by Cherise T.

In literary fiction, every month should celebrate Irish Heritage. For 2024, explore the beauty that is the work of Claire Keegan. “Long short stories,” as Keegan refers to them, are the ideal length for busy times and for reading again and again. Every word is perfect.

Keegan has joined the impressive lineage of Irish writers who construct characters of such depth, with language of such magic, that their work is beyond compare. So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men, Keegan’s most recent work to be published in the US, is a collection of three relationship stories.
In the first, a self-absorbed man’s engagement fails. In the second, a woman writer faces her creative process. In the third, a woman stepping out of her comfort zone walks into
a hell-bound affair.

In Small Things Like These (also as e-book), the setting is 1980s rural Ireland during the Christmas season. The protagonist Bill Furlong, a thoughtful, hardworking supplier of coal and lumber, is grateful for his wife, his financially stable life in economically treacherous times, and his five daughters for whom he provides a loving home and a solid Catholic school education. Born out of wedlock, Bill yearns to know who his father was, although few people from his early life remain to shed light on his parentage. Bill cares about those around him, and as he tries to sleep each night, his mind is “going round in circles,” as his thoughts are “going over small things like these.” The narrative follows Bill as he discovers the exploitation of girls and young women at a local convent. Will Bill risk what he knows and what he has and stand against this oppression?

In Foster (also as e-book), the elementary school-aged Cait is sent to live with relatives who are virtual strangers to her. Because her parents do not have the means to raise their numerous children and her mother is pregnant again, Cait spends a summer filled with attention and love that she has not before experienced. “I am in a spot where I can neither be what I always am nor turn into what I could be.” Foster is the source material for The Quiet Girl, the first Irish language film to be shortlisted for an Oscar. Indulge in both and life will be richer for it.

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks.