Day 1,447, Quasi-Quarantine: Isolation, Regret, And Fleeting Moments Of Hope Mark Sublime "Walk The Blue Fields"

 

"Putting the past into words seemed idle when the past had already happened. The past was treacherous, moving slowly along. It would catch up in its own time. And in any case, what could be done? Remorse altered nothing and grief just brought it back." 

~ "Night of the Quicken Trees"

Claire Keegan is a master of subtle praise and the capturing of pastoral Ireland, and she is at her best here in "Walk the Blue Fields," a collection of short stories that explore desolation, regret, fate, and hints of the supernatural.

"She said self-knowledge lay at the far side of speech. The purpose of conversation was to find out what, to some extent, you already knew. She believed that in every conversation, an invisible bowl existed. Talk was the art of placing decent words into the bowl and taking others out. In a loving conversation, you discovered yourself in the kindest possible way, and at the end the bowl was, once again, empty."

~ "Walk the Blue Fields"

"The Parting Gift" was a terrifying and thrilling way to start the collection, and the mercurial "Night of the Quicken Trees" was a stellar way to end it. "The Forester's Daughter" was run through with "wow" moments, while the mysterious "Surrender" felt like it had more to offer.

"Hope always was the last thing to die; he had learned this as a child and seen it, first hand, as a soldier."

~ "Surrender"

This satisfying, quick read did a phenomenal job of channeling the harsh and abrasive landscape and culture of the Emerald Isle. 

"So, being mad was the same as having your wits about you, Margaret thought. Sometimes everybody was right. For most of the time people crazy or sober were stumbling in the dark, reaching with outstretched hands for something they didn’t even know they wanted."

~ "Night of the Quicken Trees"

It's clear that no one better captures the emotions that are bundled up in loneliness and hidden sins than Keegan, whose uncanny ability to depict the results of decisions made and regretted in the short-story format is truly remarkable.

"There are tears there but she is too proud to blink and let one fall. If she blinked, he would take her hand and take her away from this place. This, at least, is what he tells himself. It’s what she once wanted but two people hardly ever want the same thing at any given point in life. It is sometimes the hardest part of being human."

~ "Walk the Blue Fields"