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While Dickens uses his story to challenge the unequal distribution of wealth in Victorian society, his message nevertheless reinforces patriarchal values by celebrating the male-centric and materialist aspects of Christmas, rather than its spiritual elements. Small Things Like These can be read as a feminist revision of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol - to which the novel explicitly alludes. While the vise-like rhythm of daily life threatens to suffocate his spirit, it also hints at the deep loss he would suffer if stability is renounced. 2021 by Claire Keegan (Author) 8,883 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle Edition £5.22 Read with Our Free App Audiobook £0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover £10.00 7 Used from £5.19 9 New from £7. Read the opening chapter here It is 1985, in an Irish town. The heartwarming tableau of his wife and daughters making mince pies for Christmas nevertheless makes Bill wonder if the daily grind of providing for his family is all there is to life. Claire Keegan Small Things Like These: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 Hardcover 21 Oct. Read the 2022 shortlist: an extract from Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Claire Keegan’s tender tale of hope and quiet heroism is both a celebration of compassion and a stern rebuke of the sins committed in the name of religion. Like the Catholic parish that presides as a monolith over the town of New Ross in 1985 Ireland, Bill's social background reflects both salvation and oppression.Īs a perpetual outsider, Bill senses danger in rituals that others take for granted, and aches for his youngest daughter when she becomes frightened by a "big, fat Santa," like the Pied Piper luring a horde of children toward a cave of shiny presents during the town's holiday parade.
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