In choosing this year's 'Novella in November', I selected a book I have long wanted to read: Claire Keegan's Foster (2010). This perfect gem of a story is only 88 pages long, but has the emotional depth of a much longer novel.
Foster begins on a Sunday after Mass. Instead of returning home, a man takes his daughter for a long drive through County Wexford. They arrive at Kinsella's farm, and are greeted by a man and his wife. This is the child's maternal family, but she does not know her Ma's people. Pa drives off, leaving his daughter at the farm without any belongings. The child has no idea when or if he may return to collect her. Over the course of the summer the girl, aged 8 or 9, is cared for by this couple and experiences a sense of belonging she does not know at home. We learn that the child is from a large family and that she was sent away to be cared for while her mother was in the final months of her latest pregnancy. We also learn that the Kinsellas long to give the child a home, and dread the day the girl has to be returned to her family.
Keegan tells the story from the child's perspective as she tries to understand what is happening around her. The child is naive in many respects, but her time with the Kinsellas shows she is a keen observer. Keegan is masterful in her ability to use the quiet spaces to convey emotion, letting the void speak for itself.
This is a beautiful story that can be read in an hour. Do yourself a favour - make a cup of tea and curl up with Foster. It is magnificent!
Foster was adapted into an Irish language feature film called The Quiet Girl (2022)