Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan

I had been tempted to read this book for a while and then it popped up on Borrowbox as an audio book. It’s very short – about two hours.

I loved it, I think it’s my favourite read (so far) for the year.

Here’s the blurb …

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.

This is a beautifully written story. It’s about family, community and kindness, but it is also about cruelty and judgement and meanness

A review