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Antarctica
A secret one-night tryst in the city. A sister's revenge. A love-struck doctor. A missing girl. In Antarctica, an astonishing sequence of stories, one of our most gifted writers illuminates human longing and fallibility in all its variety.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
2625 people are currently reading
19854 people want to read
About the author
Claire Keegan
21 books10.2k followersClaire Keegan was raised on a farm in Wicklow. She completed her undergraduate studies at Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana and subsequently earned an MA at The University of Wales and an M.Phil at Trinity College, Dublin.
Her first collection of stories, Antarctica, was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. Her second, Walk the Blue Fields, was Richard Ford’s book of the year. Her works have won several awards including The Hugh Leonard Bursary, The Macaulay Fellowship, The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, The Martin Healy Prize, The Olive Cook Award, The Kilkenny Prize, The Tom Gallon Award and The William Trevor Prize, judged by William Trevor. Twice was Keegan the recipient of the Francis MacManus Award. She was also a Wingate Scholar. She lives in Wexford.
Her first collection of stories, Antarctica, was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. Her second, Walk the Blue Fields, was Richard Ford’s book of the year. Her works have won several awards including The Hugh Leonard Bursary, The Macaulay Fellowship, The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, The Martin Healy Prize, The Olive Cook Award, The Kilkenny Prize, The Tom Gallon Award and The William Trevor Prize, judged by William Trevor. Twice was Keegan the recipient of the Francis MacManus Award. She was also a Wingate Scholar. She lives in Wexford.
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September 8, 2024
‘It’s turning out that I’m taking no nonsense from anybody.’
Having been besotted with Claire Keegan’s novellas, it was no surprise to learn her writing career began with an award-winning short story collection. Keegan can do more in a few, quiet pages than most can in a full novel, carefully constructing heartfelt investigations delicately layered with subtle nuance and dialogue so crisp you practically hear it more than read it. Antarctica, her first collection published in 1999 demonstrates Keegan’s skills already swinging strong across a variety of tales full of infidelities, deaths, sexuality and grief populated by flawed, dynamic characters struggling against the pressures of a patriarchy. Though most stories come in around 10 pages, they radiate with life and emotion even beyond the rather muted depictions and feel so full, well crafted and engaging that you’ll swear they must be twice their size. Gorgeous and often rather haunting, Antarctica is not just an impressive debut but a stunning collection overall propelled by fluid writing and crisp storytelling.
‘She thought of Antarctica, the snow and ice and the bodies of dead explorers. Then she thought of hell, and then eternity.’
Keegan’s writing is so sharp you’ll swear you could cut your finger on it. Like a spider with words as her welcoming web, she grabs the reader with the rather soft writing and astonishing imagery only for them to discover they’re fully trapped in the glory of her creations too late to dodge the emotional blows that sneak up on you. Such is the case with the title story—which makes for one of the finest opening tales I’ve read in a long time—about a woman who heads to the city with the goal of having a brief affair with a stranger. While you have a general unease about the situation, it isn’t until you’ve let your guard down that the ending strikes with such sudden ferocity it practically leaves you gasping for breath.
She has such an economical use of words whiles threads ideas back and forth through the tales like a slight of hand trick where you watch in awe then finally realize the trap she has sprung. While these stories often end in surprising ways, it is less a gimmick sort of twist and more a sudden earthquake that you’ve felt coming but never expected to leave the living room of your heart so suddenly rent asunder. Like the tale of the two women in Sisters, one dutiful and one indulgent, having a sudden abrupt turn that returns everything to rest in a surprising but altogether earned and fitting conclusion, or The Singing Cashier which deals with men lustfully preying on vulnerable women and ends with the realization the two sisters had been within the grasps of another evil living down the street from the real-life Fred West murders of young girls. This isn’t to say they are always tidy endings, such as Love in the Tall Grass leaving us with the tension reaching an emotional peak in the most surprising and heartbreaking way.
‘It’s always married people who cry at weddings. They know the difference between the vows and the life.’
Throughout many of these stories we see the way patriarchal values are harmful and keep women trapped. Though one of the prevailing themes through the collection is that of shaking oneself free of such things, such as in Quare Name for a Boy—an extraordinary story where a young, pregnant woman realizes she can have the baby without continuing with the one-night-stand man she feels nothing for anymore—when the narrator thinks ‘I will not be the woman who shelters her man same as he’s a boy. That part of my people ends with me,’ as if she were a character from fellow Irish writer Eavan Boland’s poetry. Men and Women features a young girl and her mother at the mercy of the father’s moods, though a refusal to give him the satisfaction of their suffering leads to a reckoning. However, the oppressions of patriarchy is shown to not only harm the women but occasionally the men as well, such as in Passport Soup where a father’s grief over the loss of his child is only compounded by his “failures” as a man and provider.
‘Together, they will confront their past, the source of all their trouble, and stamp it out. That, at least, is the theory.’
Sexuality and infidelity run through many of these crisp tales as well, with Love in the Tall Grass being one of my favorites in the full collection. Keegan’s expertise at symbolism comes at full force here, such as the doctor’s (with whom the narrator has an affair) watch portentously ticking down time (‘irreversibly ticking’), or that she ‘thinks Judas Iscariot a beautiful name’ early in a story that will become about betrayal. Most notable, however, is the final story, The Ginger Rogers Sermon, a story with such an splendidly strong sense of voice and utterly shocking ending to a tale about the budding sexuality of a young girl and being raised around her father’s lumberjack business and the charming giant of a man, Slapper Jim, that she finds herself drawn toward.
Speaking of voice, Keegan has such a pitch perfect ear for dialogue. The Irish stories feel so distinctly Irish in the phrasing but I was surprised to find many of the tales take place in the southern United States. Stories such as the rather distressing Ride if You Dare are alive in southern dialect, something Keegan picked up on during her time at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
‘That's the way it is in our house, everybody knowing things but pretending they don't.’
Keegan is an extraordinary writer and her first collection, Antarctica, is an early promise of the great things to come. With any collection one should expect some highs and lows amongst the stories and this is no different though the highs certainly outnumber the lows. Her writing is so crisp it’s like taking a bite out of a head of lettuce and these stories are so fine tuned and succinct it is nearly miraculous. It is no surprise books like the novella Foster (a favorite of mine) are so concise with maximum emotional resonance when she writes short, short stories like these so eloquently. Antarctica is a gem and I can’t get enough Claire Keegan.
4.5/5
Having been besotted with Claire Keegan’s novellas, it was no surprise to learn her writing career began with an award-winning short story collection. Keegan can do more in a few, quiet pages than most can in a full novel, carefully constructing heartfelt investigations delicately layered with subtle nuance and dialogue so crisp you practically hear it more than read it. Antarctica, her first collection published in 1999 demonstrates Keegan’s skills already swinging strong across a variety of tales full of infidelities, deaths, sexuality and grief populated by flawed, dynamic characters struggling against the pressures of a patriarchy. Though most stories come in around 10 pages, they radiate with life and emotion even beyond the rather muted depictions and feel so full, well crafted and engaging that you’ll swear they must be twice their size. Gorgeous and often rather haunting, Antarctica is not just an impressive debut but a stunning collection overall propelled by fluid writing and crisp storytelling.
‘She thought of Antarctica, the snow and ice and the bodies of dead explorers. Then she thought of hell, and then eternity.’
Keegan’s writing is so sharp you’ll swear you could cut your finger on it. Like a spider with words as her welcoming web, she grabs the reader with the rather soft writing and astonishing imagery only for them to discover they’re fully trapped in the glory of her creations too late to dodge the emotional blows that sneak up on you. Such is the case with the title story—which makes for one of the finest opening tales I’ve read in a long time—about a woman who heads to the city with the goal of having a brief affair with a stranger. While you have a general unease about the situation, it isn’t until you’ve let your guard down that the ending strikes with such sudden ferocity it practically leaves you gasping for breath.
She has such an economical use of words whiles threads ideas back and forth through the tales like a slight of hand trick where you watch in awe then finally realize the trap she has sprung. While these stories often end in surprising ways, it is less a gimmick sort of twist and more a sudden earthquake that you’ve felt coming but never expected to leave the living room of your heart so suddenly rent asunder. Like the tale of the two women in Sisters, one dutiful and one indulgent, having a sudden abrupt turn that returns everything to rest in a surprising but altogether earned and fitting conclusion, or The Singing Cashier which deals with men lustfully preying on vulnerable women and ends with the realization the two sisters had been within the grasps of another evil living down the street from the real-life Fred West murders of young girls. This isn’t to say they are always tidy endings, such as Love in the Tall Grass leaving us with the tension reaching an emotional peak in the most surprising and heartbreaking way.
‘It’s always married people who cry at weddings. They know the difference between the vows and the life.’
Throughout many of these stories we see the way patriarchal values are harmful and keep women trapped. Though one of the prevailing themes through the collection is that of shaking oneself free of such things, such as in Quare Name for a Boy—an extraordinary story where a young, pregnant woman realizes she can have the baby without continuing with the one-night-stand man she feels nothing for anymore—when the narrator thinks ‘I will not be the woman who shelters her man same as he’s a boy. That part of my people ends with me,’ as if she were a character from fellow Irish writer Eavan Boland’s poetry. Men and Women features a young girl and her mother at the mercy of the father’s moods, though a refusal to give him the satisfaction of their suffering leads to a reckoning. However, the oppressions of patriarchy is shown to not only harm the women but occasionally the men as well, such as in Passport Soup where a father’s grief over the loss of his child is only compounded by his “failures” as a man and provider.
‘Together, they will confront their past, the source of all their trouble, and stamp it out. That, at least, is the theory.’
Sexuality and infidelity run through many of these crisp tales as well, with Love in the Tall Grass being one of my favorites in the full collection. Keegan’s expertise at symbolism comes at full force here, such as the doctor’s (with whom the narrator has an affair) watch portentously ticking down time (‘irreversibly ticking’), or that she ‘thinks Judas Iscariot a beautiful name’ early in a story that will become about betrayal. Most notable, however, is the final story, The Ginger Rogers Sermon, a story with such an splendidly strong sense of voice and utterly shocking ending to a tale about the budding sexuality of a young girl and being raised around her father’s lumberjack business and the charming giant of a man, Slapper Jim, that she finds herself drawn toward.
Speaking of voice, Keegan has such a pitch perfect ear for dialogue. The Irish stories feel so distinctly Irish in the phrasing but I was surprised to find many of the tales take place in the southern United States. Stories such as the rather distressing Ride if You Dare are alive in southern dialect, something Keegan picked up on during her time at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
‘That's the way it is in our house, everybody knowing things but pretending they don't.’
Keegan is an extraordinary writer and her first collection, Antarctica, is an early promise of the great things to come. With any collection one should expect some highs and lows amongst the stories and this is no different though the highs certainly outnumber the lows. Her writing is so crisp it’s like taking a bite out of a head of lettuce and these stories are so fine tuned and succinct it is nearly miraculous. It is no surprise books like the novella Foster (a favorite of mine) are so concise with maximum emotional resonance when she writes short, short stories like these so eloquently. Antarctica is a gem and I can’t get enough Claire Keegan.
4.5/5
April 30, 2024
‘Whatever you say, I'll manage. I will live out of a water barrel and check the skies. I will learn fifteen types of wind and know the weight of tomorrow's rain by the rustle in the sycamores. Make nettle soup and dandelion bread, ask for nothing.’
Through a series of short stories, Keegan explores the complexities of relationships, loss, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels cold and indifferent. The stories and characters in Antarctica are diverse and richly drawn. Each searching for something - love, connection, redemption, escape and their stories are both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Her characters are flawed and complex, and their struggles are deeply relatable. Keegan has created a world that is both familiar and strange, her writing flows beautifully, it’s poetic and evocative.
There is no doubt Claire Keegan is a gifted storyteller. I was completely engrossed in each story and genuinely felt sadness when the book ended. I don’t recall ever reading a short story collection and loving every single one. This is a testament to Keegans phenomenal writing ability. I am very much looking forward to reading her other works.
I recommend Antarctica to anyone who enjoys literary fiction, or to anyone who is interested in stories about human resilience and the power of connection.
My Highest Recommendation.
Through a series of short stories, Keegan explores the complexities of relationships, loss, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels cold and indifferent. The stories and characters in Antarctica are diverse and richly drawn. Each searching for something - love, connection, redemption, escape and their stories are both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Her characters are flawed and complex, and their struggles are deeply relatable. Keegan has created a world that is both familiar and strange, her writing flows beautifully, it’s poetic and evocative.
There is no doubt Claire Keegan is a gifted storyteller. I was completely engrossed in each story and genuinely felt sadness when the book ended. I don’t recall ever reading a short story collection and loving every single one. This is a testament to Keegans phenomenal writing ability. I am very much looking forward to reading her other works.
I recommend Antarctica to anyone who enjoys literary fiction, or to anyone who is interested in stories about human resilience and the power of connection.
My Highest Recommendation.
August 1, 2021
“She thought of Antarctica, the snow and ice and the bodies of dead explorers. Then she thought of hell, and then eternity.”
In the heat of July and early August, I’m often drawn to stories set in frigid climates, believing they will help dull that sense of lethargy and invigorate the spirit a bit. I’ve read Jack London as well as White Darkness by David Grann in past summers. They did the trick rather splendidly. So when I saw this title by Claire Keegan, an author that seems to be well-liked by my friends here, I decided it would fit into my little theme. As it turns out, not even the title story is set on that inhospitable continent. Yet, many of these tales were quite chilling just the same. “Antarctica” in particular was unnerving enough to turn any curious adventuress into an agoraphobe forever!
“Those are the pictures from that time. Three dirty lumberjacks sligging out timber, the wood slick and white beneath the bark. The forester looking at me because I’m a girl. Eating packets of Bourbon Creams, spitting, listening to Radio One in the car when it rained, sharpening chain, files grinding on the rakers, the cutters shining all around like some deadly necklace.”
The writing is descriptive, creating vivid images, yet crisp and concise. The tone is often dark and melancholy, sometimes nostalgic. There are illicit meetings, coming of age stories, daughters and wives wanting to escape the chains of girlhood and womanhood, men grieving over past mistakes, men taking second chances. There are various settings ranging from old homesteads and farms to the seaside to the American south. There was even one story with a sprinkling of fresh snow, so I suppose I got my wintry landscape, even just briefly.
If this was Keegan’s debut collection, then I’m in for a real treat when I pick up some of her later work. Though the reader doesn’t necessarily establish any connections to the characters in these short pieces, the fear, the wistfulness, and the pain are rather palpable. I’m not quite sure how she managed this feat, but I’m certainly ready for more!
“She wished the world could turn into a fabulous, outrageous red to match her mood.”
In the heat of July and early August, I’m often drawn to stories set in frigid climates, believing they will help dull that sense of lethargy and invigorate the spirit a bit. I’ve read Jack London as well as White Darkness by David Grann in past summers. They did the trick rather splendidly. So when I saw this title by Claire Keegan, an author that seems to be well-liked by my friends here, I decided it would fit into my little theme. As it turns out, not even the title story is set on that inhospitable continent. Yet, many of these tales were quite chilling just the same. “Antarctica” in particular was unnerving enough to turn any curious adventuress into an agoraphobe forever!
“Those are the pictures from that time. Three dirty lumberjacks sligging out timber, the wood slick and white beneath the bark. The forester looking at me because I’m a girl. Eating packets of Bourbon Creams, spitting, listening to Radio One in the car when it rained, sharpening chain, files grinding on the rakers, the cutters shining all around like some deadly necklace.”
The writing is descriptive, creating vivid images, yet crisp and concise. The tone is often dark and melancholy, sometimes nostalgic. There are illicit meetings, coming of age stories, daughters and wives wanting to escape the chains of girlhood and womanhood, men grieving over past mistakes, men taking second chances. There are various settings ranging from old homesteads and farms to the seaside to the American south. There was even one story with a sprinkling of fresh snow, so I suppose I got my wintry landscape, even just briefly.
If this was Keegan’s debut collection, then I’m in for a real treat when I pick up some of her later work. Though the reader doesn’t necessarily establish any connections to the characters in these short pieces, the fear, the wistfulness, and the pain are rather palpable. I’m not quite sure how she managed this feat, but I’m certainly ready for more!
“She wished the world could turn into a fabulous, outrageous red to match her mood.”
September 9, 2023
Antarctica is my third book by the undeniably talented Claire Keegan. She has an almost magical ability to draw the reader in with a paucity of words. This, her debut collection of short stories, was filled with the same beautiful prose and healthy dose of longing that weaves its way through everything I’ve read of hers thus far.
To my mind, the overarching theme of this collection was "escape." Escape from a dull marriage, a psychotic lover, poor life choices, and even loneliness. Almost everyone, at one time or another, has dreamed of a different life for themselves, and I believe that this is why many of these stories are so relatable.
A word of warning: several of these tales include themes that might be considered disturbing. The initial story scared the bejesus out of me! And while this was not my favorite read by this author to date, there is no denying that it is beautifully done.
Thank you to Candi for her wonderful review that prompted me to add this!
See her write-up here.
To my mind, the overarching theme of this collection was "escape." Escape from a dull marriage, a psychotic lover, poor life choices, and even loneliness. Almost everyone, at one time or another, has dreamed of a different life for themselves, and I believe that this is why many of these stories are so relatable.
A word of warning: several of these tales include themes that might be considered disturbing. The initial story scared the bejesus out of me! And while this was not my favorite read by this author to date, there is no denying that it is beautifully done.
Thank you to Candi for her wonderful review that prompted me to add this!
See her write-up here.
June 29, 2022
Ever since reading Small Things Like These in 2021 , I've become a fan of Claire Keegan’s writing. Recently, I picked up Foster which is also a beautifully written novella and since then I have been looking for more of her work. Antarctica is her debut collection of sixteen short stories, few of which had been previously published. This compilation of short stories was published in 1999.
As with all short story collections, some of the stories were particularly impactful while some were relatively weaker. My favorites among the stories include “Sisters” as the name suggests tells the story of two sisters whose lives take off in different directions, one of duty and sacrifice and the other of privilege and self-indulgence -but when pushed to the limits one of them snaps restoring a sense of balance to her life. “Men and Women,” is about a long-suffering Irish housewife and mother who finally gets an opportunity to prove her worth to her dominating and condescending husband. The titular story “Antarctica” is about a happily married housewife who plans a weekend to fulfill her curiosity about “how it would feel to sleep with another man” but gets more than she bargained for. Some of the other stories that I enjoyed include “The Burning Palms,” “Passport Soup,” "Quare Name for a Boy” and “Storms”. In “The Singing Cashier”, the author incorporates the character of the serial killer Fred West into the story.
It is rare to find a short story collection that is impressive as this one. The prose is simple, crisp and elegant. The themes of these stories are varied as are the settings ( Ireland, England and the US)– infidelity, patriarchy and dominance, complicated family dynamics, sexuality, grief and guilt – there is a whole spectrum of human behavior and emotions that Claire Keegan writes about. With its vivid imagery, fluid prose and flawed characters, some of whom evoke sympathy and some not so much, Antarctica is an engaging and thought-provoking read.
As with all short story collections, some of the stories were particularly impactful while some were relatively weaker. My favorites among the stories include “Sisters” as the name suggests tells the story of two sisters whose lives take off in different directions, one of duty and sacrifice and the other of privilege and self-indulgence -but when pushed to the limits one of them snaps restoring a sense of balance to her life. “Men and Women,” is about a long-suffering Irish housewife and mother who finally gets an opportunity to prove her worth to her dominating and condescending husband. The titular story “Antarctica” is about a happily married housewife who plans a weekend to fulfill her curiosity about “how it would feel to sleep with another man” but gets more than she bargained for. Some of the other stories that I enjoyed include “The Burning Palms,” “Passport Soup,” "Quare Name for a Boy” and “Storms”. In “The Singing Cashier”, the author incorporates the character of the serial killer Fred West into the story.
It is rare to find a short story collection that is impressive as this one. The prose is simple, crisp and elegant. The themes of these stories are varied as are the settings ( Ireland, England and the US)– infidelity, patriarchy and dominance, complicated family dynamics, sexuality, grief and guilt – there is a whole spectrum of human behavior and emotions that Claire Keegan writes about. With its vivid imagery, fluid prose and flawed characters, some of whom evoke sympathy and some not so much, Antarctica is an engaging and thought-provoking read.
September 3, 2022
Update…. I finished the rest of the stories.
DENSE….with strange endings — unsettling and or intriguing endings - brilliant prose — and (for me) —AT LEAST not as excruciating devastating as the title story.
Overall— this wasn’t my favorite Claire Keegan book — but I own one more I still want to read.
Why? My god — she can write!!!! ->> as pulls the reader in with —- ha—- a vengeance.
True story —
Feeling vulnerable to share this — so be kind. (no details left out)
I woke up around midnight last night (had fallen asleep at 8pm)
I reached for my iPhone. I returned an email. I opened Goodreads. Read Tamar’s review on “Antarctica”.
I’m in the middle of a couple of audiobooks—but hadn’t picked my next ebook to read yet.
So … I started reading this book— already sooo in love with Claire Keegan from previous work —
I read the ‘first’ story — the title story —
COULD NOT PULL AWAY….
It’s gripping - to a very disturbing ending ….
I set my Kindle down on my nightstand.
I put my left hand between my legs —not—to masturbate - some type of protection comfort - maybe — over my underwear.
I fell asleep.
I woke up again at 1:59am.
I was shaking, breathing heavy, a pounding headache.
I had the scariest nightmare that I can ever remember having in years.
I’m still shaking.
I need to fall back to sleep.
I’m now debating it I should read the rest of the stories in this collection
Whew— well not tonight anyway.
I’m still feeling the after-effects. My chest feels tight.
But headache already feels better since writing this — from still under my covers.
Going back to sleep.
SOMEBODY tell me — are the rest of these stories frightening—unsettling?
If yea — I’m feeling so scared now — not sure if to continue….
Maybe later
For now — thanks for reading this - if anyone did.
Going back to sleep.
DENSE….with strange endings — unsettling and or intriguing endings - brilliant prose — and (for me) —AT LEAST not as excruciating devastating as the title story.
Overall— this wasn’t my favorite Claire Keegan book — but I own one more I still want to read.
Why? My god — she can write!!!! ->> as pulls the reader in with —- ha—- a vengeance.
True story —
Feeling vulnerable to share this — so be kind. (no details left out)
I woke up around midnight last night (had fallen asleep at 8pm)
I reached for my iPhone. I returned an email. I opened Goodreads. Read Tamar’s review on “Antarctica”.
I’m in the middle of a couple of audiobooks—but hadn’t picked my next ebook to read yet.
So … I started reading this book— already sooo in love with Claire Keegan from previous work —
I read the ‘first’ story — the title story —
COULD NOT PULL AWAY….
It’s gripping - to a very disturbing ending ….
I set my Kindle down on my nightstand.
I put my left hand between my legs —not—to masturbate - some type of protection comfort - maybe — over my underwear.
I fell asleep.
I woke up again at 1:59am.
I was shaking, breathing heavy, a pounding headache.
I had the scariest nightmare that I can ever remember having in years.
I’m still shaking.
I need to fall back to sleep.
I’m now debating it I should read the rest of the stories in this collection
Whew— well not tonight anyway.
I’m still feeling the after-effects. My chest feels tight.
But headache already feels better since writing this — from still under my covers.
Going back to sleep.
SOMEBODY tell me — are the rest of these stories frightening—unsettling?
If yea — I’m feeling so scared now — not sure if to continue….
Maybe later
For now — thanks for reading this - if anyone did.
Going back to sleep.
July 14, 2024
Keegan excels at distilling deeply suppressed emotions, seasoned with subtle foreshadowing, in just a few pages. Even when the reader spots casual mention of something that may become significant, it’s not clear why, so the end can still surprise. In several cases, I immediately reread a story to follow the clues and marvel at Keegan’s skill.
Image: Distillation - though these stories are art, not science (Source)
Many of the characters are nameless and the stories often focus on an adolescent girl. All seem to be set in the last 40 years, and although many are in Ireland, others are in the USA and England. None are happy stories (all the relationships and families are damaged or dysfunctional), but sometimes karma is sweet release.
I’ve loved Keegan’s novellas; these short stories are at least as good. To call them bittersweet is to undersell them. They were published in 1999.
Stories - no spoilers
1. Antarctica, 5*
“Every time the happily married woman went away she wondered how it would feel to sleep with another man.”
An enticing start to a chilling, but non-judgemental, morality tale.
“She thought him the least threatening man she'd ever known.”
The story might be triggering for some, but there are signs enough, should you want to stop reading, even before the meteorological omen:
“Light drained out of that day. Dusk stoked the sky, bribing daylight into darkness.”
2. Love in the Tall Grass, 4*
“A late September dusk of fallen fruit.”
A delicate dance between a tragic backstory and foreboding of imminent disappointment, leaden with gossip and guilt.
“They gave each other things. That was their first mistake.”
Later:
“Time altered, took on unfathomable dimensions.”
After which, the remainder of the story switches to the present tense.
3. Where the Water’s Deepest, 4*
All the characters are defined by role, rather than name. The au pair is plagued by dreams of letting the boy in her charge fall.
“She remembered reading somewhere that a fear of heights masks an attraction to falling.”
It made me ponder the different ways people love and care for children, whether biological parents, adoptive parents, or paid carers. For some, the risk is loving too much; for others, the danger is not loving enough.
Image: Adult on cliff, seeing person falling (Source)
4. The Ginger Rogers Sermon, 3*
“Now that I am thirteen, I’m sectioned off from men.”
The narrator is the much younger sister (“The Shakings of the [scrotal] Bag”) of two brothers, in a dance-mad family, struggling to get by in rural Ireland. The quotidian sights, sounds, smells, secrets, and tensions are vividly drawn.
“That’s the way it is in our house, everybody knowing things but pretending they don’t.”
5. Storms, 4*
“My mother dreamt things before they happened.”
That could be fun. Watching the stars, barefoot, by moonlight:
“Her… mad words not senseless at all, but sensing what we could not.”
But of course, it isn’t. Dark (not supernatural) things happen. Towards the denouement, the story switches from past to present tense.
6. The Singing Cashier, 2*
Youngish sisters share a house and don’t know their neighbours. It’s some time “after Dad”, and the elder one thinks the younger is unaware of her entanglement with the lecherous postman:
“The voice is treacle-sweet, reaching down the hall as if to grope us.”
It might have been 3*, but the sudden link to a real-life case killed it for me.
Image: Eyes looking through a letterbox (Source)
7. Burns, 5*
The unease and foreshadowing are less subtle in this, but just as powerful. A man, his three young children, and new wife are confronting their past, on a trial basis, in an isolated and dilapidated house.
“It is dark and starry and there are snakes in the country.”
It tenderly explores abuse, trauma, and, most importantly, healing. (Some unpleasant bugs, though!)
8. Quare Name for a Boy, 4*
This is addressed to “you… a Christmas fling”, so one aspect is predictable, but the actual story is less so. It’s tender, mildly amusing, slightly strange, but very believable.
9. Ride if You Dare, 4*
A blind date between a middle-aged man and woman, who may or may not be single.
“They skirt the conversation around their home lives.”
A white-knuckle fairground ride is an unoriginal metaphor, but the suppressed anxiety, embarrassment, and thrill are carefully drawn.
10. Men and Women, 3*
“I am the girl of a thousand uses… My brother is going to be somebody.”
Another impoverished and somewhat dysfunctional Irish farming family, with semi-secrets they won’t discuss. The weak point was the girl’s implausible naivety: she seemed to be approaching her teens, and I get that she saw things between adults she didn’t understand, but I struggle to believe that she still believed in Santa.
11. Sisters, 5*
“On Sunday morning, Louisa balances their father’s old shaving mirror on the crucifix in Betty’s window and plucks her eyebrows into perfect semi-circles. Betty milks the cow and digs potatoes and gets ready for mass.”
Difference, duty, entitlement, inheritance, and revenge. The broad arc is predictable, but the telling is brilliantly waspish. Louisa married, had a son and daughter, and lives a lavish life in England. Betty stayed home in Ireland to run the small farm and care for her ungrateful father, until his recent death. Betty goes to great effort, and expense she can ill afford, preparing for the annual visit of Louisa’s family. Three of them come, plus dog, and they’re insufferable, rude, demanding, messy, and greedy, resurrecting memories that salt old wounds.
In their teens, Louisa said:
“Try not to smile. You look terrible when you smile.”
And for years, Betty tried not to smile. Now, Betty observes:
“Louisa’s prominent white teeth are too plentiful for her smile.”
Revenge is sweet - and justified - and it’s not about knocking out teeth.
12. A Scent of Winter, 3*
Hanson takes his two kids and their nanny to visit his friend, “a stocky, indecent-looking man” called Greer, who lives in a house painted “the colour of raw liver”. The men go fishing and the nanny gets bored. It gradually emerges that a terrible thing happened a few days ago and the consequences of Greer’s hasty actions are problematic. There’s an interesting issue at the heart of this, but I didn’t find it very believable, and I didn’t feel immersed in the setting.
13. You Can’t Be Too Careful, 5*
This starts with explicit foreboding:
“If only I’d known, I would have…”
It’s peppered with clues, followed with asides like:
“I didn’t think nothing of it.”
It’s fun to be smarter than the narrator, but is it made up, or a set-up? Either way, I was left wondering what I would do if I were either of the protagonists.
14. The Burning Palms, 3*
Grandmother’s house has no electricity or plumbing:
“Her kitchen smells of burnt lard, coal smoke, lamp oil.”
The story concerns a tragedy and how and why it happened. It’s cleverly told, and I reread it immediately to join the dots more clearly.
15. Passport Soup, 4*
A girl is missing; has been for a while. Her parents cope (I use the word loosely) in different, distant ways.
“He has become the invisible husband.”
When the wife finally, wordlessly, interacts with her husband, it’s devastating: cathartic for her and cruel to him.
“But Frank Corso feels better. It is a start. It is better than nothing.”
What would you settle for?
Image: Missing child on a milk carton (Source)
Other quotes
• “When he lathered a flannel, she got up. Water fell off her shoulder and trickled down her legs. He began at her feet and worked upwards, washing her in strong, slow circles. She… raised her feet and arms and turned like a child to him. He… rinsed her off, wrapped her in a towel.”
• “This water is colder than a broken dream.”
• “Hunchbacked clouds slide across the headland… grey-dull clusters gathering momentum out along the cliffs while behind them night discharges darkness.”
• “Stars fall and jingle round their feet like coins.”
• “The strange applause of the wind blowing through the trees.”
• “Tall pines are grooming the wind.”
• “Inheritance is not renewal. More than anything, it keeps everything the same.”
• “He read in the withering light until the print grew indistinct and he had to hold the pages towards the window to see the words.”
More Keegan
See my reviews of these novellas, all 4*:
• Foster pub 2010, HERE.
• Small Things Like These pub 2021, HERE.
• So Late in the Day pub 2022, HERE.
Image: Distillation - though these stories are art, not science (Source)
Many of the characters are nameless and the stories often focus on an adolescent girl. All seem to be set in the last 40 years, and although many are in Ireland, others are in the USA and England. None are happy stories (all the relationships and families are damaged or dysfunctional), but sometimes karma is sweet release.
I’ve loved Keegan’s novellas; these short stories are at least as good. To call them bittersweet is to undersell them. They were published in 1999.
Stories - no spoilers
1. Antarctica, 5*
“Every time the happily married woman went away she wondered how it would feel to sleep with another man.”
An enticing start to a chilling, but non-judgemental, morality tale.
“She thought him the least threatening man she'd ever known.”
The story might be triggering for some, but there are signs enough, should you want to stop reading, even before the meteorological omen:
“Light drained out of that day. Dusk stoked the sky, bribing daylight into darkness.”
2. Love in the Tall Grass, 4*
“A late September dusk of fallen fruit.”
A delicate dance between a tragic backstory and foreboding of imminent disappointment, leaden with gossip and guilt.
“They gave each other things. That was their first mistake.”
Later:
“Time altered, took on unfathomable dimensions.”
After which, the remainder of the story switches to the present tense.
3. Where the Water’s Deepest, 4*
All the characters are defined by role, rather than name. The au pair is plagued by dreams of letting the boy in her charge fall.
“She remembered reading somewhere that a fear of heights masks an attraction to falling.”
It made me ponder the different ways people love and care for children, whether biological parents, adoptive parents, or paid carers. For some, the risk is loving too much; for others, the danger is not loving enough.
Image: Adult on cliff, seeing person falling (Source)
4. The Ginger Rogers Sermon, 3*
“Now that I am thirteen, I’m sectioned off from men.”
The narrator is the much younger sister (“The Shakings of the [scrotal] Bag”) of two brothers, in a dance-mad family, struggling to get by in rural Ireland. The quotidian sights, sounds, smells, secrets, and tensions are vividly drawn.
“That’s the way it is in our house, everybody knowing things but pretending they don’t.”
5. Storms, 4*
“My mother dreamt things before they happened.”
That could be fun. Watching the stars, barefoot, by moonlight:
“Her… mad words not senseless at all, but sensing what we could not.”
But of course, it isn’t. Dark (not supernatural) things happen. Towards the denouement, the story switches from past to present tense.
6. The Singing Cashier, 2*
Youngish sisters share a house and don’t know their neighbours. It’s some time “after Dad”, and the elder one thinks the younger is unaware of her entanglement with the lecherous postman:
“The voice is treacle-sweet, reaching down the hall as if to grope us.”
It might have been 3*, but the sudden link to a real-life case killed it for me.
Image: Eyes looking through a letterbox (Source)
7. Burns, 5*
The unease and foreshadowing are less subtle in this, but just as powerful. A man, his three young children, and new wife are confronting their past, on a trial basis, in an isolated and dilapidated house.
“It is dark and starry and there are snakes in the country.”
It tenderly explores abuse, trauma, and, most importantly, healing. (Some unpleasant bugs, though!)
8. Quare Name for a Boy, 4*
This is addressed to “you… a Christmas fling”, so one aspect is predictable, but the actual story is less so. It’s tender, mildly amusing, slightly strange, but very believable.
9. Ride if You Dare, 4*
A blind date between a middle-aged man and woman, who may or may not be single.
“They skirt the conversation around their home lives.”
A white-knuckle fairground ride is an unoriginal metaphor, but the suppressed anxiety, embarrassment, and thrill are carefully drawn.
10. Men and Women, 3*
“I am the girl of a thousand uses… My brother is going to be somebody.”
Another impoverished and somewhat dysfunctional Irish farming family, with semi-secrets they won’t discuss. The weak point was the girl’s implausible naivety: she seemed to be approaching her teens, and I get that she saw things between adults she didn’t understand, but I struggle to believe that she still believed in Santa.
11. Sisters, 5*
“On Sunday morning, Louisa balances their father’s old shaving mirror on the crucifix in Betty’s window and plucks her eyebrows into perfect semi-circles. Betty milks the cow and digs potatoes and gets ready for mass.”
Difference, duty, entitlement, inheritance, and revenge. The broad arc is predictable, but the telling is brilliantly waspish. Louisa married, had a son and daughter, and lives a lavish life in England. Betty stayed home in Ireland to run the small farm and care for her ungrateful father, until his recent death. Betty goes to great effort, and expense she can ill afford, preparing for the annual visit of Louisa’s family. Three of them come, plus dog, and they’re insufferable, rude, demanding, messy, and greedy, resurrecting memories that salt old wounds.
In their teens, Louisa said:
“Try not to smile. You look terrible when you smile.”
And for years, Betty tried not to smile. Now, Betty observes:
“Louisa’s prominent white teeth are too plentiful for her smile.”
Revenge is sweet - and justified - and it’s not about knocking out teeth.
12. A Scent of Winter, 3*
Hanson takes his two kids and their nanny to visit his friend, “a stocky, indecent-looking man” called Greer, who lives in a house painted “the colour of raw liver”. The men go fishing and the nanny gets bored. It gradually emerges that a terrible thing happened a few days ago and the consequences of Greer’s hasty actions are problematic. There’s an interesting issue at the heart of this, but I didn’t find it very believable, and I didn’t feel immersed in the setting.
13. You Can’t Be Too Careful, 5*
This starts with explicit foreboding:
“If only I’d known, I would have…”
It’s peppered with clues, followed with asides like:
“I didn’t think nothing of it.”
It’s fun to be smarter than the narrator, but is it made up, or a set-up? Either way, I was left wondering what I would do if I were either of the protagonists.
14. The Burning Palms, 3*
Grandmother’s house has no electricity or plumbing:
“Her kitchen smells of burnt lard, coal smoke, lamp oil.”
The story concerns a tragedy and how and why it happened. It’s cleverly told, and I reread it immediately to join the dots more clearly.
15. Passport Soup, 4*
A girl is missing; has been for a while. Her parents cope (I use the word loosely) in different, distant ways.
“He has become the invisible husband.”
When the wife finally, wordlessly, interacts with her husband, it’s devastating: cathartic for her and cruel to him.
“But Frank Corso feels better. It is a start. It is better than nothing.”
What would you settle for?
Image: Missing child on a milk carton (Source)
Other quotes
• “When he lathered a flannel, she got up. Water fell off her shoulder and trickled down her legs. He began at her feet and worked upwards, washing her in strong, slow circles. She… raised her feet and arms and turned like a child to him. He… rinsed her off, wrapped her in a towel.”
• “This water is colder than a broken dream.”
• “Hunchbacked clouds slide across the headland… grey-dull clusters gathering momentum out along the cliffs while behind them night discharges darkness.”
• “Stars fall and jingle round their feet like coins.”
• “The strange applause of the wind blowing through the trees.”
• “Tall pines are grooming the wind.”
• “Inheritance is not renewal. More than anything, it keeps everything the same.”
• “He read in the withering light until the print grew indistinct and he had to hold the pages towards the window to see the words.”
More Keegan
See my reviews of these novellas, all 4*:
• Foster pub 2010, HERE.
• Small Things Like These pub 2021, HERE.
• So Late in the Day pub 2022, HERE.
June 23, 2025
Emotionally charged and lyrical, Antarctica is a collection of short stories that revolve around ordinary people and the subjects of loss, grief, relationships, betrayal and obsession.
January 23, 2024
This short story collection was gorgeously written, though quite dark and brutal at times. Despite its heaviness, Claire Keegan still captured lightness and beauty in each story.
September 16, 2024
This debut short story collection of Claire Keegan leaves no doubt in my mind that she is a truly gifted writer. These are tales about people of all walks of life, rather normal or strange people, country and city people, Irish or southern American. What each tale has in common is that trouble, sorrow and despair is always lurking around the corner, just waiting to manifest itself. Claire Keegan grabs you from the first line in each story and you’re just overwhelmed again by a new unexpected story line and ending. The first story is the most shocking tale of them all, ending in such a horrendous way with what must be a universal fear of any woman anywhere in the world. The stories are very different in tone and feeling and range from hilarious to damn scary. I just thought they were all distinctly marvelous.
October 14, 2022
This is the fourth book that I’ve read by this author… she is such a talent.
This book of short stories, her debut, is mostly dark with unsettling endings.
I did enjoy it , she writes beautifully..
I look forward to reading the books of hers that I haven’t gotten to yet!
“Foster” remains my favorite.. so far!
This book of short stories, her debut, is mostly dark with unsettling endings.
I did enjoy it , she writes beautifully..
I look forward to reading the books of hers that I haven’t gotten to yet!
“Foster” remains my favorite.. so far!
Read
May 15, 2022When I woke up this morning, I felt something sitting on my right shoulder, and now it seems as if there’s a furry paw beginning to curl around my neck. I know I have little time. I know that I have to choke this thing before it chokes me..
So here goes: if I’ve learned anything from Claire Keegan, it’s to avoid messing around and get straight to the point. Why waste time setting up scenarios, explaining the background. You just have to grab the reader from the first line, get those hearts racing and show no mercy. You can fill in the details as you go, she implies, but make them really vivid, make them lodge in the reader’s mind. I finished this book earlier in the month, the last book I finished this year in fact, and even though I’ve been making my way through two other long collections of stories in the meantime, and even though there have been people milling around my house, full of Christmas cheer and giving me little time to read, never mind write this final review, the details of Keegan’s short tales are camped in my brain: an open window and a rain-drenched bed, sand dunes in winter, the squeal of a pig being killed, a toddler jumping into deep water, a bowl of soup with passport photos floating in it, I could go on and on but instead, I’ll just tell you to read the collection for yourself.
Phew - that's better!
So here goes: if I’ve learned anything from Claire Keegan, it’s to avoid messing around and get straight to the point. Why waste time setting up scenarios, explaining the background. You just have to grab the reader from the first line, get those hearts racing and show no mercy. You can fill in the details as you go, she implies, but make them really vivid, make them lodge in the reader’s mind. I finished this book earlier in the month, the last book I finished this year in fact, and even though I’ve been making my way through two other long collections of stories in the meantime, and even though there have been people milling around my house, full of Christmas cheer and giving me little time to read, never mind write this final review, the details of Keegan’s short tales are camped in my brain: an open window and a rain-drenched bed, sand dunes in winter, the squeal of a pig being killed, a toddler jumping into deep water, a bowl of soup with passport photos floating in it, I could go on and on but instead, I’ll just tell you to read the collection for yourself.
Phew - that's better!
February 24, 2024
It's worth noting that this collection was published twenty-five years ago, so it's not a stretch to suppose some of these stories are three decades old, the writer in her mid-late twenties at the time of their creation. I bring this up because of the astonishing depth and maturity of theme, voice, construction and the chillingly precise way Claire Keegan lands the knockout blows. This is the work of a preternaturally gifted writer, as she has proven herself to be in more recent novels/novellas Foster and Small Things Like These. Keegan has an amazing ability to tap into the darkest corners of the human soul and to remain there for excruciating lengths. Her endings bring little relief for she rarely indulges in resolution. Because life itself rarely offers resolution. Most times we just lurch from crisis to disappointment to coping to resignation and on around again.
Lordy, but I sound bleak, don't I? Well, pour a cuppa and buckle up. Maybe put on some warm socks and grab a blanket. Antarctica will chill you to the bone.
As is typical with short story collections, the opening salvo is the most sensational, the mic drop, water cooler story. I found the eponymous opener deliciously creepy, but also somewhat generic. It's tight, clever, and soulless. It succeeds, however, in setting the collection's tone: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."
The sixteen stories in Antarctica range in voice and setting, from young girls to embittered wives, grieving husbands to spinsters, from rural Ireland to the Deep South, but the themes form a tapestry of betrayal and sorrow, disappointment and despair. Marriage, with its inherent power struggles, deceits and disenchantments, is a frequent subject. The wife in the title story dashes off for a weekend alone in the city, determined to have her first, and it appears last, affair. In Men and Women we witness the slow burning rage of a loveless marriage through the eyes of a lonely young girl. Many years after her affair with a local doctor, Cordelia prepares to meet her former lover at midnight on New Year's Eve, but when she arrives at the appointed spot, she's met by the unexpected (Love in the Tall Grass). In Passport Soup, one of the collection's most wrenching stories, a couple grieves the loss of their disappeared daughter. The wife is consumed by anger, which she turns on her husband in gut-twisting ways.
Keegan probes the vulnerability of children, often using a child's innocence to reveal the world's cruelty. Ginger Roger's Sermon uses a girl's crush and her budding sexuality to tragic ends. The Burning Palms presses a terrible burden of guilt on a blameless young boy's soul. The au pair in Where The Water's Deepest falls asleep in a high-rise hotel room, forgetting to shut the door to the balcony. A father brings his children back to the home where they'd endured their mother's abuse, hoping to offer them all a fresh start in Burns.
Nearly every story has an iconic image that sears it into mind's eye, whether it's Louisa's gorgeous golden veil of hair in Sisters or the father standing alone in the snow as his wife drives away in Men and Women or the swarming cockroaches in Burns or that creepy cat in Antarctica. It's a masterful stroke that makes these stories seem like poems, the narrative built around an inspirational or culminating image or object that serves as allegory.
A few of the stories left me cold—not with a gasping shiver, but rather with a shrugging emptiness: The Singing Cashier, about two sisters who learn of a serial killer in their midst, the man and woman who meet at a roadside diner after connecting through an ad in the personals in Ride If You Dare and the Quentin Tarantino-ish nightmare of The Scent of Winter were just sad and strange. But lesser Claire Keegan is still outrageously great.
Lordy, but I sound bleak, don't I? Well, pour a cuppa and buckle up. Maybe put on some warm socks and grab a blanket. Antarctica will chill you to the bone.
As is typical with short story collections, the opening salvo is the most sensational, the mic drop, water cooler story. I found the eponymous opener deliciously creepy, but also somewhat generic. It's tight, clever, and soulless. It succeeds, however, in setting the collection's tone: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."
The sixteen stories in Antarctica range in voice and setting, from young girls to embittered wives, grieving husbands to spinsters, from rural Ireland to the Deep South, but the themes form a tapestry of betrayal and sorrow, disappointment and despair. Marriage, with its inherent power struggles, deceits and disenchantments, is a frequent subject. The wife in the title story dashes off for a weekend alone in the city, determined to have her first, and it appears last, affair. In Men and Women we witness the slow burning rage of a loveless marriage through the eyes of a lonely young girl. Many years after her affair with a local doctor, Cordelia prepares to meet her former lover at midnight on New Year's Eve, but when she arrives at the appointed spot, she's met by the unexpected (Love in the Tall Grass). In Passport Soup, one of the collection's most wrenching stories, a couple grieves the loss of their disappeared daughter. The wife is consumed by anger, which she turns on her husband in gut-twisting ways.
Keegan probes the vulnerability of children, often using a child's innocence to reveal the world's cruelty. Ginger Roger's Sermon uses a girl's crush and her budding sexuality to tragic ends. The Burning Palms presses a terrible burden of guilt on a blameless young boy's soul. The au pair in Where The Water's Deepest falls asleep in a high-rise hotel room, forgetting to shut the door to the balcony. A father brings his children back to the home where they'd endured their mother's abuse, hoping to offer them all a fresh start in Burns.
Nearly every story has an iconic image that sears it into mind's eye, whether it's Louisa's gorgeous golden veil of hair in Sisters or the father standing alone in the snow as his wife drives away in Men and Women or the swarming cockroaches in Burns or that creepy cat in Antarctica. It's a masterful stroke that makes these stories seem like poems, the narrative built around an inspirational or culminating image or object that serves as allegory.
A few of the stories left me cold—not with a gasping shiver, but rather with a shrugging emptiness: The Singing Cashier, about two sisters who learn of a serial killer in their midst, the man and woman who meet at a roadside diner after connecting through an ad in the personals in Ride If You Dare and the Quentin Tarantino-ish nightmare of The Scent of Winter were just sad and strange. But lesser Claire Keegan is still outrageously great.
Want to read
June 12, 2024applying for the claire keegan fan club
July 14, 2023
Antarctica is the much celebrated debut 1999 short story collection by Irish writer Claire Keegan. (It is not about climate change! Nor about Antarctica at all!) Since I had just read her novel Small Things Like These, and liked in particular some of her wonderful sentences, the deft observations, the rich, spare language, I decided to read more of her work. Whenever Irish writers publish anything people have to compare them to Joyce or Beckett, and that’s everywhere in reviews of her work (Joyce, though, not Beckett). I also thought of Edna O’Brien, William Trevor, and I note that both she and John Banville hail from Wexford; she born in 1968, he 1945. Good company.
The first story, "Antarctica," is about a married woman who decides to find out what it might be like to sleep with a man other than her husband.
“It was December; she felt a certain closing on another year. She needed to do this before she got too old.”
I thought it had echoes of the wistful longing of Joyce’s “Eveline,” who is kind of paralyzed by her circumstances. Then, there's the ending that Joyce could never have written--different times, less innocence--that is the thing many readers seem to have had the most impact in the whole collection, and I get that, but I felt a bit disappointed by its predictability.
Many of the stories are about desire, infidelity, regret, often cautionary tales. “Love in the Tall Grass,” is about a love affair, too, and a break-up with an open ending. I liked several, including “Sisters,” “Quare Name for a Boy,” with its writer returning to her Irish rural roots:
“They don’t know the half of it, don’t know the disguises I made for them, how I took 20 years off their hard-earned faces, washed the honey-blond rinses out of their hair, how I put them in another country and changed their names.”
“You Can’t Be Too Careful,” is a small story about a man taken out on a dawn fishing boat by a convict on the run. Suspenseful.
The story that made me cry was “Passport Soup,” about a man who loses his daughter in a field, and whose wife can never forgive him. Told from the guy’s point of view, just crushing, hopeless grief.
I like how in Keegan the natural world is always present, alive and poignant:
“I will learn fifteen types of wind and know the weight of tomorrow's rain by the rustle in the sycamores.”
I like the Irish stories better than the Southern gothic ones. Keegan went to school in New Orleans, so it seems to me she was trying the tone and dialect out. But we’re always on the edge of danger in Keegan, the edge of the fantastical at odd moments. I like this early work very much.
The first story, "Antarctica," is about a married woman who decides to find out what it might be like to sleep with a man other than her husband.
“It was December; she felt a certain closing on another year. She needed to do this before she got too old.”
I thought it had echoes of the wistful longing of Joyce’s “Eveline,” who is kind of paralyzed by her circumstances. Then, there's the ending that Joyce could never have written--different times, less innocence--that is the thing many readers seem to have had the most impact in the whole collection, and I get that, but I felt a bit disappointed by its predictability.
Many of the stories are about desire, infidelity, regret, often cautionary tales. “Love in the Tall Grass,” is about a love affair, too, and a break-up with an open ending. I liked several, including “Sisters,” “Quare Name for a Boy,” with its writer returning to her Irish rural roots:
“They don’t know the half of it, don’t know the disguises I made for them, how I took 20 years off their hard-earned faces, washed the honey-blond rinses out of their hair, how I put them in another country and changed their names.”
“You Can’t Be Too Careful,” is a small story about a man taken out on a dawn fishing boat by a convict on the run. Suspenseful.
The story that made me cry was “Passport Soup,” about a man who loses his daughter in a field, and whose wife can never forgive him. Told from the guy’s point of view, just crushing, hopeless grief.
I like how in Keegan the natural world is always present, alive and poignant:
“I will learn fifteen types of wind and know the weight of tomorrow's rain by the rustle in the sycamores.”
I like the Irish stories better than the Southern gothic ones. Keegan went to school in New Orleans, so it seems to me she was trying the tone and dialect out. But we’re always on the edge of danger in Keegan, the edge of the fantastical at odd moments. I like this early work very much.
Read
October 3, 2024Having read Claire Keegan's novellas Small Things Like These and Foster, I was intrigued by this early story collection by the Irish writer. It was almost a clean sweep of good tales -- a rare coup for any short story writer. The only tales I was so-so on were the last two, "You Can't Be Too Careful" and "The Ginger Rogers Sermon," both 1st-person POVs where the protagonist was not terribly compelling, nor was the situation.
Before that, we have 14 straight stories, a great mix of narratives, each enjoyable in their own ways. The eeriest is the first, the eponymous "Antarctica," which has nothing to do with Antarctica and everything to do with a continent of cautionary tales.
The second story, "Men and Women," also deserves mentions. It is a precursor to "Small Things Like These" with the country setting and family drama. Children, husband and wife, small dramas that make major points about life and about the sexes.
In between this terrific start and iffy ending, the sort of stories that give variety and entertainment. Not sure how I missed this when it came out 1999. Perhaps, with Prince, I was partying like it's 1999.
Before that, we have 14 straight stories, a great mix of narratives, each enjoyable in their own ways. The eeriest is the first, the eponymous "Antarctica," which has nothing to do with Antarctica and everything to do with a continent of cautionary tales.
The second story, "Men and Women," also deserves mentions. It is a precursor to "Small Things Like These" with the country setting and family drama. Children, husband and wife, small dramas that make major points about life and about the sexes.
In between this terrific start and iffy ending, the sort of stories that give variety and entertainment. Not sure how I missed this when it came out 1999. Perhaps, with Prince, I was partying like it's 1999.
May 20, 2022
As is usual in a short story collection we have a mixed bunch. There were several I loved and a few that I thought were weird. Something that I noticed fairly quickly however, is that there is a split of location with half the stories set in Ireland - the Republic and the rest in the southern United States, Tennessee, Florida, the Mississippi delta is mentioned, some don't have a specific setting but they give off a U.S. vibe, and the first story, Antaractica, which is the only one I disliked is set in the UK. The Irish stories are by far and consistently better than the rest. It makes sense, Keegan is an Irish lady, born and bred; she grew up in County Wicklow.
Let's deal with Antarctica - the mood, the characterization, no problem - I just don't like the twisty and to my mind, totally predictable ending; there is a fantastical feel edging in there, which I started to recognize as one of her motifs - the flood of cockroaches in 'Burns', (made me think of the 'Mummy' - film) or the really weird 'The Scent of Winter' with its unresolved ending, just everyone running off into the distance and the nanny yelling back 'I quit! I quit! You goddamn sons-a-barbarian-bitches'. Most of the stories have this slight detachment from reality.
On the other - hand my absolute favourite, 'Sisters', set in Ireland, is completely real. It's what you might designate the perfect short story; a small list of characters, a glorious setting, a rivalry and a very satisfactory revenge, where the unattractive sister is able to restore to herself, what should be hers by right. My second favourite was 'Love in the Tall Grass', a love affair, a break-up and a promise made with a rather unusual and satisfying, but at the same time unresolved ending.
Another hallmark of Keegan is that nearly all the stories are saturated with sex, with desire, with romance, with lust, it's all there, that dreamy seductive prose that makes you want to curl up with a desired one. It's probably why the cover features a young, dreamy looking woman; the target market for this book? I don't like that. Keegan is only a year younger than myself and I can see that her stories reflect a life-time of romantic relationships in all their multitude of tension, desire, horniness or not. In 'Ride if You Dare' an American one, there is that moment when a man and woman are thinking about where this initial meeting is going to go - and you feel the interest flagging. There is a certain pivot where both, I think decide to 'go for it' - take the risk, make a decision, summon up that flagging enthusiasm - I thought yes - I recognise that - if not exactly in the same sort of circumstances.
Or take another story - 'The Singing Cashier' - the elder girl, has lustful relations with the postman and sends her younger sibling out of the house on made-up errands, while she does the 'dirty'. Later in the story, news of a serial murder's house - just down the street, and the elder one makes a swift decision, knowing she has to protect her sister. It's real-life, a sudden jostling of priorities.
The last story 'The Ginger Rogers Sermon', was possibly one of the weakest, it just didn't hold my attention. And the sexual encounter, although it is initiated by the young girl of 13/14 I found distasteful. There are unpleasant consequences for the man - Slapper, and the older brother Eugene knows what has happened, again an element of the fantastical in this.
A strong story was 'Passport Soup'. It's very short but Keegan manages to fit in a whole story, plus complicated emotions into that tiny writerly space, and I felt yes - that's exactly the kind of cruel retaliation a woman might wreak on her husband because of the loss of a child. It felt entirely possible and it's all told from the husband's point of view, so we understand how much men suffer in these situations.
Something I liked in all the stories is how Keegan connects us with the environment. The natural world is always present, I think her descriptions of waves and oceans or cold mornings, or leaves on the floor really feed into the sensual element.
From 'Love in the Tall Grass'
The next morning Cordelia lay in bed while drowsy bluebottles struggled against the windowpanes. She watched the sudden, fast shadows of swallows who flew past her window in fleeting pairs subtracting light from her room and marvelled how living things could suspend themselves in midair. She imagined the last of the over-ripe fruit, the latecomers, falling in the slightest breeze. She did not have the heart to pluck them. She imagined the stem weakening, the fruit clinging to its source, loosening, loosening, then letting go, falling.
The fruit falling is a subtle depiction of her own seduction.
So, 5 stars, who cares if the stories aren't all perfect. They offer a nice, rich panorama of life from the female's perspective.
Let's deal with Antarctica - the mood, the characterization, no problem - I just don't like the twisty and to my mind, totally predictable ending; there is a fantastical feel edging in there, which I started to recognize as one of her motifs - the flood of cockroaches in 'Burns', (made me think of the 'Mummy' - film) or the really weird 'The Scent of Winter' with its unresolved ending, just everyone running off into the distance and the nanny yelling back 'I quit! I quit! You goddamn sons-a-barbarian-bitches'. Most of the stories have this slight detachment from reality.
On the other - hand my absolute favourite, 'Sisters', set in Ireland, is completely real. It's what you might designate the perfect short story; a small list of characters, a glorious setting, a rivalry and a very satisfactory revenge, where the unattractive sister is able to restore to herself, what should be hers by right. My second favourite was 'Love in the Tall Grass', a love affair, a break-up and a promise made with a rather unusual and satisfying, but at the same time unresolved ending.
Another hallmark of Keegan is that nearly all the stories are saturated with sex, with desire, with romance, with lust, it's all there, that dreamy seductive prose that makes you want to curl up with a desired one. It's probably why the cover features a young, dreamy looking woman; the target market for this book? I don't like that. Keegan is only a year younger than myself and I can see that her stories reflect a life-time of romantic relationships in all their multitude of tension, desire, horniness or not. In 'Ride if You Dare' an American one, there is that moment when a man and woman are thinking about where this initial meeting is going to go - and you feel the interest flagging. There is a certain pivot where both, I think decide to 'go for it' - take the risk, make a decision, summon up that flagging enthusiasm - I thought yes - I recognise that - if not exactly in the same sort of circumstances.
Or take another story - 'The Singing Cashier' - the elder girl, has lustful relations with the postman and sends her younger sibling out of the house on made-up errands, while she does the 'dirty'. Later in the story, news of a serial murder's house - just down the street, and the elder one makes a swift decision, knowing she has to protect her sister. It's real-life, a sudden jostling of priorities.
The last story 'The Ginger Rogers Sermon', was possibly one of the weakest, it just didn't hold my attention. And the sexual encounter, although it is initiated by the young girl of 13/14 I found distasteful. There are unpleasant consequences for the man - Slapper, and the older brother Eugene knows what has happened, again an element of the fantastical in this.
A strong story was 'Passport Soup'. It's very short but Keegan manages to fit in a whole story, plus complicated emotions into that tiny writerly space, and I felt yes - that's exactly the kind of cruel retaliation a woman might wreak on her husband because of the loss of a child. It felt entirely possible and it's all told from the husband's point of view, so we understand how much men suffer in these situations.
Something I liked in all the stories is how Keegan connects us with the environment. The natural world is always present, I think her descriptions of waves and oceans or cold mornings, or leaves on the floor really feed into the sensual element.
From 'Love in the Tall Grass'
The next morning Cordelia lay in bed while drowsy bluebottles struggled against the windowpanes. She watched the sudden, fast shadows of swallows who flew past her window in fleeting pairs subtracting light from her room and marvelled how living things could suspend themselves in midair. She imagined the last of the over-ripe fruit, the latecomers, falling in the slightest breeze. She did not have the heart to pluck them. She imagined the stem weakening, the fruit clinging to its source, loosening, loosening, then letting go, falling.
The fruit falling is a subtle depiction of her own seduction.
So, 5 stars, who cares if the stories aren't all perfect. They offer a nice, rich panorama of life from the female's perspective.
September 1, 2022
This writer is brilliant and the stories are surprising, unsettling, and for the most part dark. Women figure prominently in this collection, but with no heavy-handed feminist motifs that I could discern. Also, if you like neat, tidy, and generally upbeat endings you won't find them here! In fact, you won't find upbeat here at all. And, did I say unsettling? Many of the stories filled me with dread, worrying about what might happen next. At times I felt like I was standing at the edge of a precipice when suddenly the story ended and most of my fears were assuaged, if only because whatever I dreaded had been passed over. But sometimes the dread followed through (especially in the first story). The writing is beautiful, the stories are original and surreally realistic.
This is the second book I've read by this author this month, I listened to audios of both and yet I also took out the ebooks and read. Although the narrators were excellent, I recommend reading over listening. Now, I will have to take a breather, but, in the future, I will definitely be looking for anything and everything published by this author.
P.S. I see now that I neglected to mention that this book is currently available in both ebook and audio on HOOPLA, if your library subscription includes. Also, two other books but not Foster...Foster is hard to find but is enjoying a new publication by Grove Press and can be found on NetGalley.
This is the second book I've read by this author this month, I listened to audios of both and yet I also took out the ebooks and read. Although the narrators were excellent, I recommend reading over listening. Now, I will have to take a breather, but, in the future, I will definitely be looking for anything and everything published by this author.
P.S. I see now that I neglected to mention that this book is currently available in both ebook and audio on HOOPLA, if your library subscription includes. Also, two other books but not Foster...Foster is hard to find but is enjoying a new publication by Grove Press and can be found on NetGalley.
December 14, 2022
I had read about two years ago both her novella ‘Small Things Like These’ and her short story (a rather long one) ‘The Forester’s Daughter’ and gave them both 5 stars too. I had her debut collection of short stories on my bookshelves for years....and realizing I had not read it read it over the last two days. She has been compared to William Trevor who was (and I think still is) a fave author of mine. And I do remember his stories are not a romp in the park...they tend to be on the melancholy/sad/depressing type (at least to me). But boy can he write!
Perhaps it was in the mood I was in ...pretty much all of these stories were dark...dark...dark. Take the first story Antarctica. And so it went. I’ll be anxious to read the reviews of others. It seems like lately I have been swimming against the tide of others’ opinions regarding their liking/disliking of books.
Here are the short stories in the order in which they appear in the book and my ratings, and my pithy synopsis of some of them. Can I say I liked the dustjacket of the softcover that I read from (Faber and Faber)? It’s not often that softcovers have dustjackets. Some have French flaps but this one was separate from the book itself.
1. Antarctica — 2.5 stars
2. Love in the Tall Grass — 3.5 stars
3. Where the Water is Deepest — 3.5 stars
4. The Ginger Rogers Sermon — 2 stars
5. Storms — 2.5 stars
6. The Singing Cashier — 2.5 stars
7. Burns — 2.5 stars
8. Quare Name for a Boy — 3 stars
9. Ride If You Dare — 3 stars
10. Men and Women — 4 stars
11. Sisters — 5 stars
12. A Scent of Winter — 2.5 stars
13. You Can’t Be Too Careful — 3 stars
14. The Burning Palms — 3 stars
15. Passport Soup — 4 stars
Reviews:
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/199...
• https://readingmattersblog.com/2011/0...
• https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/...
Note:
Antarctica won the Rooney Prize for Literature in 2000. (from Wikipedia which also lists all the winners since 1976: The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland.[1] The prize is awarded to Irish writers aged under 40 who are published in Irish or English. Although often associated with individual books, it is intended to reward a body of work. Originally worth £750,[2] the current value of the prize is €10,000. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_...
Perhaps it was in the mood I was in ...pretty much all of these stories were dark...dark...dark. Take the first story Antarctica. And so it went. I’ll be anxious to read the reviews of others. It seems like lately I have been swimming against the tide of others’ opinions regarding their liking/disliking of books.
Here are the short stories in the order in which they appear in the book and my ratings, and my pithy synopsis of some of them. Can I say I liked the dustjacket of the softcover that I read from (Faber and Faber)? It’s not often that softcovers have dustjackets. Some have French flaps but this one was separate from the book itself.
1. Antarctica — 2.5 stars
2. Love in the Tall Grass — 3.5 stars
3. Where the Water is Deepest — 3.5 stars
4. The Ginger Rogers Sermon — 2 stars
5. Storms — 2.5 stars
6. The Singing Cashier — 2.5 stars
7. Burns — 2.5 stars
8. Quare Name for a Boy — 3 stars
9. Ride If You Dare — 3 stars
10. Men and Women — 4 stars
11. Sisters — 5 stars
12. A Scent of Winter — 2.5 stars
13. You Can’t Be Too Careful — 3 stars
14. The Burning Palms — 3 stars
15. Passport Soup — 4 stars
Reviews:
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/199...
• https://readingmattersblog.com/2011/0...
• https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/...
Note:
Antarctica won the Rooney Prize for Literature in 2000. (from Wikipedia which also lists all the winners since 1976: The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland.[1] The prize is awarded to Irish writers aged under 40 who are published in Irish or English. Although often associated with individual books, it is intended to reward a body of work. Originally worth £750,[2] the current value of the prize is €10,000. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_...
August 3, 2016
Before starting this, I fully expected it to be a one-star-less read than Walk the Blue Fields; how could it be as good? These earlier stories are perhaps less complex than the later ones, but this collection contains two of my now-new favorites. I am in awe of Keegan's satisfying, even cathartic, endings.
I came to this collection knowing she received her undergrad degree in New Orleans and wondering if her time here might've informed any of it. Evidenced by the handful of stories set in Louisiana (and one in next-door Mississippi) I can say she used her time here well. Perhaps she even visited Colorado during the Mardi Gras holidays as some college students here do ...
Thanks to Sue and Tajma for a buddy read that made this even more enjoyable than it would've been alone.
I came to this collection knowing she received her undergrad degree in New Orleans and wondering if her time here might've informed any of it. Evidenced by the handful of stories set in Louisiana (and one in next-door Mississippi) I can say she used her time here well. Perhaps she even visited Colorado during the Mardi Gras holidays as some college students here do ...
Thanks to Sue and Tajma for a buddy read that made this even more enjoyable than it would've been alone.
January 18, 2024
My final book of 2023, and I’m so excited to say I hit my quote, even while on vacation.
Antarctica is a beautiful, gorgeous, well-written and thoughtful collection of short stories written by Irish author, Claire Keegan.
I’m genuinely satisfied this was my last read of the year. It was nothing short of fantastic (no pun intended).
Every story is intriguing and lovely. I connected to the stories and felt vested in the character’s arc.
Wishing everyone a beautiful reading journey in 2024!
Stunning quote:
Then the ground trembles. Stars drop and jingle around their feet like coins. The barn roof shudders, lifts off like a great metal leaf, scraping clouds. The earth fractures open, and the boy is left standing on the other side
5 🌟
Antarctica is a beautiful, gorgeous, well-written and thoughtful collection of short stories written by Irish author, Claire Keegan.
I’m genuinely satisfied this was my last read of the year. It was nothing short of fantastic (no pun intended).
Every story is intriguing and lovely. I connected to the stories and felt vested in the character’s arc.
Wishing everyone a beautiful reading journey in 2024!
Stunning quote:
Then the ground trembles. Stars drop and jingle around their feet like coins. The barn roof shudders, lifts off like a great metal leaf, scraping clouds. The earth fractures open, and the boy is left standing on the other side
5 🌟
September 1, 2013
Claire Keegan is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her short stories each present a world of people who are at risk, taking chances, living lives under pressure of real or imagined horror or stress. Occasionally there are moments of happiness amidst the sadness. Her people take full advantage of these moments, swallow them whole as if to live on them for a while.
While I didn't rate this collection as high as Walk the Blue Fields: Stories, there are some stories here that I loved, particularly "Burns". And of course I absolutely loved "Walk..", so it is no insult to come in second. "Antarctica" was Keegan's debut collection and obviously spoke of much more to come.
A strong 4 to 4.5
Now I wait for Keegan's next work.
While I didn't rate this collection as high as Walk the Blue Fields: Stories, there are some stories here that I loved, particularly "Burns". And of course I absolutely loved "Walk..", so it is no insult to come in second. "Antarctica" was Keegan's debut collection and obviously spoke of much more to come.
A strong 4 to 4.5
Now I wait for Keegan's next work.
June 19, 2024
This was my first Keegan book and I found most of the stories well written with great characters and story-lines, I did connect with them most of them.
I liked the fact they were so different and had no connection to each other - a sign of a truly gifted writer. Favs include: Antarctica, Love In The Tall Grass, Ginger Rogers Sermon, Storms, Men & Women and Storms.
I've a number of GR friends who have written glowing reviews of Keegan's works, so it's tough to recommend this to any of my other friends, but if you're looking for something different, give this a look.
I liked the fact they were so different and had no connection to each other - a sign of a truly gifted writer. Favs include: Antarctica, Love In The Tall Grass, Ginger Rogers Sermon, Storms, Men & Women and Storms.
I've a number of GR friends who have written glowing reviews of Keegan's works, so it's tough to recommend this to any of my other friends, but if you're looking for something different, give this a look.
February 4, 2025
I have adored everything Claire Keegan has written, devouring all her titles quickly last year. This one is absolutely heavier which is reflected by my star rating. The writing is superb, but in this instance my enjoyment doesn’t match up to the others which were a definite 5 star experience. The outcomes bleak, surprising and off-putting, but as always an excellent insight into the human experience.
Flawed humans, flailing humans and those who are in immense pain. As in all short story collections, I gravitated to some of the stories and characters and took an immediate dislike to others. This author is so popular right now, and in my own network I’ve love seeing friends embrace her stories. There are brutal moments of feelings being dismissed which must create devastation on the receiving end, the writing always holds immense sadness and dejection where most keep plodding along in their lives. Outlying themes of bad choices and happenstance leading to devastation is the most prevalent, portrayed with odd scenarios to begin with. This is a thought-provoking novella situating itself firmly in the literary fiction short story genre. Skilfully written and wholly original.
As an aside regarding the audio, the stories were read beautifully with Aidan Quinn's familiar voice narrating a couple. Full marks for the audio experience.
I listened to this via the Libby app and my public library.
Flawed humans, flailing humans and those who are in immense pain. As in all short story collections, I gravitated to some of the stories and characters and took an immediate dislike to others. This author is so popular right now, and in my own network I’ve love seeing friends embrace her stories. There are brutal moments of feelings being dismissed which must create devastation on the receiving end, the writing always holds immense sadness and dejection where most keep plodding along in their lives. Outlying themes of bad choices and happenstance leading to devastation is the most prevalent, portrayed with odd scenarios to begin with. This is a thought-provoking novella situating itself firmly in the literary fiction short story genre. Skilfully written and wholly original.
As an aside regarding the audio, the stories were read beautifully with Aidan Quinn's familiar voice narrating a couple. Full marks for the audio experience.
I listened to this via the Libby app and my public library.
August 21, 2025
These are Claire Keegan's first published short stories. I'm glad her outlook became somewhat more optimistic over her writing career. Well written as all her stories are, but boy is this a grim collection. Do not read these stories if you have any issues with dark, miserable themes, they abound in every story, some harder to read than others. Off to read something, anything a bit more uplifting or even vaguely optimistic. Not for me. 2 stars, only because I got through them for the most part.
"You carry two pints to a table like a man carrying the first two bucketfuls of water to put out a blaze in his own stable. Hurried, ready to go again."
It seemed natural for Betty, being the eldest, to step into her mother’s shoes and mind her father, a humoursome man given to violent fits of temper. 63% Sisters.
Her father had always favoured Louisa. She had given him the admiration he needed, whereas Betty only fed and clothed and pacified him. 63% Sisters.
"You carry two pints to a table like a man carrying the first two bucketfuls of water to put out a blaze in his own stable. Hurried, ready to go again."
It seemed natural for Betty, being the eldest, to step into her mother’s shoes and mind her father, a humoursome man given to violent fits of temper. 63% Sisters.
Her father had always favoured Louisa. She had given him the admiration he needed, whereas Betty only fed and clothed and pacified him. 63% Sisters.
July 8, 2023
The Claire Keegan train shows no sign of stopping. The masterful Small Things Like These was one of the best reviewed books of 2021. The Quiet Girl, an adaptation of her novel Foster and one of the best films of the last decade in my eyes, has shone an even greater spotlight on the work of this gifted Irish writer.
Antarctica is her debut, a collection of stories first published in 1999. It is a little rough around the edges, true, but there are several moments of sheer brilliance - you are left in no doubt that this author has talent to burn.
The characters in these unsettling tales are all damaged in some way. Broken marriages, grief, loneliness - these are some of the subjects that have emerged to upend their lives. Most of the stories are set in Ireland, and to be honest the few that take place elsewhere are a bit jarring. Keegan's writing feels much more natural and assured in her native land.
A few of the stories stood out in my mind. Men and Women describes the relationship between a domineering farmer and his long-suffering wife through the eyes of their child, leading up to a flashpoint where one of them finally snaps. The Ginger Rogers Sermon is a devastating account of a young girl's crush on a farm hand and the shocking consequences. And Sisters, the book's longest effort, is a wonderfully spun tale of a middle-aged woman who gradually gets the upper hand on her more successful and popular sibling.
Like Keegan, I also grew up on a farm in rural Ireland and I can tell you she absolutely nails its problems: the isolation, the silent heartache, the limited routes of escape. But it also made me nostalgic for my childhood in a strange way, a simpler time when life moved at a slower pace. Not all of the stories work - some of them are bit heavy-handed in their symbolism (Ride If You Dare is a prime example). However, the collection overall is a triumph - the first glimpse at an exciting new talent who had yet to reach her considerable peak. If you've enjoyed any of her subsequent work, it is absolutely worth seeking out.
Antarctica is her debut, a collection of stories first published in 1999. It is a little rough around the edges, true, but there are several moments of sheer brilliance - you are left in no doubt that this author has talent to burn.
The characters in these unsettling tales are all damaged in some way. Broken marriages, grief, loneliness - these are some of the subjects that have emerged to upend their lives. Most of the stories are set in Ireland, and to be honest the few that take place elsewhere are a bit jarring. Keegan's writing feels much more natural and assured in her native land.
A few of the stories stood out in my mind. Men and Women describes the relationship between a domineering farmer and his long-suffering wife through the eyes of their child, leading up to a flashpoint where one of them finally snaps. The Ginger Rogers Sermon is a devastating account of a young girl's crush on a farm hand and the shocking consequences. And Sisters, the book's longest effort, is a wonderfully spun tale of a middle-aged woman who gradually gets the upper hand on her more successful and popular sibling.
Like Keegan, I also grew up on a farm in rural Ireland and I can tell you she absolutely nails its problems: the isolation, the silent heartache, the limited routes of escape. But it also made me nostalgic for my childhood in a strange way, a simpler time when life moved at a slower pace. Not all of the stories work - some of them are bit heavy-handed in their symbolism (Ride If You Dare is a prime example). However, the collection overall is a triumph - the first glimpse at an exciting new talent who had yet to reach her considerable peak. If you've enjoyed any of her subsequent work, it is absolutely worth seeking out.
December 3, 2023
A beautiful collection of short stories. Icy hearts and bonds, characters with unique voices. Intrigue is built with care and disturbing truths are revealed at the last minute. ‘Sisters’ was my standout, the tension falling out from bad house guests is real!
March 9, 2025
A hit or miss collection for me unfortunately. I think her sentence-level writing is so amazing; her attention to detail, the musicality of the language, and the dialogue is all great. But these stories felt a bit all over the place and definitely varied in terms of enjoyment. I would say there were only about 3 of them I truly loved, the rest were all good or fine.
She has trouble ending her stories, I find, and for me the end of a short story in particular is critical to my enjoyment. It doesn't have to tie everything up but it has to feel thematically like a climax or saying something, and a lot of these just ended without any sort of resolution or without anything to keep you thinking. So while I never had issues enjoying the reading of the story itself, by the time the end came around I often felt a bit underwhelmed.
My favorites were probably the title story, as well as "Men and Women" and "Sisters".
She has trouble ending her stories, I find, and for me the end of a short story in particular is critical to my enjoyment. It doesn't have to tie everything up but it has to feel thematically like a climax or saying something, and a lot of these just ended without any sort of resolution or without anything to keep you thinking. So while I never had issues enjoying the reading of the story itself, by the time the end came around I often felt a bit underwhelmed.
My favorites were probably the title story, as well as "Men and Women" and "Sisters".
December 16, 2021
This collection of short stories is excellent. She is such a wonderful writer. With each story, there is an ominous feeling- you just continue reading waiting to see what will unfold and yes there is an element of tragedy in each story. The only bad thing about short stories to me is that they are short- just as I get invested in the characters and their situations, the story ends. The stories in this collection are some of the best I've read.
October 17, 2023
This 1999 short story collection was Claire Keegan’s first book, and you can certainly sense the writer she has since become in Small Things Like These and Foster - the clarity of language and the small, often rural or small town interactions between people, the simmering under the surface, little-to-be-saidness of their relationships. She wasn’t, of course, quite there yet with her first book. Some of the stories felt too carefully composed for me, a writer’s exercise, the language or plot points noticeably selected by the author. A few are set in the southern US, and I felt Keegan’s pleasure in writing American English shone through a little too strongly and unnaturally (sometimes not quite right either - in ‘Burns,’ surely that should be a stove or a range, not a hob).
But there’s very fine, clear writing here. The title story has a fantastic first pair of lines (”Every time the happily married woman went away she wondered how it would feel to sleep with another man. That weekend she was determined to find out.”), though I didn’t love the direction it took. Real standout stories included “Men and Women,” in which a young girl and her mother smart under the casual misogyny of their home; “Ride If You Dare,” the one American-set story that worked for me, in which a man and a woman meet through the personals ads and stop at a fun fair; “The Singing Cashier,” in which an older sister’s liaisons with the postman inadvertently put her younger sister in harm’s way (the menacing, oblique references to their father remind me of Foster); and “Sisters,” in which Betty, who has cared for the family home and the irascible father, is visited by her well-off married sister and her children for the summer.
But there’s very fine, clear writing here. The title story has a fantastic first pair of lines (”Every time the happily married woman went away she wondered how it would feel to sleep with another man. That weekend she was determined to find out.”), though I didn’t love the direction it took. Real standout stories included “Men and Women,” in which a young girl and her mother smart under the casual misogyny of their home; “Ride If You Dare,” the one American-set story that worked for me, in which a man and a woman meet through the personals ads and stop at a fun fair; “The Singing Cashier,” in which an older sister’s liaisons with the postman inadvertently put her younger sister in harm’s way (the menacing, oblique references to their father remind me of Foster); and “Sisters,” in which Betty, who has cared for the family home and the irascible father, is visited by her well-off married sister and her children for the summer.
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