It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas’ house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household–where everything is so well tended to–and this summer must soon come to an end.
Winner of the prestigious Davy Byrnes Prize and first published in the New Yorker, Claire Keegan’s Foster has sold over 120,000 copies in the UK and Ireland, where it is also required reading in schools. A story of astonishing emotional depth now expanded and newly revised in a standalone edition, Foster showcases Claire Keegan’s great talent and cements her reputation as one of our most important and prodigious storytellers.
FOSTER
Claire Keegan
Foster is the first short story I’ve read by Claire Keegan. It was first published in 2010.
It is about a young girl taken to live with distant relatives on a farm in rural Ireland.
As a short story, it is extremely effective. The details are haunting and clear. I recall certain moments like I would a horror movie. The writing is efficient. There is not one extra word or wasted sentence.
It is a masterful thing to be able to do to capture a concept and express it fully in under 100 pages.
Thanks to RB Media, HighBridge Audio, and Netgalley for a copy of FOSTER by Claire Keegan in exchange for an honest review!
Foster is out now!
FOSTER…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A recurrent, unidentifiable noise in her apartment. A memo to her boss that’s replaced by obscene insults. Amanda—a successful architect in a happy marriage—finds her life going off kilter by degrees. She starts smoking again, and one night for no reason, without even the knowledge that she’s doing it, she burns her husband with a cigarette. At night she dreams of a beautiful woman with pointed teeth on the shore of a blood-red sea.
The new voice in Amanda’s head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane?
COME CLOSER
Sara Gran
It’s quiet.
The way the possessed become that way. And Sara Grans’s short horror novel, COME CLOSER, is quieter than most.
Perhaps that’s why it’s one of my favorites to revisit year after year.
It’s short but extremely effective. In a book as short as this every word matters, every sentence is a supporting structure, every paragraph is intentional.
My copy of the book is around 200 pages. A mass-market paperback that still has a lot of white space for its size. The print is larger than most. It’s easy to read and it can be done in one sitting, perhaps an afternoon. But its effects will last much longer than books twice its size.
Let’s talk about the book.
COME CLOSER stars Amanda. An interesting character from the jump. She is both someone you like and something else entirely. She is married and her life is such that a dance with the devil is the most interesting thing to happen to her lately.
We follow as she slowly goes from tightly wound to unraveled short time. The pace is both deceivingly slow and extremely fast. It’s over before you know you’re enjoying it.
Which only leaves you wanting more.
I love to read this book at the beginning of fall. It always sets the tone for reading spooky books. This year I listened to it in audiobook format and found it to be quite a treat.
It’s a quick read that’s very impactful. If you haven’t read Sara Gran yet, now is your chance.
COME CLOSER…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Persian myth, it is said that Akbar the Great once built a palace which he filled with newborn children, attended only by mutes, in order to learn whether language is innate or acquired. As the year passed and the children grew into their silent and difficult world, this palace became known as the Gang Mahal, or Dumb House. In his first novel, John Burnside explores the possibilities inherent in a modern-day repetition of Akbar`s investigations. Following the death of his mother, the unnamed narrator creates a twisted varient of the Dumb House, finally using his own children as subjects in a bizarre experiment. When the children develop a musical language of their own, however, their gaoler is the one who is excluded, and he extracts an appalling revenge.
THE DUMB HOUSE
John Burnside
It opens with a line you’ll have to read twice. And even then you still won’t know what lies ahead of you in this very short, very loud book.
I’m not sure if this is a horror book or simply a macabre literary piece of fiction. It’s one of my favorite books yet has under 3000 ratings and only about 500 reviews. It was published in 1998. It’s under 200 pages and it’s rich content.
Let’s talk about it.
We’re introduced to our main character with our eyes fully open. There isn’t much hidden. He is easily one of the most disturbed characters I’ve ever read.
As a reader, you know more than you want to and are privy to unforgettable details that will stick with you beyond your finishing the book.
As disturbing as the material is-it is doubly inspiring to read. There is an art to what Burnside does and it’s incredible to experience it.
You’ll wish it was longer!
THE DUMBHOUSE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
