Being only a couple hours long, I decided to read Small Things Like These, a short novel about a man faced with a difficult decision of either helping or looking the other way. The book won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
It takes place in a small Irish town in 1980’s right before the weeks leading up to Christmas (part of the reason why I decided to read it in December). Although the author, Claire Keegan, dedicates Small Things Like These to the women and children who suffered in Ireland’s Magdalen laundries, the story doesn’t necessarily make that its prime focus. Without a doubt, Bill Furlong, the protagonist, sees and feels that something isn’t right but can he do anything about it? After all, saying anything about it will possibly get him ostracized from the rest of society or worse, the weight of the Roman Catholic church might come down on him.
As usual, without giving things away, the story makes a social commentary about how long these cruel events went on in Ireland, with the government and public simply looking the other way.
The last of the Magdalen laundries were finally closed in 1996…with the Irish government apologizing to victims in 2013.
I would rate this short novel 4/5.