Book Review: 2 Irish Short Story Collections

Posted on by Karissa

Antarctica by Claire Keegan and The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy are two short story collections by female Irish writers. Since I read them back to back, it was hard not to compare them as I was reading and I felt it made a sort of sense to review them together. (Especially since I find short story collections difficult to review.)

They are both collections of short stories coming in at around 200 pages. Kennedy’s collection is closer to 300 while Keegan’s is closer to 200. The End of the World is a Cul de Sac is Kennedy’s earlier publication, now available in North America following the success of her debut novel, Trespasses. I listened to Trespasses on audio last year and enjoyed Kennedy’s restrained style. Antarctica is, I think, Keegan’s earliest publication and she’s become better known since, particularly for her recent novellas. I’ve read and enjoyed Small Things Like These by Keegan. These two collections were written about 25 years apart.

On the surface, they have a sort of innate Irishness in common though that’s a hard quality to pinpoint. Most of the stories are about women, several with complicated (to my tongue) Irish tongues. Many of these women are in dangerous of rundown or impoverished situations. The woman in the title story of The End of the World is a Cul de Sac who lives in an unfinished housing development, abandoned by her mob boss boyfriend. Or the woman in the title story of Antarctica who goes to another city to seek an affair.

On the whole, Kennedy’s stories feel more Irish and more rural. Their settings are often on farms or towns, the characters seem to live more closely to the land. Keegan’s stories are sometimes set in the USA and seem more urban, though still have a rundown feel to the setting. All of the stories, at least as I remember them now a couple of weeks later, feel like they’re set in another time. None of the characters or settings feel contemporary. Which isn’t to say that the stories don’t feel relevant. Both Kennedy and Keegan are excellent writers and they both exercise that restraint in story-telling that I admired in Trespasses.Even as the story details might fade, I can easily recall the way they made me feel.

Overall, Keegan’s stories have a darker, slightly more dangerous quality to me. Reading the whole collection at once, put me slightly in mind of Ian McEwan’s writing, where there is a sense of danger behind every sentence. I never felt at rest when reading Keegan’s stories and it was, at times, difficult to finish them.

Kennedy’s writing, while still sad for many of her characters, had a warmer feel overall to my mind. I feel that warmth versus cold in the writing even reflected in the covers of the book. The warm, oil painting style and the movement of the animals of The End of the World is a Cul de Sac versus the chill blues and the lone figure of the woman on the cover of Antarctica.

I can see how both authors have developed and improved in their writing in their subsequent works and I think for Keegan, particularly, I prefer the direction she seems to be moving in. Both Kennedy and Keegan are authors I will keep looking for.

(I didn’t set out to participate in Reading Ireland Month but it is now March and these two books definitely fit the category. Visit 746books.com to find more Irish writing!)

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Published by Karissa

16 thoughts on “Book Review: 2 Irish Short Story Collections”

  2. I really enjoyed Cul-de-Sac, even more than Trespasses. I’ve yet to read Antarctica but will be reviewing her other short story collection Walk the Blue Fields this week,

    1. I love short stories so I think I’d have to agree. Plus, Kennedy’s restrained style feels very well suited to a shorter format.

  3. Both sound fabulous! I enjoy short stories, especially when I can read them on the train to and from my office.
    Your comment about innate Irishness amused me, there is something but I couldn’t tell you what it was, either. All I know is that I can imagine the stories being told to me (spoken voice) when I read them.

    1. I love listening to audio books with Irish narrators because I find the accent so pretty and soothing. There is just something about Irish writers that I find they have in common even though it’s hard for me to pinpoint.

  4. Interesting to read your thoughts about these side by side! I’ve not read either author before, but I think The End of the World is a Cul-de-Sac is more appealing. I do want to try Trespasses eventually, but maybe I should start here.

    1. I always think short stories are a great way to try out a writer and I think Kennedy’s stories are a fair representation of her writing as I saw it in Trespasses.

  5. I find reviewing short story collections really difficult too, but you did a great job here. Sometimes it’s easier to compare and contrast! I haven’t read many Irish writers actually, although I just received the new Colm Toibin ARC….

    1. Thank you! I’ve been loving Irish writers the past year. I have yet to read Colm Toibin though. Maybe I’ll wait for your review and see if I should add him to my list!

  6. When I think Irish, I think Roddy Doyle’s books and Derry Girls, the TV show. Oddly, James Joyce is never on the mental list. 😂 I guess for me a story feels Irish if the characters are always ragging on each other but never permanently mad.

    1. I never put Joyce on that list either. I might say another book is “Joycean” but that has nothing to do with him being Irish. That teasing, somewhat antagonistic but often still affectionate relationship is definitely part of the Irish feel.

  7. Love this post! Short story sets are definitely challenging to review, but the compare/contrast here is fun. Both of these are authors I’ve read a little from and would love to read more; you’re helping bump them up on my list 🙂 I’ve only read one short story by Keegan so far (The Forester’s Daughter) which I loved, and am so excited to dip into more of her work. I hardly ever hear of anyone disliking her stories! As much as I liked Kennedy’s writing as well in Trespasses, I’m a little less inclined (generally) to pick up short stories after liking a novel, but I’ve already had some success with that this year with Brandon Taylor’s short stories, and picking Kennedy up alongside Keegan sounds like a good time (although Walk the Blue Fields is the Keegan set at the top of my list!).

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