Small Things Like These

The only thing more impressive than an author conjuring a realistic world and three-dimensional characters from thin air is when they manage to do so in only 114 pages. Let's peer for a moment into the snowglobe world Claire Keegan has created in Small Things Like These. We're in a rural town in 1985 Ireland, where coal merchant Bill Furlong and his wife Eileen are stretching their meager finances to provide a happy Christmas for their five daughters. The festive touchstones of the season are all present: snow, lights, baking, choirs singing carols, but the book focuses on Bill's personal revelations about his family and the community. In just a few words, Keegan so beautifully depicts this setting and the completely real character of Bill that I was far from ready to say goodbye after a mere 114 pages.