A beautiful tender and meaningful meditation on life, its origins and its meaning.

40-something Bill Furlong, pillar of the community despite carrying his unmarried mother’s stigma, father of five girls, fulfils his duties as coal merchant, husband and father while wondering about the meaning of everything.

He repays the acts of kindness that were shown to him and a small act of compassion on Christmas Eve could have consequences for himself and his family in a wonderful thought-provoking ending.

Small Things Like These actually deals with a topic that is anything but small. This novella is a heart-warming and heart-wrenching story about a family man of principle in Ireland who struggles with matters of conscience related to the Catholic Church and some of the nuns in a nearby convent. The father who is concerned about the mistreatment of a girl at the convent wrestles with his demons until finally he makes the right choice, in spite of those who would rather ignore injustice and cruelty. The book moves quickly and with purpose and is recommended for all readers.

I loved this novella!
It is such a wholesome story with so much truth to draw on from the real world. It is heart opening, saddening, thought provoking.
Thank you for the publisher for the advanced copy.

I loved! Loved! Loved this book.
I was very surprised about the length of it, but it is a wonderfully perfect book.

Beautifully emotional moving novella.A perfect story to read at Christmas time.A book that at one point is a wonderful family getting ready for the holidays.The other part of the tale is the way the church treated young pregnant girls.Will be recommending and gifting this special story #netgalley#groveatlantic

At just 128 pages, this short story packs a punch. The reader is dropped into the life of Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant. We are given the perfect amount of context to understand his story and the cultural setting in which this story takes place. Set in 1985 Ireland, this book deals with the complicit silence surrounding the Magdalene Laundries. It has an unmistakably Irish narrative style, with lots of colloquialisms and turns of phrase. The conversational tone makes for very easy reading, which I think is necessary in tackling such a harrowing topic.

My only critique lies in the fact I wished it had been just a smidge longer. That is the nature of short stories, they are…short. However, I would have liked to know a little bit more about what happens to the characters in the end. Perhaps, the reaction of Furlong’s family? It just felt unfinished, ever so slightly.

That being said, this has been a deeply impactful read and my desire to know more is a testament to Claire Keegan’s writing. A captivating and poignant story.

A gem of a novella about a good man who needs to make a brave choice. Simple and short, this packs a huge emotional punch. I will be thinking about this story for a long time. Please read it. #grove #netgalley

This story opens with a dedication to “the women and children who suffered time in Ireland’s Magdalen laundries”. Prior to reading Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, I had no idea what the Magdalen laundries (in Ireland) were. I admit that I was tempted to look the Magdalen laundries up online before starting this book but chose not to. I thought I’d let my first exposure to them come from Keegan’s story. What I found interesting about Keegan’s writing about the topic was that she chose to write about it from the POV of her male protagonist as opposed to any of the multitude of female characters in the book. I suspect that Keegan’s decision to write her story from a male perspective was deliberate.

The male protagonist, Bill Furlong, is a coal and timber merchant. Furlong is someone the reader could easily argue is a stereotypical man of the time, but on the other hand, it’s clear that he’s extremely uncomfortable with what’s happening at the laundry he makes deliveries to. As a married man and father to five daughters his own encounter with a girl who works in the laundry opens his eyes to and shows him firsthand the brutality that the girls who are imprisoned (in this case) experience. He recognizes that the girl that he meets at the laundry could easily be one of his daughters and cannot forget the encounter. Furlong’s own past resurfaces through his nostalgia and he is faced with making a decision about what to do about the girl he met at the laundry: forget he ever saw anything or “fight” against the powers that be (the Roman Catholic church) and help her.

This novella packs an emotional punch. It’s also full of Christmas ambiance, and similar to classics like A Christmas Carol, it’s a moral story. I’ve read criticism that the novella was too short and that some readers wanted more of a backstory about the girl at the laundry, but this was, I feel, Furlong’s story and how he does or doesn’t use his own power and privilege to help others—especially at Christmas. I also enjoyed the mention of Christian hypocrisy and Christians’ ability to turn a blind eye to the terrible things happening at the laundries. I highly recommend this as a not only a glimpse at part of Ireland’s history but also as an enjoyable read that gives readers all the Christmas feels! I can see myself picking this up again in the upcoming months.

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an ARC of this title in return for an honest review.

4.5 stars. What an emotional and moving read! The focus is on Bill Furlong, a coal/timber merchant in a small Irish town, who is husband to Eileen and father to five daughters. He becomes increasingly concerned about the conditions and treatment given to unwed mothers in the local convent home. After much soul searching, he ultimately has to make a decision, a heroic one, that will have untold repercussions for him and his community. Beautiful prose and an illuminating look into Furlong’s soul make this a powerful novel.

I loved this little novella. I think it should be required christmas reading right alongside Gift of the Magi and Christmas Memory. I'll be thinking about Bill Furlong and his ideas of wrong and right for a while. Loved it.

Small Things Like These is beautifully written. I enjoyed the feeling that I was right there beside the hardworking, empathetic, sensitive main character as he grappled with the issue of what to do about the young girl in trouble he had come across while making his coal delivery. I think it could have easily been developed into a longer novel, which I would have liked to read.
This is the first book of Claire Keegan's that I've read, and I'll definitely be looking into her back catalogue.

This novella grapples with courage, compassion and just doing the right thing. Bill Furlong has risen well above his start in life, born to a single mother in Ireland. He’s now running his own coal and timber business, holding his own despite the bad economy of 1985. During a delivery to the local convent at Christmas time, he discovers a young girl locked in the coal bin.
This is a quiet story, a character study about a man trying to suss out how to live a good life, a Christian life. It’s a story about who you want as your role models. And about standing up to the powers that be. In its own way, it’s a very powerful story.
I would have liked to see the story go on, but maybe that’s still to come.
My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of this book.

Interesting take on the never ending crisis of Catholic orphanages in Ireland. Characters are well developed and interesting. Will look forward to more by this author

In 1985 Ireland, Bill Furlong discovers a girl in locked in a shed when he makes a coal delivery to the local convent, which houses a home for unwed mothers. The Catholic Church has a strong infuence on the community. When he mentions his concerns to his wife, she suggests that he leave the situation alone. But Bill is the son of an unwed mother who was saved from this fate by her employer. This is a short but impactful book about making a decision.

"Small Things Like These" is a story about appreciating what you have and doing what is right, even if it is costly. Bill Furlong knows he is fortunate. He operates a business selling coal, turf, anthracite, slack, and logs, making many of the deliveries himself, especially during the busy periods. It is hard work, but he makes enough to support his wife and five daughters. Times are tough in Ireland, with businesses shutting down and many people struggling to make ends meet. Bill sees plenty of evidence of this when making his deliveries and he tries to help when he can. His wife is not unsympathetic to the plight of others, but her focus is on making sure their family is taken care of.

When making a delivery to the local convent right before Christmas, he finds a teenage girl locked in the coal shed. When he offers her assistance, she asks him to ask the nuns about her fourteen-week-old baby, hoping to be given the opportunity to see him and feed him. When confronted by the Mother Superior, the girl says she was locked in the shed during a game of hide and seek (which both she and the Mother Superior knows is not true). The Mother Superior is overly solicitous to both the girl and to Bill, but makes it clear through her words and actions that Bill is expected to overlook what he witnessed. The proprietress of the local restaurant, Mrs. Kehoe, hears about the run-in and warns Bill about the dangers of crossing the Catholic church and the nuns.

However, Bill cannot forget what he saw and cannot stop thinking about the plight of this teenage mother, especially as that could have been his mother. Bill's mother became pregnant at age sixteen (with the father's identity kept a secret), but the widow for whom she worked as a domestic servant kept her on and helped raise Bill. But for her employer's kindness, Bill's mother likely would have ended up in a Magdalene laundry, institutions for "fallen women" run by the Catholic church, and Bill likely would have been adopted out. [Magdalene laundries have been described as "penitentiary workhouses", with the women forced to perform physical labor for long hours without compensation, subject to abuse and neglect, often unable to leave, and having their babies taken them.]

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Spare and lovely, Small Things Like These is the perfect companion on a cold December night. It will provide some comfort, yes, but it will also probe into the reflective feelings that often arise that time of year. This is one you read for what it suggests about and reminds you of in your own life; not for plot or drama.

1985 is not really a very long time ago. The way the story unfolds however it seems like the Middle Ages.
Bill Furlong his wife and family live in Ireland minding their own business. He supplies coal and kindling
to everyone around, is a fair businessman and a steady family man. His focus is on building up his business
and providing for his wife and children.

The convent in their midst is one of the features of Irish life. Strong Catholic links everyone in these parts
but though others are aware of what goes on Bill seemed to have been a bit oblivious. The Magdalene laundries
are infamous and after having read one account of it, I would not have picked this one up if it was too descriptive
of these places but it was not so.

On a visit to supply coal and kindling to the Convent, Bill is faced with a small view of what actually goes on
in these places but he closes his eyes to it and returns home. It weighs heavily on his mind though. His wife just
wants him to forget what he saw because she knows interference with the workings of the Convent will have a huge
repercussion on the family. The power of the Church was widespread, and vindictive. (at the time in Ireland).

The story is very touching, and emotional. It is also quite precise and not long winded.
Though the subject is a tough one, the feeling of being humane and compassionate are all encompassing in this read.

I wanted more from this novella: more length, more depth, more layers. There was so much to explore and not enough time to do so. I loved the Christmas setting but was frequently tripped up by the scattered dialogue. I have mixed feelings on this one so it’s more of a 2.5 star read for me.

I enjoyed this book. It is short but was interesting and sad. I think it's important to learn more about how these poor girls were treated.

An initially quiet story setting the spotlight on the harrowing experiences of young “fallen” girls in Ireland, and how difficult power structures and social control make doing the right thing
’Where does thinking get us?’ she said. ‘All thinking does is bring you down.’
She was touching the pearly buttons on her nightdress, agitated.
‘If you want to get on in life, there’s things you have to ignore, so you can keep on.’

Expertly done, from a kind of pedestrian, meandering seeming historical novella to an examination of what integrity means, engaging with a history that effected the lives of 30.000 girls in Ireland.
More background on the subject matter can be found here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magda...

Claire Keegan sketches the life of coal merchant Furlong, married to Eileen and their five daughters.
It’s only people with no children who can afford to be careless is a quote quite early in the book and with the economy tanking there is enough to be concerned about. Village life is expertly conjured, but when the clearly shady business of the nuns comes into focus Small Things Like These starts to shine.

At my job we have a core value called "Act with integrity" and one of the examples included to describe the value is "Doing the right thing, especially when its difficult". Furlong is a perfect illustration of the struggle this lofty goal brings with it when he is confronted with a young girl mistreated by the nuns: ‘Ah, I’ll not,’ Furlong stepped back - as though the step could take him back into the time before this.

The trauma is understated, not explicit, but very much something that I felt as a reader, for instance in this short sentence:
She looked at the window and took a breath and began to cry, the way those unused to any type of kindness do when it’s at first or after a long time again encountered.

An important book that kind of reminds me in feel of the velvet iron fist method Kazuo Ishiguro applies so often - 4.5 stars rounded down, highly recommended!