Claire Keegan's mesmeric story takes us into the heart of the Wicklow countryside, and of the farming family of Victor Deegan, with his 'three teenagers, the milking and the mortgage'. When Deegan finds a gun dog and gives it as a present to his only daughter, his wife is filled with foreboding at this seeming act of kindness. As the seasons pass, long-buried family secrets threaten to emerge.
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Deegan, the forester, is not the type of man to remember his children's birthdays, least likely that of his youngest, who bears a strong, witch-like resemblance to her mother.
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(@FaberBooks, 7 March 2019, ebook, 38 pages, bought from @AmazonKindle)
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This is a new author for me. I really enjoyed this story and may read more of her work at some point. This is a very powerful story and there's so much more going on than it would initially appear. The narrator is omnipitent and has insight into all of the characters but most of the events are focalised through Deegan's wife, unhappy in her marriage who suspects ulterior motives are at work when he gives their eldest daughter a dog for her birthday. This seemingly act of kindness causes old resentments and secrets to start to surface. This is powerful stuff.
