she captures spirit of humanity with tensions so frictively close, but don't butt heads. She leaves us with heated moments and gives us room to breathe, to think, for ourselves. There's a generosity in the way she invites readers into these worlds to observe and analyze the relationships we have, even the strangers we encounter.

1. 𝘚𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺 - First appeared in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 and there's a great talk about it with Saunders where he breaks down the brilliance for us . What is a word and what is its power? How does that power feed into character and how we behave? React?

2. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 - Questions how we respond to reactivity. How it filters into our own mundanity, our work.

3. 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢 - This one bites! Makes me think Keegan is incredibly capable of writing a smart and sexy Gillian Flynn thriller.

At first I thought the stories had nothing in common, but there is a single, fine thread - god, men are awful.

3.5 stars. I have been enjoying short story collections lately and was excited to pick up this collection by Claire Keegan. This novella-length collection contains three thematically related stories that examine the relationships between men and women. Each story is quietly devastating in its own unique way.

Overall, I enjoyed each story and the sharp and sparse writing style. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick and thought-provoking read. Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

a really arresting triptych of short stories. i have never read any claire keegan before but there is something so alluring about the way she writes, and draws you in. i'll definitely be looking for more, which coming from someone who typically avoids short stories like the plague is definitely saying something!

Short fiction and Claire Keegan, always a winning combo. There are three stories in this novella-length collection: the slightly longer titular story, and two shorter ones. Keegan excels at getting you to fall wholly into a story in just a few sentences. These are no different. I hardly want to write about what the stories were about - I went in with nothing but “yay Claire Keegan,” and it was a spectacular choice because I enjoyed them so much. She examines relationships from odd angles, and quietly devastating moments. Another excellent work from her.

4 stars

My first experience with Claire Keegan was when I read the novella “Foster” last spring. What a lovely little gem. It packed a real emotional punch that led me to put Ms. Keegan on my radar.

So Late in the Day is a collection of three short stories, all involving unkind (I am being generous here) men and their relationships with women. All the stories are melancholic and depressing. Themes include love, loneliness, misogyny, cruelty, and betrayal. Though my favorite was the middle story, “The Long and Painful Death”, it was the last story, “Antarctica”, that hit me the hardest. Its ending is a real shocker.

Though I am usually not a fan of stories this bleak, I was captivated, thanks to the beautiful writing of Ms. Keegan. Though her prose is wonderfully lyrical, she has the fascinating ability to fully develop her characters and pull her readers into her settings with an amazing sparseness of words. I was also impressed by how she empowered her women characters against the misogynists.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with these stories, and I look forward to reading more from Claire Keegan. I highly recommend So Late in the Day to those looking for a captivating literary experience.

Thank you, Net Galley, Grove Press, and Ms. Claire Keegan, for the privilege of reading an advanced copy. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

This is a little gem of a book. I have read Claire Keenan’s other books and enjoyed them thoroughly. This is a short story but not a word is wasted . It is so vivid you feel like you are there. You can easily read it in one sitting. I also listened to it on a podcast which was also a good experience. The story centres around Cathal and his relationship with Sabine.. In a short time we learn about their relationship and where it is going. What happens comes as a surprise and is such a good ending. I loved this.

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I am a huge Claire Keegan fan so I was excited to explore this collection of short stories. Out of the three stories my favorite was Antarctica, it felt significantly different than her other works I have read. All three stories explore the dynamic between men and women in a unique yet somewhat relatable way. Reflecting back on moments we may have been too generous or let our guard down too much as a woman. I cannot wait to read more of Claire Keegan's work in the future!

What an excellent read. The author has an incredibly lyrical and beautiful way of telling a story. Their emotive language brings forth an incredible reaction to the short stories conveyed and keeps the audience engaged throughout the read. I am a mega fan of this author and will continue to promote her stories.

Claire Keagan is a masterful short story writer. I never quite know where her stories are going and yet am delighted wherever they go. The atmosphere’s always thick and rich, emotionally vibrant. I look forward to reading anything that she writes.
Thank you Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for making this available.

After Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan is back with a punch. Late In The Day includes three short stories: So Late in the Day, The Long and Painful Death, and Antarctica.

Normally short stories aren’t my jam, but Claire Keegan knows how to expertly tell a story in a short amount of time. Her prose is so smooth that her books flow naturally, captivating the reader.

This collection of short stories focuses on the dynamic between male and female characters. Late In The Day felt so realistic that the male subject reminded me of someone that I know.

My favorite story is The Long and Painful Death. There is some symbolism going on, and I would love to give it a reread. What does the window represent? My windows actually have their seals broken so the view isn’t quite what it used to be. That sounds like the basis for another short story…..

This book is small but mighty.

Perfect if you want a short read for a book club! Or if you just like books that give food for thought.

This collection republishes three short stories—"Antarctica" from her debut short story collection by the same name; "A Long and Painful Death" from "Walk the Blue Fields"; and "So Late in the Day" which recently featured in the New Yorker. Together they are a compelling examination of misogyny in both its most most subtle and most extreme manifestations.

In "So Late in the Day", the male narrator, Cathal, gets engaged to a French woman, Sabine (the name obviously recalls the infamous myth of the Sabine women, the people whom the early Romans supposedly stole from a neighboring tribe in order to have wives and beget children). It is a doomed proposal. Cathal complains when he finds out there is an additional fee for the ring-resizing; he complains about the cost of cherries when Sabine wants to bake a clafoutis; he complains when she moves her stuff into the house. He doesn't really want a marriage; he wants the ease and convenience of a wife and, when called out, he is apologetic but also complacent. He thinks that an apology is enough. He assumes that her cooking is an act of love and doesn't understand that love especially has to be reciprocated. In a telling moment, he recalls a time when his mother made buttermilk pancakes. When she was about to sit down and eat her plate, his brother moved the chair from behind her and she fell to the ground. He, his brother and father all laughed—laughing because her love and labor are gratis; her pain is a joke. Cathal never understands that he has to give something in return. As Sabine says, "Misogyny is simply about not giving. Not giving us the vote, not giving help with the dishes. It's all clitched to the same wagon" and all Cathal can do in return is correct her grammar. It's a pointed story that explores the uncomfortable realities of everyday misogyny that the men are only half-willing to acknowledge.

In "A Long and Painful Death", a retired professor of German literature mysteriously arrives at the writer's residency, the Henry Böll house, where a woman is working on her next stories. Imposing his company on the younger writer, bad at chit-chat, not wanting to talk about Henry Böll or her own writing, the professor slowly proceeds to question all contemporary literature and her own purpose of writing. He only visits her to patronizingly impugn her vocation. In "Antarctica", a married woman tries to have a one-night affair with a man, but it unexpectedly goes awry. In each of these stories, Claire Keegan is a master of prose—terse, subtle, microscopically observant.

I"m always recommending Claire Keegan to those who may not know her. She's such a skilled storyteller and her work just describes common lived experiences in a way that is so pround. So Late in the Day is no exception – my only complaint is that it isn't long enough! I can't wait for Claire to hopefully one day write a full-length novel.

Reading a Claire Keegan novel or short story is like walking into the life of a person who instantly feels familiar. I had read two of these stories in previous collections, I believe they were both in Antarctica.
I love Claire Keegan’s writing style and will always read and recommend anything she writes, but I wish she would have counteracted these rather grim stories with a more upbeat tale.

Claire Keegan remains the queen of short stories for me. This isn’t even a form of writing I typically enjoy, but she writes with such passion and precision. Not a word wasted. You are pulled in with her description of the most banal things. And she can give a commentary on society and the patriarchy in just a few pages. All that said, I didn’t enjoy this collection of stores quite as much as previous stories like “Foster” and “Small Things Like These”. Each story focuses on how men control, manipulate, and exploit women. These don’t feel hopeful, but rather a grim look at reality. Still a solid four stars!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.