“'Where there's a secret', she says, 'there's shame — and shame is something we can do without.'”

Claire Keegan strikes again. My heart aches, this story was so beautiful.

As Keegan's other short stories, Foster is simplistic, but heartbreaking and fabulous. We follow a young unnamed girl sent to her relatives in Wexford, the Kinsellas, as her mother is pregnant and approaching birth.

This story is mostly filled with silences, despite Mrs Kinsella insisting on the importance of hiding no secret to each other: silences full of love, silences full of sadness, silences full of understanding and silences full of beauty. The scenes are very domestic, but the prose is beautiful and emotions at their fullest. You can feel all the love of the Kinsellas leaks out of the words. It's a warm embrace, cuddling you as long as you need it. The story is written from the point of view of the young girl, and respect children's maturity and intelligence, who understand much more than we think.

Again, not surprised by the political and historical background. I needed to read a few reviews to acknowledge it, but if you're familiar with Ireland's history, I'm pretty sure you'll understand it. Talking about silence in this review was actually spot on, because this short story is the reflection of the culture of silence in Ireland during The Troubles, when saying the wrong things could end badly for you.

Violence looms, in the cities, in the countryside; but also in the households, children being the first victims. The darkest themes are very hidden, or should I say covered, as it slowly peaks through as we come to the end of the story. To me, this story is also a reminder of domestic violence and how children suffer from these never mentioned abuse. But if violence quivers in one household, love and empathy exist in another. But behind all this love for this young girl hides a deep sorrow. The ache of losing a child is brief, but the symbolism weaves in and out of the story.

Foster is a beautiful and aching story, and I highly recommend it as every work by Claire Keegan.