This year, her 2021 novella, “Small Things Like These,” about an Irish coal merchant who discovers a disheveled, barefoot girl locked in the coal shed of a Catholic convent, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and praised by judges for its “beautiful, clear, economic writing.” At 114 pages, it is the shortest book to be recognized in the prize’s history. “She’s so utterly in control,” said Douglas Stuart, the author of the Booker Prize-winning novel “Shuggie Bain.” “She can say so much, and be so loud, with very little.” Prominent novelists like Colm Tóibín, Lily King, David Mitchell and Richard Ford have lauded her work with an admiration that borders on reverence. Her work is a staple on school curriculums, and has won a slew of prizes and a passionate following among independent booksellers. “Otherwise I might have just stuck my head in a book.”Īs it turned out, Keegan made a career out of her imagination.ĭespite her sparse output - she’s released just four books over two decades - Keegan has gained a towering reputation as one of Ireland’s canonical writers. “I’m not sure that growing up without books was a bad thing, because I had to use my imagination,” she said. In her home in southeast Ireland, where her family ran a sheep, pig and cattle farm, there were just a couple of books around the house - an illustrated edition of the Bible, and a cookbook, she recalls. Claire Keegan didn’t read much as a child.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |