Claire Keegan’s So Late in the Day is a collection of three of her short stories that were previously published elsewhere. Her stories, like her novels, are provocative and not easily forgotten once they’re read. They’re evocative of Ireland, but they could be set anywhere with a subtitle of “Stories of Women and Men”.
Although her novels are short, this collection is only 118 pages, so to try to summarize them is useless. I would be rewriting and telling the entire story. One sentence summaries will have to suffice.
In “So Late in the Day”, a man ponders on a relationship that took an unexpected wrong turn. My favorite story was “The Long and Painful Death” about a woman whose two-week stay as a writer in residence at Heinrich Boll’s home is interrupted by a pushy German. In “Antarctica”, a married woman looking for adventure finds more than she bargained for.
Once again, Keegan has offered readers a challenge. Read her stories, and she dares you to move on without continuing to think about them. It’s not easy to leave So Late in the Day.
So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan. Grove Press, 2023. ISBN 9780802160850 (hardcover), 118p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I bought a copy of the book.
I have this on hold, though now that I see the titles, I’ve already read two of the stories, the creepy “Antarctica” and “The Long and Painful Death.”
She is a terrific writer.
You’re right, Jeff. “Antarctica” was creepy. I liked “The Long and Painful Death”.
I know. If you’ve already them, it’s a little disappointing to only have one other story.
On my list!
Not my normal reading, Kaye, but I like Claire Keegan’s writing.