Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

Set in a small Irish town and following a coal and timber merchant confronted by the past, this 2022 Booker Prize shortlisted novella is an unforgettable story of hope and quiet heroism.

It is 1985, in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.