A review of “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan
Set in a small Irish town in 1985, the point of view is that of kindly coal merchant, Bill Furlong. As the story develops, it becomes the author’s response to the scandal of the Magdalen laundries. Claire Keegan’s writing is so exquisite that one needs to read it slowly and fortunately one can because the book is little more than 100 pages. Furlong knew “It would be the easiest thing in the world to lose everything” and asks himself “was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”