Keegan’s stories always make me think, which is the whole purpose for immersing oneself in a book. I learn a great many Irish/British expressions along the way, too. The real draw for me, however, are Keegan’s thoughtful, realistic characters. I despise reading about contrived, stereotypical people.
This time, I had great empathy for the main character, Bill Furlong, the hardworking, steadfast owner of a heating fuel delivery company. Bill, his wife Eileen and their five daughters are salt-of-the-earth, faithful members of an Irish community sometime in the 1980s. Bill is a thoughtful man who often reflects on his family’s circumstances, recognizing and appreciating the fruits of his solid, working class lifestyle. His work puts him in contact with all manner of people, and he is especially mindful of those not doing as well as he.
Keegan offers insight into Bill’s perspective with her tight, honest prose. Who among us cannot relate to this quick bit?
“When he reached the yard gate and found the padlock seized with frost, he felt the strain of being alive and wished he had stayed in bed…”
And, here one of my favorite sentiments is echoed.
“Always, Christmas brought out the best and the worst in people.”
A shocking discovery one day causes Bill to dig deeper into his own consciousness. As he does, he contemplates his wife’s simple philosophy, “If you want to get on in life, there’s things you have to ignore, so you can keep on.” I can relate to that myself. The world is full of horrific news, but to become overwhelmed by it, can lead to hopelessness and inaction.
The soft-hearted Bill, however, can’t shake off the weight of what he has witnessed. His inner conflict brings him head to head with the Catholic Church and leads him to this revelation, “was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”
I’ll conclude with this quote that pretty much sums it all up.
“People could be good, Furlong reminded himself, as he drove back to town; it was a matter of learning how to manage and balance the give-and-take in a way that let you get on with others as well as your own.”
Keegan’s writing invites us to ponder our own inner angst as well as how it relates to our connectivity to humanity. That certainly makes for a worthwhile read.
Edited to add my thoughts after watching the movie on Hulu. I would not have chosen the Oppenheimer actor to play Bill Furlong, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a different, less intense, softer side of Cillian Murphy. At the close of the movie this statement fills the screen. “Dedicated to the more than 56,000 young women who were sent to Magdalene institutions for “penance and rehabilitation” between 1922 and 1998. And the children who were taken from them.” I was unfamiliar with the legacy of the Magdalene Laundries but not surprised to research the subject and learn a little about the abuse that took place. This quote from the Mother Superior’s sermon was particularly relevant, especially when questioning how these atrocities happen. “The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who fear Him. His justice reaches out to the children’s children when they keep His Covenant in truth.”
