Number 23- Small Things Like These- Claire Keegan

Christmas week 1985, in a small town in Ireland, timber merchant Bill Furlong is facing his busiest week of the year. When he visits the local nunnery/laundry to make a delivery, he finds a girl in need of help.  What is he going to do?

This is an intense and multi layered story which tells a much bigger story than the 114 pages would suggest at first glance.

Keegan manages to build the whole town and the community in minimalist yet extremely effective prose. We understand the hold the nunnery has over the town and the impact that crossing them might have.

Some prior knowledge of the Magdelen laundries is necessary to fully comprehend the story, but there is an afterword to explain for those who have not heard of this particular stain on the history of the Church.

Keegan has crafted  a remarkable short novel here that stays with the reader after finishing it. Well recommended.