I read this when I was on the Year 9 Camp. I think it is the best short story I have read for quite a long time. The way she captures small town and country Ireland and small town mentality is brilliant. Well I think it is.
My wife, however, didn't think it was anything special. lol I would be interested in hearing what you think.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/02/15/100215fi_fiction_keegan
I really liked it, but, then again, I admit to being biased and liking anything even slightly Irish. But I agree, it is very well written.
ReplyDeleteThank your Julianne!!! I new you had good taste. lol
ReplyDeleteShe's no Joyce, but I definitely read it without complaint. Though, a lot of Irish literature leaves me feeling quite...sad? I'm not quite sure how to put it.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a bit unfair Jess! lol
ReplyDeleteJoyce is in a class of his own and writing a novel is very different from constructing a really good short story. But I think that she captures the "spirit" of little things that most writers miss or consider unimportant. And Joyce does that too. Maybe it is a thing that Irish writers do better than others. I like the little things, the small details that usually carry more meaning than the big things and I also like things left unsaid - like real life. I think Claire Keegan does that very well.
In regards to that 'spirit', I agree with those little things carrying some kind of really poignant, symbolic verisimilitude. It lets them tell you what's really going on indirectly, but it's not passive either --you're so right about the likeness it has to real life.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad now because I really was coming from quite a harsh angle there, especially since I had just finished reading Dubliners again. >_> Man, it must suck to be an Irish writer after someone like Joyce. It's like giving a speech right after Emily during oral assessments. >.<