Thursday Night Book Club

"Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan

It's 1985 in a small Irish town during the weeks leading up to Christmas when Bill Furlong, coal merchant and family man facing his busiest season of the year, makes a startling discovery.

Small Things Like These, a deceptively simple, deeply resonate little book is about a dark part of Ireland’s (not so distant) past and the danger of community complacency, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022.  

The novel, set around Christmastime in a small Irish town. introduces us to Bill Furlong who runs the local coal plant and is wrestling with some mid-life what-ifs, Otherwise, he has a lovely life with his wife and daughters — especially considering his parentage, which includes an unknown father and unmarried mother. Luckily, his mother’s employer gave Bill a secure childhood and saved them from landing in a bad situation. In the present day, Bill finds himself face-to-face with the town’s terrible open secret, and he must decide whether to keep his head down for the sake of his family or act and risk the consequences. (excerpted from comments on Deedireads.com and Amazon.com)

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