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bmedvid's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I love Claire Keegan’s writing. It is exquisite and this book was no exception. This book is a collection of three short stories. I enjoyed the first and found them thought provoking about male/female relationships. The third one, however, was too dark for me and lacked the subtleties of the first two.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
lindalu's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Stalking
darshreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I started off 2023 with Claire Keegan’s ‘Small things like these’ and as luck would have it, my library hold for her book ‘Late in the day’ came through on Dec 31. Glorious glorious bookish destiny be thanked!
This kind turn of fate has led me to declare that Claire Keegan is a great way to bookend a year because you can always bank on her to craft the perfect short story.
How she is able to confine full universes and rich characterizations within 3-4 pages, I will never know but I am thankful to be able to be privy to the creative output.
'Late in the day' is a collection of three short stories that investigate the dynamics of gender and power structures that crop up even in the smallest of interactions between men and women. The conflict in the three stories all exist under the same umbrella of the patriarchy but present varying degrees of threat, that you as a reader will find yourself constantly assessing, much like marginalized people do in the real world. What’s especially impactful is how the undertone of violence in the first two stories culminates in real violence in the third, a blatant nightmare scenario that plays as an endless cautionary tale in most women’s minds.
I am so in are of how Keegan encourages the reader to comfortably seat themselves deep into her stories and then she pulls the rug from under them. I am eagerly awaiting a full length novel to really sink my teeth into!
All in all, 2024 is off to a great literary start!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I wish I could unread the last story in this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cursing and Infidelity
Minor: Misogyny
mikkiokko's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
As usual, Claire Keegan does not miss!
So Late in the Day - My gosh, what a great story! It always fascinates me how Keegan can pack in so much and dissect such complicated things in a short amount of words whilst remaining so simple. In 'So Late in the Day' she does this to propose the idea that what often strains what could be a good relationship between men and a women is a lack of generosity on the man's part. And OH MY GOD does she just nail it right on the head here. I cannot tell you how often my interactions with men have been soured because of their unwillingness to put in the slightest effort or interest, let alone force themselves to unlearn the fact that they see me as a body and machine. She communicates all of that frustration and complexity simply and with language that feels like inhaling perfume! I also found it very interesting that for this story she decided to write it from the perspective of a man because it gives haunting insight into how the thinking with a lack of generosity works. I especially found it interesting when he cursed the woman in his life by calling them 'cunts', "Although he couldn't accurately attach this word to what she was, it was something he could say, something he could call her". I love how that part gets right into his head, that he just wants something to call women to have some power over them that he thinks he deserves, because god I have felt that so many times.
The Long and Painful Death - This story felt quite ethereal, something a little different from Keegan's works which often feel feel very grounded in reality. I was almost waiting for Keegan to pull out her first supernatural element, but I liked it! I got a lot of enjoyment out of this story as a writer myself, and liked how it looked into the writing process and how writer's often get revenge through dissection rather than destruction. I also REALLY wanted to eat the cake.
Antarctica - This one really turned into something I didn't expect. It revolves around a married women taking a weekend away to see what it is like to sleep with another man, but it slowly takes a turn.On the final day she finds out that the man she is sleeping with is actually a violent criminal who kidnaps her. The story ends with her stuck in his home, unable to call out for help, stuck in the freezing cold, and thinking about eternity, the exact situation she described as her idea of hell earlier in the story. This twist ending had me terrified, but also thinking. When I first started reading this book I wondered if it was going to be about exploring the morals of this woman cheating, perhaps she was in a horrible marriage of some sorts. But she wasn't, she just wanted to see what it was like. So, by the end I wondered if this story is almost supposed to a look at misogynistic punishment. I say that because I think it is among common agreement that cheating is bad, so when you intertwine that with a women experiencing sexual violence because she wanted to cheat does that cause the reader to almost slip into a misogynistic view where they think she deserved it? It is of course common that sexual violence against women is dismissed with the "well she asked for it", so is this taking that horrific line of thinking and taking it to it's extreme? I'm not sure, but what is clear is that Keegan shows the pervasiveness of violence against women. That it is a real and alive hell we all live in fear of and for some through.
So Late in the Day - My gosh, what a great story! It always fascinates me how Keegan can pack in so much and dissect such complicated things in a short amount of words whilst remaining so simple. In 'So Late in the Day' she does this to propose the idea that what often strains what could be a good relationship between men and a women is a lack of generosity on the man's part. And OH MY GOD does she just nail it right on the head here. I cannot tell you how often my interactions with men have been soured because of their unwillingness to put in the slightest effort or interest, let alone force themselves to unlearn the fact that they see me as a body and machine. She communicates all of that frustration and complexity simply and with language that feels like inhaling perfume! I also found it very interesting that for this story she decided to write it from the perspective of a man because it gives haunting insight into how the thinking with a lack of generosity works. I especially found it interesting when he cursed the woman in his life by calling them 'cunts', "Although he couldn't accurately attach this word to what she was, it was something he could say, something he could call her". I love how that part gets right into his head, that he just wants something to call women to have some power over them that he thinks he deserves, because god I have felt that so many times.
The Long and Painful Death - This story felt quite ethereal, something a little different from Keegan's works which often feel feel very grounded in reality. I was almost waiting for Keegan to pull out her first supernatural element, but I liked it! I got a lot of enjoyment out of this story as a writer myself, and liked how it looked into the writing process and how writer's often get revenge through dissection rather than destruction. I also REALLY wanted to eat the cake.
Antarctica - This one really turned into something I didn't expect. It revolves around a married women taking a weekend away to see what it is like to sleep with another man, but it slowly takes a turn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual violence
jennikreads's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Misogyny
cpoole's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Kidnapping
mmccombs's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Claire Keegan is probably the short fiction writer of our time. She effortlessly distills human nature down into seemingly simple stories at first glance that slowly unfurl into something more complex. I enjoyed the titular story the best, it felt the most Keegan-y to me in that we are pretty much along for the ride in someone’s thoughts. The last story, Antarctica, was a bit more unexpected and shows that Keegan could write a pretty effective thriller, though it lacked that kind of quiet finesse her other stories have, turning in favor of more plot than character work. These three stories worked very well together in terms of theme and tone, if you enjoy short, character-driven fiction this is the collection for you.
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press for the eARC!
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press for the eARC!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Kidnapping