"The words come out blunt and fast and irreversible. That is always the attraction to writing; with writing it's possible to change the words, to get a second chance."
This stunning collection of short stories focuses on loss and loneliness, with a number of meditations on the illicit and the toll it can take. Claire Keegan does not stray far from Ireland in "Antarctica," but shows some range with stories based in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Colorado.
Published in 1999, Keegan's debut collection of short stories is foreboding, featuring a throughline of terror and the draw of the eerie. The titular story, "Love in the Tall Grass," "Passport Soup," "Sisters," and "Ginger Rogers Sermon" are among the most fully realized.
"They battled against their lust, wrestled against what in the end carried them away."
From the range of "Ride If You Dare" to the darkness of "The Singing Cashier" to the power of sparsity in "Men and Women," Keegan offers something for nearly every reader. She explores fragility in "Burns," melancholy in "The Burning Palms," and horror in "You Can't Be Too Careful," showing her impressive scope as an author.
"Dusk stoked the sky, bribing daylight into darkness."
While a couple -- "The Scent of Winter," "Where the Water's Deepest," and "Close to the Water's Edge" -- will give the feeling of having left some meat on the bone for some readers, most of Keegan's work is fraught, laden, and impressively sketched in, containing multitudes in a limited number of words.
"He kissed her then as if there was something in her mouth he wanted. Words, probably."
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