Review by Booklist Review
A young girl is sent to live temporarily with distant relatives while her mother awaits the birth of yet another child. Dropped unceremoniously by her father at the Kinsellas' farmhouse, the girl takes it all in--the gruff barking of a dog, the weeping trees, the shiny windows. It's a far different home than the one she's left. "Here there is room to think." And think our unnamed narrator does, of the way Edna's touch is gentler than her mother's, of the reserved affection John bestows, of the unspoken sadness that pervades their every action and kindness. With a child's open curiosity and inherent acuity, the girl pieces together the Kinsellas' history from the merest glance and through the pointed questions of the villagers. Acclaimed Irish writer Keegan, author most recently of the Booker Prize--longlisted Small Things Like That (2021), wrote this as a short story that appeared in 2010 in the New Yorker. She has expanded it, and the resulting novella is now available in the U.S. In a quiet way, line by line, Keegan invites the reader to pay attention, for the wonder is in the details, in which nothing occurs, but everything happens. A gem of a book, to be savored again and again.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This charming novella from Irish writer Keegan (Small Things Like These) follows a young girl who's unceremoniously dropped off by her rapscallion father to live on an older couple's farm in the early 1980s. The girl harnesses a piercing view of her father, who is "given to lying about things that would be nice, if they were true," and her new guardians, John and Edna Kinsella, whose only child drowned, are generous in spirit and provide a home for her to thrive ("here there is room, and time to think. There may even be money to spare"). With the loving guidance of the Kinsellas, the girl undergoes a transformation: "I try to remember another time when I felt like this and am sad because I can't remember a time, and happy, too, because I cannot." Things get complicated when the girl's mother writes to the Kinsellas, saying she wants the girl back, and the resulting scenes are deeply moving as Keegan portrays the swings of mood and circumstance for a foster child who is held captive by circumstance. The result will capture readers' hearts. Agent: Anna Stein, ICM Partners. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
First published in 2010 and now available in audio, Keegan's (Small Things Like These) breathtaking award-winning novella illuminates the story of a young unnamed Irish girl who is sent to stay with distant relatives while her mother prepares for the birth of a child. Narrator Aoife McMahon channels Keegan's spare, powerful prose, describing how the girl is dumped at the Kinsellas' farm by her rough father, whose parting words are, "She'll ate, but ye can work her." The girl, who is brave and curious and observant, gratefully relaxes into her new life, where she is bathed, dressed, and invited to participate in the rituals of daily life. The simplest activities--drawing water from the well, gathering herbs from the garden, selecting sweets at the candy shop in town--are imbued with meaning and fairly glow with love and humanity. McMahon provides simple but not overdone characterizations, distinguished by slight changes in tone, pacing, and pitch. She allows the spaces to come through, never rushing, and delivering the words with precision and care. VERDICT Though brief, this deeply affecting novella is not easily forgotten. An exquisitely narrated audio that should appeal to fans of Alice McDermott's Child of My Heart.--Sarah Hashimoto
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