SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE

by Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These weighs in at 114 pages with a small trim size and not many words per page.  But it strikes with a force unmatched by any book I have read in a very long time.  Recognized by the New York Times as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century, Keegan has written a true tour de force.

Set in a small town in Ireland, the story follows Bill Furlong, the local coal merchant, in the busy weeks before Christmas.  Furlong is a family man and a respected member of his community.  While delivering coal to the town’s convent early one morning, he is shocked to encounter a young girl who has been shut up in the coal basement overnight. Keegan constructs a stark yet thorough exposition of Furlong’s struggle to address this unseemly wrong.  The church wields power over the town, over him and his wife and his family of five daughters.  He carefully explores his options with his wife and a few townspeople and their advice is uniform and unflinching:  Don’t get involved; Mind your own business; Keep your head down and do your job.  But Furlong knows he can’t live with himself if he chooses that route.  

In achingly sparse yet beautiful prose, Claire Keegan portrays this near-universal human dilemma of when and how to get involved on someone else’s behalf.  She writes Furlong’s thought process and reasoning in such a compelling and authentic manner that I couldn’t stop reading until I learned his decision. Small Things Like These is a must, must, must read. Tell all your friends. It is a real treasure. (Liz)