This is a little book (just around 115 pages!), but a powerful one. I didn’t realize it was a movie (starring Cillian Murphy), and it has garnered a tremendous amount of praise — shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and named one of The New York Times’ best books of the 21st Century. That aside, I enjoyed this. The writing is beautiful; it’s one of those books where you will want to savor every word. It is 1985 in a small Irish Town. Bill Furlong is the local coal merchant, a devoted husband, and father to five young girls. He comes from a rougher upbringing: he never knew his father, and luckily, his mother’s employer (an older single woman) took both him and his mother in. One morning, Furlong is delivering an order to the local convent when he makes a horrifying discovery. This discovery forces him to confront his past (and how his mother was treated) and his present (as a father to girls, in a town controlled by the church). I will say no more other than that I loved it so much and it brought me to tears!
Author: Claire Keegan
