Foster is another slim novella from Claire Keegan that packs a punch, and I loved it even more than Small Things Like These. A simple story about a girl who is sent to live with relatives for a summer, it just hit me in the feels: the longing and yearning of the young girl, the melancholy of her caretakers, and the family secrets subtly dropped like breadcrumbs.
Keegan’s writing reminds me of the adage about telling a story in six words, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” (Attributed to Hemingway, but unlikely.) The kind of prose that is accessible, restrained and powerful is my favorite. Along with Keegan’s other work, I highly recommend Zorrie by Laird Hunt for a similar read.

“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.”