This novel, which is barely 100 pages long, packs an emotional wallop. Set in rural coastal Ireland, Foster is the story of an unnamed girl, age unknown (I’m guessing 7 or 8-ish), who abruptly finds herself living with an aunt and uncle one summer. In these few pages, Claire Keegan beautifully reveals the pain and longing of this child and of her relatives, and the roots of each.
The novel opens with this girl and her father getting in the car on a Sunday morning and driving to the relatives’ farm. Their name is Kinsella, and the husband and wife are perhaps a bit older than the girl’s parents. The girl’s mother is about to give birth to I think their fourth or fifth child, and when the girl is dropped off at the Kinsella’s, the reader can sense some negativity on the part of the Kinsellas toward the father, but not towards the little girl. Foster, in so few pages and in such descriptive language, shows the beautiful bond that develops between the girl and the Kinsellas as they gently and kindly give her the attention and love that we sense has been missing at home. We learn about the workings of the farm and about the relationships amongst neighbors in this rural community. There are evening card games with much laughter, a funeral with neighbors pitching in to dig the grave and attend the wake, and questions and comments from nosy neighbors which will reveal secrets and sorrows.
The end of this short novel was truly beautiful but also tear-inducing. Foster is a story about love, grief, and parent/child relationships. It was quite an appropriate read for Mother’s Day weekend.
