Ratings8
Average rating3.9
Compassionate, witty, and unsettling, Antarctica is the debut collection of one of Ireland's most exciting and versatile new talents. Claire Keegan, winner of several prestigious awards including the William Trevor Prize, writes stories that have a razor-sharp narrative style and unembellished tone, and move from the cruel, hard life of rural Ireland to the hot landscape of the southern United States. From the title story about a married woman who takes a trip to the city with a single purpose in mind—to sleep with another man—Antarctica draws you into a world of obsession, betrayal, and fragile relationships. In "Love in the Tall Grass," Cordelia wakes on the last day of the twentieth century and sets off along the coast road to keep a date, with her lover, that has been nine years in the waiting. In "Passport Soup," Frank Corso mourns the curious disappearance of his nine-year-old daughter and tries desperately to reach out to his shattered wife who has gone mad with grief. Keegan's characters inhabit a world where dreams, memory, and chance can have crippling consequences for those involved. Moving in its quiet intensity, the award-winning Antarctica is a rare and arresting debut.
Reviews with the most likes.
Uhyre skarpe noveller, og av beste merke. Irske og kreolske landskap, hverdagsmennesker på kanten av normalen, øyeblikk som setter seg fast - viser hvorfor noveller er den mest spennende sjangeren.
Keegan er ekspert på å si minst mulig så flatt som mulig, og likevel skape en stemning som er sitrende.
Til opplysning så er filmen “The Quiet Girl” et resultat av en av hennes andre korte tekster, Foster. Keegan skal jeg lese mer av.
3.5 - If anyone could've made me a fan of short story collections, I would've thought it would be the master herself. I enjoyed some of these stories, but overall I did not enjoy my reading experience. It took me nearly 20 days to read such a short book, which is very unusual for me. Again, it's not bad and they're beautifully written, but perhaps my standards were too high being such a big fan of the other stories I've read from her.
Love love loved all the stories set in Ireland. Her turn of phrase is exquisite. Some of the American ones weren’t as strong IMO. My favs were Antartica, Sisters, The Ginger Rogers Sermon and Love in the Tall Grass.