Reviews with content warning for Child death - Foster

Beautiful and quite touching, one of those books where words unsaid or implied are just as important as the opposite. It's pretty much a quick read but I suggest taking it slow and pondering on everything. The prose was simple yet elegant, and the ending left me feeling quite emotional, but as is typical of me, when it comes to novellas, I felt like it could have used a bit more me

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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Small and beautiful and odd — I enjoyed Small Things Like These in late 2023 on audio (that one was narrated beautifully by Aidan Kelly; this one was equally well done by Aoife McMahon); and downloaded Foster then, too, and finally got to it this week.

Keegan has such a delicate, understated touch — I’m not sure why I’ve gotten into listening to her books, since I usually lean with my audio reading toward genre fiction and occasional nonfiction; this is much more literary (NO shade to the genre fiction I love on audio!) and lives in all the unsaid, quiet moments, the space between words, the intimacy and simplicity of the language. I think for my next Keegan I will for sure try out a physical copy just to see what that’s like since these audio books both worked well for me but left me a bit surprised and flustered at the endings — not in terms of plot (these are such quiet books, almost plotless, which I actually love!) but in terms of pacing. My suspicion is that these endings, which feel abrupt and sort of float away without comment, might for me hit less suddenly if I could read them a couple of times and really see and be with them.

Overall this one was beautiful — I think I liked it more than Small Things Like These, if only since it’s less devastating and heavy. I appreciate how both Keegan and her characters can observe complicated or conflicting things and let them be at odds: how they can hold multiple things as true at once. This book had such sadness and such tenderness for me but without saying any of that outright — pretty unusual and fetching, I thought.

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gladosisreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

As with all Claire Keegan's writing, Foster packs a huge punch in such a small space. The developing relationships between the characters and familial themes were particularly heart-wrenching in places. Whilst this book was slightly more understated and a slower hook than some of the other Claire Keegan's I've enjoyed (Small Things Like These, So Late in the Day), it was interesting to view the situation through a child's eyes and I can tell this will stick with me for a while nevertheless.

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moscat's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This filled me with a comforting melancholy. As with Small Things Like These it manages to do a lot with a little (<90 pages) and although you could blaze through it in no time the subtle moments and conversations reward taking your time.

Also the line "My sisters look at me as though I'm an English cousin" made me laugh.

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bookishlucy's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a beautifully written, quick read.

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clary0402's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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