I'm grateful to Gavin Stride for giving me a copy of 'Small Things Like These' by Claire Keegan. This very short novel (just over 100 pages long) was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Set in New Ross, a small town in County Wexford in Ireland, in 1985, it tackles the appalling history of the Magdalen laundries. Now infamous as a shameful period in the history of Ireland and the Catholic Church, in 1985 the practice of incarcerating unmarried mothers and separating them from their babies was still largely unknown. (Ireland's last Magdalen laundry wasn't closed down until 1996). Claire Keegan tackles this difficult subject through the eyes of one man who starts to become aware of what has been happening under his nose. Her writing is sparse and poetic with every word carefully chosen. The opening paragraphs, which conjure up the town and its inhabitants, made me think of 'Under Milk Wood' by Dylan Thomas. This is also clearly Colm Tóibín territory: New Ross is just 20 miles from Tóibín's Enniscorthy and the careful period description of an Irish small town reminded me a lot of 'Long Island' by Colm Tóibín (reviewed here in July 2025). Keegan brilliantly gives you a perfect understanding of the relationship between two characters through the briefest exchange of dialogue, particularly (like Colm Tóibín) by what is not said. I also loved the quiet, understated symbolism of a new pair of shoes. 'Small Things Like These' is an almost Dickensian Christmas short story which never becomes whimsical or twee. It's a beautiful miniature that explores a dark subject with gentleness and hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment