Research for Claire Keegan's Story on the Magdalene Laundries
Before bookclub, I researched Claire Keegan's story Small Things Like These and found informative articles on the Magdalene Laundries:
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Claire Keegan’s belief that a writer’s voice is shaped by what they read:
Keegan's 6 Recommendations followed by summary of her thoughts:
Peasants by Anton Chekhov — economic style, light-handedness, and masterly short-story imagination.
Dubliners by James Joyce — classic short story collection tracking diverse perspectives across Dublin, ending with "The Dead”.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy — rural, feminist tragedy about a dairymaid that gripped Keegan during a 1994 winter ferry crossing.
Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor — elegant, humorous, and sharp American short stories exploring human nature.
The Barracks by John McGahern — quiet, understated novel about a marriage featuring one of Keegan's favorite endings in Irish literature.
Regeneration by Pat Barker — powerful World War I historical novel set in a 1917 war hospital.
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My favorite Claire Keegan quotes about Small Things Like These:
“Furlong is a quiet, reserved coal merchant who does not waste words. Keegan said that a long narrative ‘would not have suited his personality’.” https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/reading-guide-small-things-like-these-by-claire-keegan
“I do think no story has ever been read properly unless it’s read twice. So it’s a longer book, you see, than you think it is, because it needs to be read twice. Double the pages,” says Keegan, with a laugh.
“And certainly people who were brave and went up against the Catholic Church in this country suffered horribly. So I see Small Things Like These as the story of someone who has stuck a knife in his own life, everything he’s worked for. But that’s just my interpretation. Just because I wrote it doesn’t mean I know what it’s about, and I mean that most sincerely.”
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