Small Things Like These
Hardback Published on: 10/10/2024
Price: £12.99
Bookseller Reviews
View all
A story of hope and tenderness.
Set in a small Irish town in the lead up to Christmas, this extraordinary novella explores the unforgettable sins of Irish society and Catholic Church in t... READ MORE
Beautful and Powerful
A thought provoking novel, that is written so exquisitely. Set in a small Irish town in 1985. The main character Bill Furlong I became so invested in, his ... READ MORE
A beautifully crafted gem of a novel
This small book about small things packs a big punch both politically and emotionally. Keegan manages to balance economy of language with richness of descr... READ MORE
A selfless act of kindness
This short book is beautifully concise; a tale of an ordinary man, living an ordinary life who cannot forget the intolerable cruelty he witnesses and so pe... READ MORE
Atmospheric, immersive & captivating. Keegan is yet to produce something that isn't brilliant!
1985, a small Irish Town, a man named Bill & a mysteriously sinister convent.
Small things like these follows themes of community, religion, deliberate ... READ MORE
“He found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”
I read Small Things Like These on Boxing Day. Having wanted something with a Christmas feel without the overtly cheery nature. Small Things Like These was ... READ MORE
I will devour anything Claire Keegan feeds me
How Claire manages to build such rich narratives in so few pages is astounding.
Incredible novella
Punchy without feeling too brief Keegan shows herself to be the master of the novella once again.
110 perfect pages
There’s nothing much to say except that this book is devastatingly brilliant.
Telling the story of the winter months in a 1980s Irish town, this book fo... READ MORE
Small Things, Huge Talent
A Christmas-dusted slice-of-life set in 80s Ireland; it can be read in one sitting, following an ordinary delivery man who encounters a troubled young woma... READ MORE
The most exquisite storyteller!
I cannot begin to even express how utterly beautiful this book is, I could not put it down. Keegan does not waste a single word in this small but mighty bo... READ MORE
Perfectly balanced
Keegan is the master of short form fiction. Every word perfectly utilised, making her writing seem entirely effortless. It all works perfectly.
Heartbreaking in the most subtle of ways
This is a masterclass in how to write a novella. Spare, short and beautifully formed, there is not a word out of place here. It was breathtakingly good.
T... READ MORE
A book for a chilly winter afternoon...
A short but perfectly formed gem of a read, that follows a very ordinary man and his very ordinary family through one winter in an Irish town in the 80s.
... READ MORE
Read in a sitting, remember forever
I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said in the many reviews already here....so simply ...please read this book.
Beautifully written it ev... READ MORE
Thought Provoking
Thought provoking seems a mild phrase compared to how this book actually made me feel.
First time reading anything by Claire Keegan and I was thoroughly ... READ MORE
A lovely read
A lovely quick read that made me feel like I was peeping into someones life.
As it was so short it didn't have time to go greatly in depth into some of t... READ MORE
A Beautiful Christmas Tale
Short but sweet. This beautifully heartfelt tale about the choices we make and the selflessness of our actions is a perfect Christmas / Winter read
Simply poerful
A beautiful, compact, story about an ordinary man, Bill Furlong. He is the son of a lady's housekeeper born out of wedlock in post war Ireland. He is uncom... READ MORE
A must-read for this winter
This was a lovely, short read that I found really touching. Beautifully written and I can see why it was nominated for the Booker Prize. I highly recommend... READ MORE
Moving and profound
This was a beautiful novel. Keegan's gentle style of writing and the simple short story was profound. Set in Ireland in the 1980s shortly before Christmas,... READ MORE
The most exquisite storyteller!
How is it possible to know so much with so little words? From the minute you turn the first page you are deeply rooted in the story unfolding. It takes jus... READ MORE
Keegan proves that there is beauty in the ordinary, you just have to look for it.
This was so lovely, particularly to read in the run up to Christmas. I devoured it in a single sitting and it was just such a pleasant experience. Due to i... READ MORE
Not A Word Out of Place
This is not a book to be rushed. It requires an unhurried, uninterrupted and close reading to fully appreciate. Keegan's writing is exceptional, appears ef... READ MORE
Unforgettable - the best book I read all year
Keegan is a remarkable storyteller, so deliberately concise that her prose allows us nowhere to hide from the reality of her setting.
I was left reelin... READ MORE
Synopsis
A stunning new edition of Claire Keegan's multi-award-winning, bestselling novel Small Things Like These.
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.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Faber & Faber
- ISBN: 9780571392605
- Number of pages: 128
- Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allPowerful, beautiful - a perfect Christmas read or gift
Was it possible to carry on along through all the years, the decades, through an entire life, without once being brave enough to go against what was there ... READ MORE
Stunning Short Novel
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is an exquisite, luminous short novel. Written with sublime prose and simple clarity every word and line delivers ... READ MORE
A moving message of love and generosity
It only takes an hour or so to read this short novella, but it is an hour well spent with sensitive writing and a Christmas theme of warmth and humanity. I... READ MORE
Small but perfect
A small but perfect book, holding out the possibility that one person's actions against injustice and pain can make a difference. A message of hope and qui... READ MORE
Simply Sublime Storytelling
This was an effortless but deeply rewarding read. Character, themes and story here are so intrinsically linked, and the whole piece so elegantly structured... READ MORE
Beauty and hope
Beautifully written, this novella speaks volumes in a quiet, understated kind of way but the reader is left in no doubt as to the huge power behind those w... READ MORE
This is a beautifully written story, both simple and profound.
What an absolute pleasure it has been to read Claire Keegan’s ‘Small Things Like These’. Right from the opening pages describing the town and people of Ne... READ MORE
An exquisitely written, unforgettable story.
It would be hard to overstate how exquisitely written this profoundly affecting novella is. There is a gentle rhythm to Clare Keegan’s spare, elegant prose... READ MORE
.....and breathe!
Not one word wasted, this small but beautifully formed book immerses you so that you feel your heart will break and so when this story finishes.....you hav... READ MORE
Exquisite. A beautiful and heart-rending read
The brevity of this book belies its strength. I was immediately drawn into the bitter cold of a small Irish town in the weeks before Christmas and the dai... READ MORE
Immersive, emotional and real
An outstanding book,recommended to read in one sitting if you can. You can picture every single piece of the book thanks to Keegan’s writing and the narrat... READ MORE
Absolutely stunning.
Small Things Like These is, in my humble opinion, the best novel of 2021. Clare Keegan has written the most beautiful, engaging, uplifting and heartbreakin... READ MORE
A small slice of perfection
Not one word is wasted. Heartbreaking yet you are left with hope. One person's awakening to the abuses of church, state and community. Beautifully written,... READ MORE
A simply beautiful and moving book - and a perfect Christmas present
"Was it possible to carry on along through all the years, the decades, through an entire life, without once being brave enough to go against what was there... READ MORE
Courage in an ordinary life
Clare Keegan’s short novel about an ordinary man and his journey towards an extraordinary action is totally absorbing . It is an exemplar of how the unexpe... READ MORE
A beautifully written novella.
A beautifully written novella. It is no surprise it was so well received by the book reviewers. I wish, however, there had been a little more certainty at ... READ MORE
Love
Read it in one breath and entered my system.
Pure respect for Claire Keegan for writing it this way...
Heart-warming novel with moral dilemmas too
This was a well written short novel based in an Irish town covering the subject of the Magdalene laundries which were essentially workhouses for unmarried ... READ MORE
A poignant and powerful Christmas fable
Small Things Like These is a poignant and quietly powerful tale of courage, compassion and standing up for what is right, in the face of powerful instituti... READ MORE
a truly uplifting read
Small Things Like These is a novella by award-winning Irish author, Claire Keegan which can be easily read in one sitting. In December 1985, in the little ... READ MORE
A hopeful fable coated in coal dust!
William Furlong is a fine fellow his generosity provides the perfect antidote to a world covered in coal dust and a society yet to challenge indoctrinated ... READ MORE
So powerful
The story of Bill Furlong and his family. His everyday life seems deceptively simple and straightforward but soon we learn of the depth of his honesty an... READ MORE
A stunning book of the year
Beautifully and simply written, this is perfect. It might be short but it says everything needed in such a concise and moving way. This is one of the few b... READ MORE
An Enjoyable Short, Powerful Story Shedding Light on Dark History
This book was a great short read. I would’ve liked for it to be a bit longer, and there are some parts I think the writing could’ve been slightly better, b... READ MORE
Nothing happens but I couldn't put it down
A beautifully written short story by Claire Keegan, brings up a stark reminder of how the world used to be and in some places still is.
Easily digested... READ MORE
Beautiful, moving book
Short novel, absolutely perfectly formed. Even better to read at Christmas
A wonderful book
Ireland in 1985 is a place of hardship, of job losses and the difficulties that entails. Bill Furlong is a coal and timber merchant, he’s married to Eileen... READ MORE
Between The Covers - Series 3 Book
Well until this book was announced as one of the reads for series 3 I had not heard of the author or book, so I quickly pre ordered it.
Now it's only a sho... READ MORE
Quiet but poweerful
I was sent a copy of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan to read and review by NetGalley. This is a calm, quiet book with a feel of the 1950s even th... READ MORE
Wonderfully evocative
Wonderfully evocative story about a man who was born to a young single mother, both taken in and looked after by a nearby wealthy Protestant woman. Set in ... READ MORE
Superb
Small Things Like These is a novella, just 128 pages, but it's perfectly formed and beautifully written. Set in 1985 in the busy run up to Christmas in a s... READ MORE
Quiet and thoughtful.
This is a beautifully, and "quietly" written little book; an understated little tale which worries around the edges of a much bigger, and more horrifying s... READ MORE
Beautiful and lyrical
Beautiful and lyrical set in a small community in Ireland in the mid 80's and having as its central theme the Magdalene Laundries which were an institution... READ MORE
Claire Keegan- Small Things Like These.
Fast paced and highly readable.
The story of a man who but for the grace of God and Mrs Wilson, would have been born, adopted out or died in one of these ... READ MORE
Short novel set in WEXFORD
Small Things Like These is set in the run up to Christmas 1985, in the fictional town of New Ross, County Wexford. It is a harsh Winter and many people are... READ MORE
A book you will think about for days, weeks after you have read.
How a book of not many pages can say so much and be so powerful is a well deserved credit to Claire Keegan. I read the book three days ago and the characte... READ MORE
Moving
Beautiful short story about 80s Ireland highlighting the laundries and the grip of the Catholic Church on a small town
Intensely moral and full of hope
A tender, beautifully written novella that delivers an intensely moral and inspiring story of hope. Set in 1980s Ireland and loosely based on the heartbrea... READ MORE
Uncomplicated
An easy book to read but it has hidden depths, and it is a very moving book.
I look forward to seeing the film
Great characters
There is such a lot packed into such a small novel. I originally borrowed a copy from the library but now I've bought one because I'm sure I'll re-read it.... READ MORE
Really Faber?
Does this book warrant another edition so soon after it was published first time around? Would you rather spend £13 on a new hardback edition or get the pa... READ MORE
A must-read on such a neglected part of history
A small yet impactful book that definitely deserves a place within the modern day classics. The nuances of the issues within this story are well explored f... READ MORE
Exquisite prose
My first Claire Keegan book. I watched the film… twice. Then found the book.
This is an exquisitely written book. I was transported into 1985 Ireland, see... READ MORE
A short but deep story
This is a short but powerful story about families, love, bad deeds, good deeds and how we all should do the right thing, even if it might be difficult.
It... READ MORE
Quiet, thoughtful holiday gem
4-4.5 stars
In a minimum of words and a total lack of theatrics, this thoughtful short novella brought true courage and morality to the page in the guise ... READ MORE
Small things like these
Amazing!
Heartbreaking and beautiful
This story sears itself onto your heart, despite its brevity, and leaves you with more than you started it with. Keegan is a master storyteller. To be able... READ MORE
Subtle and beautiful
A small book with a big heart, not one single word is wasted or out of place and I was swept along on this rolling sea of carefully crafted words. Just stu... READ MORE
The power of words
I don't know how such a short book can convey so much. Her writing is so imaginative, it makes you see yourself into that world and step into those people,... READ MORE
Small but mighty
Small Things Like These is a book that I’ve heard nothing but high praise for. It was nominated for the Booker Prize, named one of the New York Times’ 100 ... READ MORE
...There but for the grace of God, go I...
The power of the Catholic Church has always cloaked Irish society. Priests and bishops dictated when one's path led to heaven and when it led to damnation.... READ MORE
Beautifully written Christmas story
This was a beautifully written story with a protagonist who is both admirable and courageous.
The descriptions were wrought with empathy and finesse. I co... READ MORE
A heartfelt parable
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
A Christmassy parable reflecting on how learning from one’s past can help shape the future. The brevity of the... READ MORE
Beautiful
What a gorgeous, moving, emotional, and quaint little book. I loved it.
Small but perfectly formed
This little Irish story grips your heart so tightly , it makes you want to cry . There ‘s pain and there’s kindness. The right thing to do and the wrong th... READ MORE
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is a short but powerful story by the author about the Magdalene Laundries.
Bill Furlong is the local coal merchan... READ MORE
Gold
Everything included in this short compact book where not a word is wasted. Beautifully written story, emotional, intrigue, believability, good characters,... READ MORE
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