Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Foster

A short novella written so beautifully, I’m ensured to be a reader of Claire Keegan’s other works.

There’s a simpleness to the narration that doesn’t detract from how quaint and vivid the Irish landscape is, while also showcasing the quiet stillness of the narrator. This also neither diminishes her sweet naïveté nor the slight melancholic nature of her existence with the Kinsellas, impressively showing just how Keegan is a master of her craft.

A truly beautiful, powerful story, and wonderfully well-written.

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charmarie's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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surdiablo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

4.0

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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erebus53's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

I am not entirely sure what this novella is trying to convey. The ending confused me and I don't know what the context for the last part of the story is, whether it is a dream, a wish, a time in the future, or what? It certainly captures a mood though.

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