So Late in the Day

Last year, I read and liked Small Things like these and Foster. Since then, I've been a fan of Claire Keegan and her writing.

There are three short stories in this collection. Not all are new, some were previously published. This edition includes:

* So Late in the Day

A quiet story about Cathal and his relationship with Sabine. My favorite from this collection.

 

* The Long and Painful Death

A writer takes a retreat to write in Heinrich Böll's house. Soon, a stranger comes and wants to see the house.

* Antarctica

A married woman travels to another town because she wonders what it would be like to sleep with another man.

I love how Keegan slowly builds tension in her stories. And she does the same in her short stories. I rarely enjoy every story included in a collection of short stories. Here, all three are very good and carry a powerful message. I enjoyed all of them, but So Late in the Day stood out for me.

4.5★ but rounded to 5★.

 

Details:

• author: Claire Keegan
• full title: So Late in the Day - stories of women and men
  
• genre: short stories, literary fiction
• format/type: bookfiction
• country: Ireland
• topics: #relationships, #mysoginy
  
• publisher: Grove Atlantic
  
• publish date: 14 Nov 2023
• pages: 128
  

My Rating of the Book:

• content: 💙💙💙💙💙

About the Author: 

 

Claire Keegan was born in Wexford in 1968.
Her story collections are Antarctica (London, Faber and Faber, 1999/New York, Grove/Atlantic, 1999); Walk the Blue Fields (Faber and Faber, 2007/ Grove Press, Black Cat, 2008); and the single story Foster (Faber and Faber, 2010).
Her awards include The Francis MacManus Award; The William Trevor Prize; the Olive Cook Award; the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year; the Rooney Prize for Literature, and Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award 2009, judged by Richard Ford.
A member of Aosdána, she lives in Co. Wexford.