So Late in the Day - Supernormal Reads

English language

Published Aug. 31, 2023 by Faber & Faber, Limited.

ISBN:: 978-0-571-38201-9

(1 review)

'A genuine once-in-a-generation writer.' The Times 'Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving.' Hilary Mantel 'Claire Keegan makes her moments real - and then she makes them matter.' Colm Tóibín

After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, had he acted differently. All evening, with only the television and a bottle of champagne for company, thoughts of this woman and others intrude - and the true significance of this particular date is revealed.

From one of the finest writers working today, Keegan's new story asks if a lack of generosity might ruin what could be between men and women.

1 edition

ralentina reviewed So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

A convincing sketch of masculine mediocrity

4 stars

Content warning Very minor spoilers

A basic man - not a particularly bad one, but the bar is low - is clearly struggling, as we soon start to suspect, because of a recent break-up. He is miserable, and resentful. As more details about his late relationship emerge, it becomes clear he was kind of an asshole, and, although on some level he knows is and is ready to acknowledge it, he doesn't see much of a problem with that either. As this synopsis makes clear, not much happen in the book. Nor is there a lot of perceptive introspection, because our protagonist is not able of that. Yet, I found it surprisingly not-boring: a convincing sketch of masculine mediocrity.

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English literature

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