Some time ago while browsing in Barnes and Noble, I decided to sit down and read part of Claire Keegan’s Foster. It’s short, and I was easily at least a third of the way through it before deciding that I didn’t care enough to keep going. I had a similar reaction after several pages of Small Things Like These. I didn’t hate what I was reading; I just didn’t care about it. So when a Fable book club that I’m part of selected So Late in the Day as its November read, I nearly opted out. While I have done this in the past, the club has also introduced me to books that I never would have thought to try and ended up liking, so I decided to give it a go.
And I still didn’t care. At least at first. The book is a collection of three short stories, all previously published. The titular first story is about a man reviewing the progression of a failed relationship. He is not exactly the cat’s meow, and it’s easy to see see why the relationship failed. I did have a couple of reactions as I read but still finished the story feeling fairly indifferent to it. I liked the second story more, probably in part because the narrator is a writer, and I’ve always liked stories about writers. I did not like the third story. To be fair, this wasn’t really about the writing. The story was dark in a way that I wasn’t expecting, and had I known what would happen, I wouldn’t have read it to begin with.
I think I can appreciate some of what that last story might have been trying to say. I can certainly appreciate the thematic progression across the three stories. However, I feel I can now conclusively say that Keegan’s writing does not resonate with me. I am glad I gave her a full try and finished the book, but I doubt I’ll be reading her again.
