SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE follows Bill Furlong, a coal merchant, as he prepares for the busy holiday season in Ireland. While making a delivery to a convent, Bill is witness to a practice that goes unspoken amongst those in town forcing him to question his morality and confront his past.

Claire Keegan’s story gripped me from the opening pages and didn’t let go through its brisk one hundred and twenty pages. I had read a review that stated this was a quiet book, and I’m not sure I could find a more apt description. It is character driven and gives the reader a view on a practice that should never have happened at all, let alone in 1985 when the novel takes place. Despite the sorrowful nature of the story, having it set around Christmas helped provide a measure of hope that the disaffected are not beyond reach when it comes to making a stand for what is right.

This story affected me deeply and I cannot recommend it enough. I believe this may be the first book of the year that has securely locked its spot on my Best of 2024 list and I wouldn’t be shocked if I read this one again in December.