“Part of me wants my father to leave me here while another part of me wants him to take me back, to what I know. I am in a spot where I can neither be what I always am nor turn into what I could be.”

At the onset of the novel, we meet our young narrator as she is being driven by her father to a relative’s home in Wexford County in the Irish countryside. She is to remain in John and Edna Kinsella’s care for an undecided interval of time. She has never met the Kinsellas before and is uncertain of how she will fare with her foster family.

” But this is a different type of house. Here there is room, and time to think. There may even be money to spare.”

Edna and John are a kind and compassionate couple. They take care of her and involve her in their daily routine. From what we understand, when compared to her home with her parents, her experience with her foster family is markedly different. Unlike her own family where she is one of many children (her mother, Mary, was heavily pregnant at the time of our young narrator being sent to the Kinsella’s home) and there are more mouths to feed, here she wants for nothing- food, clothing, kindness and a deep emotional connection- a family among whom she feels loved and wanted. She observes that there is a lot of work that is done throughout the day on the farm, but Edna and John proceed at an easy and unhurried pace. Edna and John have secrets and have experienced loss in the past but they embrace this young girl as a part of their family. She reciprocates their feelings and in their care, she thrives. However, this arrangement is temporary and as her time with Edna and John nears its end and she is taken back to her biological family, we share in her realization of how the definition of home and family can change over time. As her heart breaks, our hearts ache for her.

Much is left unsaid and left for the reader to understand and interpret. Claire Keegan’s prose is simple yet elegant. Seen from the eyes of a child, the story revolves around themes of family and belongingness and how even the smallest gestures of kindness can profoundly impact the innocent heart of a child. With its vivid imagery and emotional depth, Claire Keegan’s Foster is a short but impactful story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading. Last year I was first introduced to Clare Keegan’s work with her beautiful novella, Small Things Like These. With Foster, Claire Keegan does not disappoint and proves without a doubt that she is a masterful storyteller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital review copy of this poignant novella. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ( )

‘You don’t ever have to say anything,’ he says. ‘Always remember that as a thing you need never do. Many’s the man lost much just because he missed a perfect opportunity to say nothing.’

And I’m thinking this is even better than Small Things like These.
Containing so much, and with tension to create the forward movement of time passing, changing, a country summer. Beautiful.

‘Nothing happened.’ This is my mother I am speaking to but I have learned enough, grown enough, to know that what happened is not something I need ever mention. It is my perfect opportunity to say nothing. ( )

Small, short, and beautiful. As beautiful as Small Things Like These and loved both for their themes of empathy and hope. In this, a young girl's world is expanded when she realizes the power of connection, belonging, and love that comes from presence with adults who want her around.

Can't recommend highly enough - evocative and powerful - and worth all the praise its drawing. ( )

An Irish girl is taken by her father to live with relatives while the girl's mother gives birth to another baby. In the quiet couple's home, the girl enjoys warmth, kindness, and steadiness, though the Kinsellas have a secret sadness in their past.

Quotes

[My father] is given to lying about things that would be nice, if they were true. (ch. 1)

I am in a spot where I can neither be what I always am not turn into what I could be. (ch. 1)

"There are no secrets in this house....Where there's a secret, there's shame - and shame is something we can do without." (ch. 2)

Everything changes into something else, turns into some version of what it was before. (ch. 2)

Maybe the way back will somehow make sense of the coming. (ch. 5)

My heart does not so much feel that it is in my chest as in my hands, and that I am carrying it along swiftly, as though I have become the messenger for what is going on inside of me. (ch. 8) ( )

Digital Audiobook read by Aoife McMahon.

Facing tough times, a rural Irish family sends their oldest daughter to another community to live with distant relatives she hardly knows. Keegan explores what it means to be family in this short novella. She also deals with grief and the ways we show love without words being said.

Our narrator is the young girl, who is never named, though I loved that the patriarch of her guest family calls her pet names such as “petal.” The Kinsellas are a quiet couple who have had their share of heartache. They work their farm with quiet dignity and grace. Edna takes in the young girl, never judging but showing her how to maintain a clean and healthy environment. John is a bit more taciturn, but he allows the girl to tag along as he milks the cows or repairs equipment, and he encourages her to build up her confidence. It is he who notices that she needs new clothes and makes the move to “tog her out” so that she has a nice dress and new shoes for going to Mass on Sunday. And it is he who gently gives her a lesson in empathy and compassion and tact.

The somewhat ambiguous ending is perfect for this award-winning tale.

Aoife McMahan does a fine job of narrating the audiobook, though I wound up reading the second half of the book in text format. And have re-read it twice already since first finishing it. ( )