Greeting friends and readers! I hope you put your final book requests into Santa, your partner, and family members and that you receive a slew of new reads on Christmas Day, or over the holidays. Don’t we deserve it? I think so. We need new reads to propel us into 2024.
Meanwhile I happened to be at the local pet store when my husband spotted Santa in a booth taking requests. We rounded up Willow, on the left, and Stella, on the right, and tried to get a picture, though Willow turned out to be terrified of Santa, and Stella just wanted treats. So the end result is the girls and me look a bit funny. Still Santa was a good sport and tried to appease our Labs by taking their requests. Willow wants balls and toys, while Stella wants goodies and food of any sort, lol.
Anyways, I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and good times with their families. I probably won’t post next till after Christmas. Until then I will leave you with reviews of two short books that I finished lately.
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan / Grove Press / 128 pages / 2023
4 stars. Sometimes it’s a bit hard to give a rating to a small collection of three short tales. But there’s enough in each one that made me think and made me mark a few particularly well-construed sentences. The first story So Late in the Day (2022) is the one most recently written — about a man whose subtle misogyny unravels his future plans with a woman he dates. The final sentence of that one is a whopper. You might like to check out how the author Claire Keegan reads the story herself, which can be listened to here.
The second story The Long and Painful Death (from 2007) is about a woman on a writing retreat who’s interrupted when a male professor insists on a tour of the place when she first arrives. The woman in this story seems the strongest of the bunch and sets out to right the obnoxious intrusion by writing a twist to her next story. The last story Antarctica (from 1999) is the darkest tale about a woman who has a weekend fling with a male stranger that ends with terrible consequences. This one lured me the most. I like some of its lines and its ending is quite haunting. Two of these stories were from previous collections, though all three tales in this collection seem to share similar themes of male transgressions and the fraught relations between the sexes. Irish author Keegan continues to be a tour de force especially with short fiction.
Her unsettling story Antarctica reminded me of other spooky tales, so I’ve made a list here of some of the most unsettling tales I’ve come across over the years by female writers. Have you read any of these short stories below? I have read all but two, those with the asterisks I’ve not read, but I’d like to get to. Do you have any scary ones to add?
- The Yellow Wallpaper (1892) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- The Doll (1937) by Daphne du Maurier *
- The Lottery (1948) by Shirley Jackson
- The Demon Lover (1941) by Elizabeth Bowen *
- A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1953) by Flannery O’Connor
- Where Are Going, Where Have You Been (1966) by Joyce Carol Oates
- Antarctica (1999) by Claire Keegan
- Stone Mattress (2014) by Margaret Atwood
Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal / translated from French by Jessica Moore / Archipelago Books / 137 pages / 2023
4 stars. This consists of a short but hellish ride on the Trans-Siberian railway, in which Russian conscripts have filled a train headed to some barracks in an unknown Russian location. But Aliocha, 20, is having second thoughts about going and when some soldiers on the train rough him up, he decides he wants to escape his conscription and whatever abuse awaits him there. He meets a French woman named Helene in first class, who’s fleeing her Russian lover, and together they form an understanding despite not being able to speak each other’s language. She will try to help him hide and escape. But there’s not much room, or time left on the train that is hurtling onward.
It’s a novel that first came out in France in 2012, but it feels very current to today’s Russian conscripts headed to Ukraine. In that way it’s quite hair-raising. The descriptions on the train and the fast pace of the writing drew me in from the get-go. Will Aliocha be found out and the two detained? Or will their alliance be able to allude capture? The atmosphere is quite tense and one easy to imagine.
I listened to the audio narrated by Jennifer Pickens who does a great job. And I’m glad to have found out about this novel after it was picked by the New York Times as one of its 10 Best Books of the Year in 2023, whoa. That’s pretty good for a slim novel that was written over 10 years go. It’s the first time it’s been translated into English and is only bout 128 pages, but it’s quite an evocative train ride.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read any of these books or short stories, and if so, what did you think? Happy Holidays! Ps. I’m three weeks post-op now and my new knee is doing well. I am starting to go to physio appointments this week. 🙂
Haha, Willow looks like she wanted to escape from Santa. Stella always plays it cool. What a cute picture! It’s great that you finished two more books and found them worthwhile. Keegan has come across as anticlimactic with the two books of hers I’ve read; I may be giving up on her. I saw Eastbound on this year’s best lists; I was curious. I’m almost done with The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store; McBride writes so well! I started reading his memoir when I was taking English as a Second Language as an assignment but never finished it; I was liking it though. My next book will be either The Great Reclamation or I Have Some Questions for You, not sure yet which one I’ll favor, and that will be all for this year.
I watched Lessons in Chemistry (3*), Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour (Extended Version), which was a tour de force (5*), Leave the World Behind (3*), and May December (3.5*), which was bananas. Tomorrow I’ll be watching Maestro. That’s all for now. Happy reading and streaming! And I hope your healing and therapy continue according to plan.
Thanks Carmen, the dogs are funny. Your comments often give me a good laugh, which is much appreciated. May December does look bananas! Still not sure if I plan to watch it: Portman does nutty quite convincingly. You seem to be on a roll. And I will see what you think about the McBride novel. I still have his memoir to read too! Your English seems impeccable. I think Keegan will probably continue to be anti-climatic for you, though in Antarctica something comes to pass. I think perhaps you should try out The Great Reclamation (I wanted to read that). The novel I Have Some Questions has some good parts to it, but it also seems uneven and too sprawling. I think it exhausted me. I’m sticking to some short fiction till 2024 when we’ll start again. We will see Maestro too. Merry Christmas Carmen!
Merry Christmas to you as well! I agree that Portman has a gift for nutty characters. Black Swan gave me the chills, and The Other Woman made me cry. Thanks for the compliments. Reading in English has helped a ton. The Great Reclamation it is then; I only have 10-11 days to finish the book and I don’t have time for unevenness. Hopefully TGR will be worthwhile.
Yeah I hope Great Reclamation is good. I will follow your thoughts on the McBride novel and TGR. I am a bit curious as my sister lived in Singapore for a few years decades ago — but I never went over to visit. I am curious though about its Singapore setting. Happy reading.
ps. Portman can be a bit scary nutty ever since Black Swan.
Happy holidays! I love the Santa photos 🙂
I recently read a Keegan book of three short stories and thought it was good, but not great. I liked Foster and Small Things much better.
Hi Helen, yeah I think you read So Late in the Day awhile back ago and I think I saw the book from you. I thought the last story Antarctica was a bit chilling. I wish Keegan could put out some new stuff instead of recycling old stories. Hmm.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. I plan to visit your blog soon to see what’s up with you’all in SB. Enjoy.
I got a kick out of the picture with Santa. It’s so obvious that Willow is not at all happy to be that close to the big guy at all. She has a very expressive face. 🙂
I haven’t read Claire Keegan, so thanks for that link. I’ll listen to that reading as an introduction to her work, I think. Eastbound sounds like a timely read. I can’t even imagine what those young men must be feeling to be so suddenly thrust into combat with little or no training and no comprehension of why they are there in the first place.
Ha Sam. Willow was very scared of Santa and she sort of looks possessed in the photo. But we didn’t get a better picture.
I was keen about finding the link on Keegan reading her own story. It’s pretty cool to hear. It might not be my favorite story but it’ll give you an intro.
Eastbound is definitely worth a listen. It seemed like it was totally about Russian soldiers nowadays going to Ukraine. It’s a quick read or listen.
Merry Christmas Sam!
I like Claire Keegan and have this book on my library loan list.
Love the photo pf the pups with Santa!!
Thanks Tina. We need more dog pics from you. When are you starting your blog back up?! I hope in early 2024, you’ll be back. Keegan tales are a bit similar — so if you like one or two of her books — then you should like this one as well. Very short tales. Merry Christmas!
You have some very interesting reads here. I’ve only read one story by Keegan. I love your list of stories: I have read a few of them, and some others by the same authors. Good combination of possiblilites.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, it would be fun for me to revisit those scary stories I listed. Many I read long ago. They’re classic tales. Glad to know you’ve read some too.
Happy Holidays.
Hi Susan, what a great picture of you, Santa, Willow and Stella! I am glad your knee is feeling better and a Merry Chrustmas to you and your family.
Thank you for sharing a link to Claire Keegan’s So Late In The Day. I read it and the story was excellent. Clare Keegan is really gifted. I felt kind of bad for the young man in the story. He strikes me as a loner who told himself he wanted marriage and children but he wanted it on his own terms, no compromise or meeting his partner halfway. I think how he was brought up and the way the family treated his mother also led to his problems later on.
Thanks Kathy, the photo with the dogs was unexpected and a bit chaotic with them trying to get away. lol.
I’m glad you listened to the Keegan story. Your observations are very astute. It seems like these traits were passed onto him from how he grew up. The three stories are all a little bit dark but made me think a bit.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. & books to read. 🙂
I’m intrigued by So Late in the Day. I might have to squeeze that one in.
Cute dogs! They look well behaved when the photo was taken, even if there were some obstacles. Hope you enjoy your holiday time off!
Thanks Rachel. Yeah we will be having a quiet Christmas here. Hoping for snow but so far what we have is melting away. The dogs are usually well behaved but they were amped up going into the store. It got a bit crazy, lol.
Merry Christmas & happy reading.
Claire Keegan appeared in my reading life for the first time this year, and now I’m eager to read anything and everything she has written. Thank you for reviewing this collection of short tales.
Your beautiful Labs did well with Santa…at least I don’t see any tears or screams of terror like my granddaughter exhibited on her initial visits with the old fellow.
Ha Deb. I guess Santa scares kids & dogs alike. Willow made it through but she was pretty scared for a while.
The Keegan book is very short. I wish she would write more … as it seems her tales from years ago are being prepackaged.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
I feel for Willow! Santa terrified me when I was younger, too. ;D
Ha. Lark. I guess it’s not too uncommon to be scared of Santa. Willow was not happy but she did get a toy after which appeased her.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Susan… the Santa photo has me laughing. Willow really wants nothing to do with it! Love her face! Stella seems much more amenable… what a sweet girl.
I’ve decided that Claire Keegan work better for me in print. I loved reading Foster, but think I missed something listening to Small Things Like These. Would like to reread that one, and get a copy of So Late in the Day.
It was a surprise to see Eastbound on that list, wasn’t it? I’d never heard of it before that and am happy to see your review. I just noticed that the ebook is available on hoopla, so I may try to fit it in this week.
Enjoy the holiday break and we’ll see you next year.
Thanks JoAnn. It was a little chaotic at the Santa photo shoot. We’ll have a quiet Christmas here, mainly due to my knee recovery. All is well though.
It was a real surprise to see Eastbound on the list as I hadn’t heard of it. I think you might like the audio version from Hoopla of that one. It’s quite visual.
The Keegan I read in print. Small little book. After I read it — I also listened to 2 of the tales. I was curious to see what Keegan sounded like — she reads tale #1 for The New Yorker. The scary tale #3 I sort of liked the best. See what you think.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
I love the photo of you and your dogs and Santa. Very cheerful.
I have some of Keegan’s books and stories on my Kindle, but I still haven’t read any. Our next door neighbor’s dog is named Keegan, and he is a cutie.
Eastbound sounds very good and I like books of that length, especially when I am trying a new author.
Have a lovely Christmas.
TracyK at Bitter Tea and Mystery
Thanks Tracy. It was nice to post a little red for Christmas on the site, even if it was a bit chaotic at the dog shoot.
Both of these books are very short. Sometimes I need a bit more from Keegan’s characters, but that’s the way she writes short fiction. Funny to name a dog Keegan I haven’t heard of that before.
I liked Eastbound on audio — but it’d likely be just as good in print. I’m impressed by the French author whom I have not heard of before.
Merry Christmas! & happy reading too.
What a cute picture! So glad to hear your recovery is going so well.
I still haven’t read Claire Keegan and I know I’m missing out. Everyone raves about her books. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas with your family.
Thanks Iliana, good to hear from you. I think the recovery will take a good 6 months at least but I’m doing all right. Our dogs are my lifeline and laughline. lol. We had fun with Santa. I hope your Christmas is great too! Merry Merry.
I bet Santa will have some pet treats on hand next time! Happy holidays!
Thanks Harvee. Lol. Yeah there were treats there but it was pretty crazy. One dog was going for the treats, the other dog was trying to run away from Santa. So the photo was taken quickly. Happy holidays as well! & happy reading.
Merry Christmas, Susan. I hope you have had a lovely day, maybe with some more snow? Cute photo of you with Santa and the dogs. How’s the knee feeling?
I’m looking forward to getting a copy of the new Claire Keegan book. I got a couple of books for Christmas, which is always fun. Plus, I gave some to my mom, which I’ll wind up reading once she’s finished. Win, win!
Cheers!
Yay Lesley, glad you got some new books for Christmas. I’ll visit your site soon to see what’s up there. All is pretty mellow here. Now we’ve taken a two day trip to Crowsnest Pass area for some cross-country skiing (Robert) … and I am hanging out. I’m at 1 month now with the new knee and all feels on schedule. I can return to some more activities at 3 months. And we are getting a spin bike in January which I hope will help strengthen it.
I hope you & Rod had a great Christmas at the Cove … as well as your Mom. Happy reading.
Hahaha, that poor dog wants to escape from Santa so badly. She must think she’s on the naughty list. I hope you had a great Christmas!
Thanks AJ — we had a nice quiet (barely white) Christmas here. Willow was definitely terrified of Santa …. but she’s actually too sweet to be on the naughty list. But we had to high-tail it out of there because she was done with Santa.
Hope your Christmas was happy! & you received some books. Cheers!
Wow–all three stories by Claire Keegan sound amazing. I will definitely listen to her read the first one. I appreciate the list of spooky stories–definitely The Lottery packed a wallop, same with the Flannery O’Connor.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Jane. Good to hear from you. I’m thinking I need to reread those spooky stories. All of them are pretty good. Keegan’s last story in the collection had a bit of a wallop to it. Wishing you a Happy New Year too. Happy retirement!
I just decided to read something by Claire Keegan. I haven’t heard of her before today.
I didn’t realize you were recovering from knee surgery. Baby them! No skiing for a while.
Happy New Year!
My end of the year post about favorite books and blog posts
Thanks Anne. Yeah I had a knee replacement at the end of November, but it is on track and more PT starts next week. I feel okay taking it easy till I get it going.
I hope you like Keegan. She writes very short fiction but she is a master of brevity and the situations and relations she writes about. I think this was my third book of hers. I hope she writes more. Cheers & Happy 2024! ps. I’ll check out your year end post.