Small Things Like These is a novella by New York Times bestselling author Claire Keegan.
Small Things Like These was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 and was the winner of The Orwell Prize and The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year.
The book was so successful and it’s now set to be a film produced by and starring Cillian Murphy.
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Plot
This story is based on what would later by known as the scandal of the Magdalene laundries. From 1922 until 1996, thousands of girls and women were held prisoner in ‘Magdalene laundries’ in Ireland. These workhouses were commercial and profit-based laundries run and funded by the Catholic Church and the state.
The women and girls who were unwillingly held were often described as ‘fallen women’. They tended to be unmarried mothers and their daughters, those who had grown up in church or state care, women with mental health issues or disabilities and those who had suffered sexual abuse.
In the mid 1980s, Bill Furlong is a coal merchant and family man. On the lead up to Christmas, Bill’s busiest season, he delivers an order to the local convent.
During this delivery, Bill discovers there’s something terrible going on behind the convent walls. The local community is complicit in its silence as it chooses to tolerate what is happening to protect their own families.
Bill is forced to make a decision between what is morally right, and what would be best for his family. Should he look away or speak out, whatever the cost to his family?
Small Things Like These Book Review
Wow. For such a short story, this book really packs a punch.
I loved how concise and succinct the writing style was. Claire Keegan doesn’t waste a single word and it makes the story all the more impactful. Without using too many words, the author still manages to beautifully capture the setting and the characters so vividly.
I loved the setting and the fact it was set at Christmas. The snow and lights as the town prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ is juxtaposed with the quiet heroism of one man preparing to take on the church.
I really enjoyed how the story opens with Bill’s childhood and the events that made him. It clearly highlighted how the situation for him and his own mother could have been very different if it wasn’t for the kindness of one woman.
The love Bill has for his family is so evident and he desperately wants to do right by them. This is balanced by the knowledge that something terrible is happening at the convent. The books shines a light on the Irish baby scandal without revealing too much. We as the reader know something dreadful is happening, but we’re not given all the details. Similarly, the characters in the book also know something isn’t right, but many are too concerned for their own wellbeing.
It’s shocking how many people turned a blind eye and were complicit in the scandal. Bill’s own wife tells him “This is not our concern”. However when you consider the subtle threats Bill received you can almost understand how some people chose silence and ignorance to protect what is theirs.
Small Things Like These is a short but beautifully told story which will stay with me for a long time. It’s an unforgettable tale of courage, selflessness and doing the right thing.
What books are similar to Small Things Like These?
If you enjoyed Small Things Like These you may also want to read another novella by Claire Keegan, such as The Forester’s Daughter or So Late in the Day.
If you’re looking for another novel but an Irish author that also packs an emotional punch, I’d highly recommend The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. However at over 500 pages, it’s definitely a much lengthier read!
If you’re a fan of moving novellas I can recommend And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman. It’s a completely different subject matter but is still really impactful and poignant.
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