Claire Keegan
Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan is a collection of seven short stories in Keegan’s recognizably subtle and unassuming style. The short stories capture pivotal moments in time in her characters’ lives. Set in a changing Ireland, Keegan’s stories transcend time and place and speak to loneliness and pain, as well as to the universal need for human connection.
The stories explore human relationships and behaviors in all their complexity. A young girl leaves home after decades of abuse. A priest performs a marriage ceremony for his former lover. A woman’s disappointment in her marriage exacts revenge on her selfish husband. A man loses the love of his life for his thoughtless behavior. A police sergeant decides to surrender to marriage when he receives the woman’s ultimatum threatening to end their relationship. A writer uses an unwelcome interruption as material for her writing. A superstitious woman finds love in a temporary relationship with her neighbor, a loner who lives with his goat.
A tone of melancholy permeates these stories. Keegan’s ability to convey the fragility, pain, and loneliness of her characters in sparse diction and evocative imagery is nothing short of masterful. She writes with eloquence and delicacy. Her flawed characters are real, relatable, and depicted with tender strokes. Her diction, especially when conveying dialogue, authentically captures the cadence, rhythm, and beauty of the Irish tongue.
A wonderful collection of short stories set in Ireland and peopled by characters who transcend time and place in their losses, regrets, loneliness, and longings for connection.
Very highly recommended.