Claire Keegan’s two books that I’ve read: Small Things Like These and Foster are simply written. I read the first half of one of these novels to a friend who found the language very matter of fact and boring. It’s hard to disagree with my friend, but I must tell you that each book will stay with me for a very long time. The simple style is like a walk through a field of grasses, nothing particularly visually outstanding, and yet as you walk, you feel grounded and with each step your attention is completely present, so when you get to the crux of the book, you are happy to have journeyed here.
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Thanks, Kassapa! I’ll have to check her out!
I too am a big fan of Claire Keegan. You have described her beautifully.
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Those two books of hers are small but mighty. As one who tends to ramble on, I appreciate her sparse writing that cuts to the marrow. I admit to not caring for “So Late in the Day”, her collection of short stories but then everyone’s taste is different, like your friend has shown (although I would never call those two masterpieces “boring”!)
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Another Claire Keegan fan here! Her books stay with many readers because that “simple” style is actually pretty complex when you think about how much empathy and feeling she packs into a few phrases or a short description.
Keegan never tells the reader what to think or how to feel because she expects the reader will bring his/her/their own ideas on how to interpret the actions and thoughts of her characters. The ability to create a symbiotic relationship between the character and the reader is, to me, what makes her writing so memorable. But not every reader is used to, or wants, that kind of reading experience…good thing there are lots of writers who don’t put those kinds of expectations on a reader.
Keegan is one of the few writers I will reread because my ideas shift and morph on each rereading. The simple is never simple in her books.
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