Foster by Claire Keegan is a very short novel that was first published in an abridged form as a short story in the New Yorker in February 2010 (or, possibly, the novel is an expansion of that story). In fact, back then I was commenting on my blog about every piece of fiction in the magazine and I liked it very much, although I wasn’t sold on the ending. When I polled my readers to choose the best story of the year, “Foster” won, as I announced here. I still find the ending difficult, but I won’t discuss that here because you should read it for yourself. The story begins with a girl’s father dropping her off to stay with a childless couple. We learn that the girl’s family is poor, and she’s the oldest of several children, with another on the way. Living with the Kinsella family is a huge change for her—there’s money to buy clothes, there’s food to eat—and she settles into a comfortable life without seeming to miss her family much. The more she realizes what she’s been deprived of, the sadder the story gets.
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante is the second in the Neapolitan novels by Ferrante. I didn’t love the first one, but I thought I’d take a stab at this one, since the books remain popular. In this volume, set in the 1960s, the girls are a little older and, in fact, one of them marries at age 16. The narrator is telling that girl’s story, while also telling her own. They come from a very poor neighborhood, where men treat women badly, and there isn’t much anyone can do about it. The book can be a bit tedious, at times, because Elena, the narrator, second guesses everything. She’s smart, no she’s ignorant, she’s pretty, no she’s ugly. And her friend, who is brilliant and beautiful, can’t seem to do anything right, so remains mired in Naples, while the narrator, to her surprise, manages to escape.
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan is a collection of three haunting stories. The title story is about a couple whose relationship founders from the beginning, with neither of them particularly keen about getting married. The second story is about a writer who goes on a writing retreat and encounters an unsettling man. I enjoyed the story because of the way the writer manages to avoid writing—there are walks to be taken, meals to cook, etc. The final story is about a woman who embarks on a fling, for reasons that aren’t made clear, and has to deal with the consequences.
The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell was my book club’s selection for this month, and I don’t think any of us really liked it much. It felt disjointed while occasionally making good—if obvious—points. The writer has written about cults, and here she’s writing about a related phenomenon: how we are inclined to believe what we hear/read because of various biases we harbor. It all boils down to the fact that you shouldn’t believe everything to see on the internet. It drives me a little batty that people will repost memes, for example, without checking to see if the underlying information is accurate. Often it isn’t.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. I found a lot to like about this short novel that paints a portrait of a good man. He’s a good father and husband, although he didn’t have a father involved in his own upbringing, and he attempts to do the right thing. It’s a moving book, as I’ve found Keegan’s other books to be.
Everything Claire Keegan’s written has won a prize, not that that’s the only measure of powerful writing, but . . . her spare language conveys so much without the overwriting and repetition of so many writers today. My college alum book club all agreed Foster was the best book they’d read all year.
Verghese’s Covenant of Water is brilliant for the opposite reason: details abound and yet it suits India and the story itself of generations. Thanks for the blog, always enjoy your take. Hope to see you in Crozet for your reading from the new novel.