Welcome to Litsy!

The subtitle for this trio of vignettes is “stories of women and men.” Specifically, they are stories about denial, desire, and threat. Claire Keegan never misplaces a word. No detail can be overlooked. Take, for instance, this sentence in “Antarctica,” a twisted tale about the quest for simple pleasure: “The cat was watching her, his eyes as dark as apple seeds.”

Perfectly unsettling, all.

Content. 💞

#BookReport

I continued with the buddy reads; Dark Fire #ShardlakeBR and Unwell Women #SheSaid which I hope to have finished before tomorrow‘s weeklong forecast

I finished The Ghost Ship

I read So Late in the Day, My Name is Lucy Barton and The House at the Edge of Magic. These last two where the first books in different series and I‘m definitely continuing with both

I think it‘s time for me to realize that Keegan isn‘t for me. This is the 3rd book I‘ve read and every time I feel a little underwhelmed. It‘s hard to explain but I always feel that I‘m missing something since I don‘t love them like so many others.

#WeeklyForecast

Continue Unwell Women #SheSaid and Dark Fire #ShardlakeBR

I want to finish The Ghost Ship

I want to read So Late in the Day and My Name is Lucy Barton, maybe I can even read The house at the Edge of Magic

Interesting that this was published as both a novella and as the title story of a short story collection (guess publishers see 🤑 when one of their authors is shortlisted for the Booker Prize).

I didn‘t love this - it‘s basically just a man feeling sorry for himself, on the eve of his cancelled wedding, without doing the self reflecting necessary to be a better partner in the future.

Would have been more interesting from Sabine‘s POV.

His mother had served everyone…When she went to sit down, with her own plate, his brother had reached out and quickly pulled the chair from under her - and she had fallen backward, onto the floor. She must have been near sixty years of age at that time…but his father had laughed - all three of them had laughed, heartily, and had kept on laughing while she picked the pancakes and the pieces of the broken plate up, off the floor.

#CoverLove #1red

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Keegan is fast becoming one of my favorites.

Well, this was quite dark. Keegan read from this at my local bookstore last fall and called out an audience member who was trying to photograph her during the reading. i love her writing. She almost fills the void Munro left, when she retired. looking forward to more.

I have found myself to be a Keegan outlier. This is my second of her books, this on a small short story collection, and I am always left a bit meh about them. I want so much more than she is willing to give us. I guess I am just not suited for a well written slice of life story? I need more to grab into to keep me invested. I have one more that I bought that I will try later hopefully that one will hit the mark for me.

💕❤️💕❤️

I will officially read anything this author writes. Unlike her other 2 novellas I‘ve read (Foster & Small Things Like These), this collection of 3 short stories is a bit darker. She touches on a broken engagement, a writer staying in a remote house, and a woman set on having her first affair while Christmas shopping for her family. Each story pulls you in quickly with its descriptions and atmosphere. I can‘t wait to read whatever she writes next.

5/5 🌟

Yet another masterpiece by Claire Keegan, showcasing her unmatched talent for crafting deeply moving narratives in a concise format. With every page, she effortlessly transforms ordinary moments into literary gems and conveys profound insights, reaffirming her status as a true master of short stories.

Keegan‘s writing is deceptively simple. It‘s so bare, straightforward. And yet every story packs a punch. These short stories are so good. The last moments just linger.

I don‘t like short stories and yet, here I am again with Claire. Who writes top notch short stories.

Three Short Stories in this collection. The title story, The Long and Painful Death, and Antarctica. Not a feel good book but Keegan manages to give a big story in a concise manner. I liked Foster much, much more. Still interesting and a good read. #Ireland

Oh, I love her writing style. What I found particularly interesting personally was the fact that she picked two story settings in locations in Ireland I‘m really familiar with, Arklow and Achill Island. I was able to completely visualize the characters on location, which is really cool. I love when that happens. Anybody else love it when they recognize the location in a book?

• 64 pages • first pub 2023 • fiction • literary • short stories • Ireland 🇮🇪 • emotional • mysterious • reflective • 3 Stars

Claire Keegan presents us three exquisite stories, newly revised and expanded, together forming a brilliant examination of complex dynamics between women and men, particularly in regards to themes of love, lust, betrayal, and misogyny, in a reflective literary work.

28 Jan 2024
Sold in Australia as a standalone story (and not that cheaply), I nevertheless felt justified in the purchase as I have loved both Keegan books I have read. I also loved this, although the protagonist is a far cry from the lovely man at the centre of Small Things Like These. The focus here is on misogyny and although it is very short, I am not sure I wanted to spend any more time with Cathal.
Keegan is truly one of my favourites.

January Reads. Slowly coming out of my reading slump!
5 🌟
So Late in the Day: Claire Keegan 📖
4.5 🌟
Day: Michael Cunningham 📖
3.5 🌟
Wednesday's Child: Yiyun Li 📖
North Woods: Daniel Mason 🎧
3 🌟
Absolution: Alice McDermott 🎧

I‘m excited to get into this after her last short novel. 📖 I‘ve just finished All About Love by Bell Hooks which may become a repeat. There was so much to reflect on and consider and feel into. I loved it and am looking forward to smart fiction.

These are powerful stories, masterfully written with subtle messages on themes of misogyny, examining women-men relationships, and showing how women are looked down upon. 1st story was very good, 2nd stories was even better, and the last one was chilling. Highly recommend!

First finished read of 2024. I have started 5 books but have not been able to finish any of them. This was great to sit and read cover to cover in a few hours. I love her writing. All three stories are masterful. 5 🌟

So small yet so mighty! 💪🏼
Loved it!

Three stellar stories that pack a punch. Keegan‘s understated, elegant prose is just perfection.

Keegan has a way of getting inside a setting and a feeling so quickly. It‘s really astonishing. A very small book filled with three stories that convey so much. I loved it.

Photo is of the extraordinary hot chocolates my daughter-in-law made last night after a day of ice skating at a local resort. Always fun as a local to hang with the rich tourists and see how the other half lives.

The title story "So Late in the Day" is a searing portrait of a misogynistic Irishman, a product of his environment no doubt. Will he learn the error of his ways?

The second story “A Long and Painful Death” follows a writer on her birthday, filled with simple pleasures, excellent descriptions but below the surface rage boils.

"Antarctica" takes place during the Christmas season but is decidedly not jolly. Just the way I like my holiday reads!

The perfect Christmas Day read 🎄

Hope it was a nice holiday for everyone who celebrated and a good day for those who don‘t. I‘m exhausted and hitting the sack after many busy days!

Well that was quick! The latest short story offering from Claire Keegan. Funny story: my husband got this for me for Christmas. It‘s about an Irishman named Cathal, set in Wicklow. Many years ago I had a long term boyfriend called Cathal who I once went to Wicklow with. It would be a spoiler if I were to tell you how my life with Cathal mirrored some of the events in this book. #artimitatinglife

I really love Claire Keegan‘s work and how she manages to convey so much of the human condition in only a few pages. This book is only a single short story but it is a perfect examination of the way in which men can fail women in relationships.

Ah, Sunday morning, we meet again. 😍

There were three stories in this collection, all looking at the day edges of male-female relationships.

So Late in the Day - Excellent. A glimpse into a toxic mind, that is unfortunately all too common and real in society.

The Long and Painful Death - Honestly, this one might be perfect. I read it twice.

Antarctica - Disturbing. Superbly written, gets under your skin in under 40 pages and first makes it sing, and then makes it crawl.

...the moment passed and she turned her head away. That was the problem with women falling out of love; the veil of romance fell away from their eyes, and they looked in and could read you.

Keegan writes with wisdom and succinctness about complex subjects. With deep insight, she renders visible subjects that are sometimes invisible or minimized. This particular book is an expansion of previous stories Keegan has written about the intriguing and challenging interactions between women and men. Despite its brevity, this book will keep me thinking long after I finished it. Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/126262032

Book mail!!! 📚 I have several current reads I need to complete before starting any of these, but which should I read first??

The story So late in the day is brilliant BUT I wish I‘d known that the other stories in the collection are Antarctica and The long and painful death. I expected a few new stories and 20$ for 2 that I‘ve read already read and were published in her other collections - and I didn‘t even particularly like them - feels like a total rip off. You can read So Late in the day in The New Yorker for free & spend 20$ on something else!

A few new acquisitions. Look forward to enjoying the Swanson and Hallett next month.

Hoping to start the Keegan ASAP. The title story was previously published in the New Yorker, but will be new to me. The second story was first published in her collection Walk The Blue Fields which I read years ago and loved. And the last is the title story from her collection Antarctica (own, but haven‘t read). Wish they were all new stories, but still excited!

I love keegans writing and Il always read whatever she produces . However not one of my favourites & at 11.99 for 47 pages !! Glad I got it from the library!

The Irish groom, that lost his bride because of his chauvinist ways- Claire Keegan always writes a great story.