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lillieslibraryy's review against another edition
4.0
This made me so mad, but in the best way possible. I'm truly in awe of how much Keegan's writing makes me feel, especially in such a short amount of pages.
So Late in The Day is enraging and heartbreaking. I wanted to cry with how mad this made me feel and just wanted to jump into the book and knock this man out.
Keegan is truly a must read author.
So Late in The Day is enraging and heartbreaking. I wanted to cry with how mad this made me feel and just wanted to jump into the book and knock this man out.
Keegan is truly a must read author.
andtherestisstardust's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emily613's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the_reading_goblin's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
skaur's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
spenkevich's review against another edition
4.0
Claire Keegan has a seemingly preternatural ability to sneak into the reader’s heart with soothing prose and succinctness that masks the unbelievable explosion of emotions and social criticisms she unleashes once she is inside. The tightness of her novellas, like in Foster, seems to have been forged through Keegan’s history of short story writing from which she has published two collections. Keegan’s recent short story So Late in the Day, (you can read it or listen to her read it here) yet again demonstrates her incredible prowess with a taut plot and subtle symbolism where nothing seems wasted or in excess. Keegan also pulls no punches, delivering a sharp jab into misogyny and the societal norms that allow it to perpetuate, told in a story filled with idyllic language and scenery but a dark shadow of unease growing over the landscapes of prose.
Writing advice commonly instructs to never start a story with descriptions of weather and atmosphere is better served through character’s reactions than a description for the sake of a jumping in point. Keegan subverts this well, opening with ‘on Friday, July 29th, Dublin got the weather that had been forecast,’ a quick line that instantly snags at our assumptions and is a rather surprising start for a line about being unsurprising. This plays into the tone of the story flawlessly: what comes as a surprise is, unfortunately, unsurprising. So Late in the Day is told from the perspective of Cathal, opening with him clearly dealing with some grief before diving into a story of a relationship a year prior. Keegan casts an idyllic setting, Dublin in the summer full of children playing with ‘carrying smoothly on, despite the tangle of human conflicts and the knowledge of how everything must end,’ and we know darkness lurks around the corner. In short, it is the story of a failing engagement, one where the woman must bluntly reflect her partner back to himself in order for him to see the reality of his behaviors. It is not a pretty sight, but it also startles him into realizing how much of who he is was learned through his father and through what society allows to pass unchecked.
‘“You know what is at the heart of misogyny? When it comes down to it?’ she asks him, ‘it’s simply about not giving…whether it’s not giving us the vote or not giving help with the dishes—it’s all clitched to the same wagon.’ Keegan brings up pranks pulled of Cathal’s mother that the father allowed, or the acknowledgement that ‘mother had served everyone,’ with Cathal not realizing how much emotional burdens and labor men in society thoughtlessly pile upon the women they claim to love.
It takes a directness for Cathal to even accept this might be vaguely true, as his whole perspective until then had been critiques of her ‘ that she would not listen, and wanted to do a good half of things her own way.’ The man’s way is thought to be the only way and Keegan would like to remind you that this is a notion that must be torn down and snuffed out lest women be forced to carry the labour of men’s inability to process their own emotions forever. And also Cathal’s unrealistic expectations when his idea of romance sours for him because ‘it’s just too much reality.’
There is also an element that Cathal believes ‘ if things have not ended badly, they have not ended,’ which plays into why the most dangerous time for a women is when she leaves her partner, with 75% of all domestic assaults occurring during a separation. 1 in 4 women have been abused by a current or former partner in Ireland, while in the United States an average of 20 women per minute are assaulted by an intimate partner. Men will use this violence to keep a woman from leaving, thinking, like Cathal does, if things haven’t gone to total ruin, there is still a chance to win them back. Which is horrific.
This is a chilling but wonderfully executed story that probes at the heart of misogyny. Keegan is always ready with a perfect phrase, or symbol such as the cherries here that chart the ups and ends of the relationship. Succinct but powerful is Keegan’s signature, and this story does not disappoint.
⅘
‘At least half of men your age just want us to shut up and give you what you want, that you’re spoiled and become contemptible when things don’t go your way.’
Writing advice commonly instructs to never start a story with descriptions of weather and atmosphere is better served through character’s reactions than a description for the sake of a jumping in point. Keegan subverts this well, opening with ‘on Friday, July 29th, Dublin got the weather that had been forecast,’ a quick line that instantly snags at our assumptions and is a rather surprising start for a line about being unsurprising. This plays into the tone of the story flawlessly: what comes as a surprise is, unfortunately, unsurprising. So Late in the Day is told from the perspective of Cathal, opening with him clearly dealing with some grief before diving into a story of a relationship a year prior. Keegan casts an idyllic setting, Dublin in the summer full of children playing with ‘carrying smoothly on, despite the tangle of human conflicts and the knowledge of how everything must end,’ and we know darkness lurks around the corner. In short, it is the story of a failing engagement, one where the woman must bluntly reflect her partner back to himself in order for him to see the reality of his behaviors. It is not a pretty sight, but it also startles him into realizing how much of who he is was learned through his father and through what society allows to pass unchecked.
‘“You know what is at the heart of misogyny? When it comes down to it?’ she asks him, ‘it’s simply about not giving…whether it’s not giving us the vote or not giving help with the dishes—it’s all clitched to the same wagon.’ Keegan brings up pranks pulled of Cathal’s mother that the father allowed, or the acknowledgement that ‘mother had served everyone,’ with Cathal not realizing how much emotional burdens and labor men in society thoughtlessly pile upon the women they claim to love.
‘‘At least half of men your age just want us to shut up and give you what you want, that you’re spoiled and become contemptible when things don’t go your way.’
It takes a directness for Cathal to even accept this might be vaguely true, as his whole perspective until then had been critiques of her ‘ that she would not listen, and wanted to do a good half of things her own way.’ The man’s way is thought to be the only way and Keegan would like to remind you that this is a notion that must be torn down and snuffed out lest women be forced to carry the labour of men’s inability to process their own emotions forever. And also Cathal’s unrealistic expectations when his idea of romance sours for him because ‘it’s just too much reality.’
There is also an element that Cathal believes ‘ if things have not ended badly, they have not ended,’ which plays into why the most dangerous time for a women is when she leaves her partner, with 75% of all domestic assaults occurring during a separation. 1 in 4 women have been abused by a current or former partner in Ireland, while in the United States an average of 20 women per minute are assaulted by an intimate partner. Men will use this violence to keep a woman from leaving, thinking, like Cathal does, if things haven’t gone to total ruin, there is still a chance to win them back. Which is horrific.
This is a chilling but wonderfully executed story that probes at the heart of misogyny. Keegan is always ready with a perfect phrase, or symbol such as the cherries here that chart the ups and ends of the relationship. Succinct but powerful is Keegan’s signature, and this story does not disappoint.
⅘
‘At least half of men your age just want us to shut up and give you what you want, that you’re spoiled and become contemptible when things don’t go your way.’
radiocryptid's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Claire Keegan really knows how to punch you in the gut in a very reflective and almost nervous way. Still hurts.