Small Things Like These / Claire Keegan / 2020
A snappy, crushing and quietly inspiring novel about a man whose frustrations with his brutal working class Irish life are put into perspective when he encounters a victimized orphan girl who reminds him of his mother. The novel details his radicalization, one can say, as he decides whether and how to best intervene. It's a cruel and difficult book about love and what it demands of us. I'll cherish it as an excellent work of realism and the meanings of bravery and heroism, all done with a sharp and vivid style that does justice to the difficult material. 4/5