Welcome to Litsy!

I didn‘t even know this book had been written. I thought I‘d read all of Keegan‘s works. Then @Cathythoughts recently reviewed it & I explored my public libraries to no avail. Imagine my surprise as I was walking on the rail trail and peeked inside a free library in a remote location. I look in this LFL often and the books are always the same, kind of unappealing. But today, at the bottom of a new pile of books, this book was winking at me. 💕💕

I‘ve had this on the shelf for ages and was inspired to pick it up …. Having recently seen the movie Small Things ( and read the book with Bookclub). I think this woman writes about what she knows in an authentic fearless way , and I love how she does it. … these short stories are startling , I couldn‘t put the book down.

I loved this, but I didn't enjoy it!!! Oxymoron!? Yes, but hear me out - Keegan's writing is amazing, it brings back the very smell of my granny's kitchen! However, most of these short stories were super unsettling and uncomfortable to read ... So I loved it, but I didn't like it 🤷

28 Feb-18 Mar 24
I really like Clare Keegan‘s writing. Some of these stories caught my attention more than others. But I always find short stories frustrating. If they are engaging, I inevitably want to know more.
There were a few standouts in this collection: the title story, Antarctica, which was a little shocking, the story about the family attending the town dance. But ultimately I prefer Keegan‘s novellas, still short but more complete.

If you‘ve read a lot of CK‘s short stories you‘ll see the progression from this to her more recent work. There were some absolute gems here and some that I skimmed. She has a talent for packing a lot of subtext such that each short story feels like a novel.

I didn‘t adore this the way I did her novellas that I‘d read previously, because I found it to be uneven in a very similar way to most short story collections. However, the fact that she‘s such a master of short form fiction and characterization definitely shone through, and the pieces I especially connected with were ones I really did adore.

“‘You and your books,‘ they say, shaking their heads, squeezing the good out of the teabags.” My first book by this author, and her first book; a collection of short stories. I‘m now desperate to read her novels, the writing was perfection. I don‘t normally enjoy short stories but these were perfect to dip into. That said I get invested, then they end, and it always leaves me feeling a little muddled.

A real mix of mood, content and narrative voice in this collection. As usual, some stories worked better for me than others. Overall, I enjoyed it well enough but it won‘t stay with me. ❄️

I hated the first story titled Antarctica. The others were ok. Compared to her novels and other short story collection, this felt promising at best. It‘s not the writing, but the content that fell flat for me.

I hate it when I do this …… perusing my shelves and realize I chose to listen to the audio edition because I forgot I have a print copy! 😏

👍🏾👍🏾I love short stories and Keegan has become an auto buy/read for me. Now I want to find a paper copy for my shelves because they are worth rereading.

The narrators were fabulous for the audio version!

Claire Keegan‘s 1999 debut, a short story collection, was released in 2022 as an audiobook with 4 excellent narrators. The title story is so unsettling that I‘m still haunted, days later. Two of the stories set in the USA open with a listener advisory for offensive language; I wish I‘d skipped those. Best, are the 9 exquisite stories set in rural Ireland, exploring the inner lives of women from childhood into old age.

They finger the fabric, see how deep the hems are, read the labels.
“Nice bit of stuff in that. Where‘d you come at it?”
“Well sure the minis are all in again, don‘t you know.”
”She has the legs for it.”
“Lovely bit of linen in that but the devil wouldn‘t iron it.”
“Can‘t beat the drip-dry, really, can ya?”

And I won‘t comfort you. I will not be the woman who shelters her man same as he‘s a boy. That part of my people ends with me.

Friday #bookmail! I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket.

Took a chance and ordered these books by Keegan before I read Small Things Like These. 🤞🏾

#whatimreadingfriday #vendredilecture

An in-between book : short stories to get me from the book I finished yesterday to the books already in my bag for a week long vacation!