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Small Things Like These

The Irish Times readers' choice for best Irish book of the century
4.11 goodreads logo

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( 370,902 ratings, 43,904 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is set during the Christmas season in 1980s Ireland. It follows the story of Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, as he navigates both the challenges of his business and his personal life. The narrative explores themes of family, community, and moral courage in a small town where secrets linger beneath the surface.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you appreciate beautifully crafted narratives that explore themes of community spirit and moral courage. Set in a small Irish town during the 1980s, it captures the essence of quiet resistance against social injustice through the story of an ordinary man faced with a life-changing decision. If you enjoy poignant tales with rich emotional depth, you might find this one captivating.

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An exquisite winter tale of courage - and its cost - set in Catholic Ireland.

An exquisite winter tale of courage, and its cost -- set in Catholic Ireland.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'A single one of Keegan's grounded, powerful sentences can contain volumes of social history. Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving.' - Hilary Mantel

'This is a tale of courage and compassion, of good sons and vulnerable young mothers. Absolutely beautiful.' - Douglas Stuart

'Marvellous - exact and icy and loving all at once.' - Sarah Moss

Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2022

It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.

The long-awaited new work from the author of Foster, Small Things Like These is an unforgettable story of hope, quiet heroism and tenderness.

'Astonishing. Claire Keegan makes her moments real - and then she makes them matter.' Colm Toibin

'A true gift of a book. a sublime Chekhovian shock.' Andrew O'Hagan

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan has been praised as a haunting and hopeful masterpiece. Critics commend its unsentimental and deeply affecting portrayal of moral themes. The narrative's truthfulness and righteousness leave a significant impact.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571368686

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 21 October 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 9.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 238g

Pages: 128

About the Author

Claire Keegan was brought up on a farm in Ireland. Her stories have won numerous awards and are translated into more than 20 languages. Foster was named by The Times as one of the top 50 novels to be published in the 21st Century. Keegan is now holding the Briena Staunton Fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

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