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Quick answer: If you liked Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, try Foster, Walk the Blue Fields, Brooklyn, The Secret Scripture, Philomena and A Month in the Country. They are quiet, powerful stories about conscience and ordinary courage.
Claire Keegan's 2021 novella is set in a small Irish town in 1985, where coal merchant Bill Furlong faces a choice about what he has seen at the local convent and the Magdalene laundry. It is short and moving. Readers who finish it want more spare, quiet fiction about moral choices, Irish life and the history of silence. These 15 books fit that bill. Some deal with abuse and institutional cruelty.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foster | Claire Keegan | Adult | more Claire Keegan |
| Walk the Blue Fields | Claire Keegan | Adult | readers who like short stories |
| Brooklyn | Colm Tóibín | Adult | readers who like Irish history |
| The Secret Scripture | Sebastian Barry | Adult | readers who like lyrical prose |
| Philomena | Martin Sixsmith | Adult | readers who want a true story |
| The Magdalen Girls | V.S. Alexander | Adult | readers who want a plotted novel |
| A Month in the Country | J.L. Carr | Adult | readers who like quiet books |
| The Heart's Invisible Furies | John Boyne | Adult | readers who want a longer novel |
| Angela's Ashes | Frank McCourt | Adult | memoir readers |
| Normal People | Sally Rooney | Adult | readers who like modern Irish fiction |
| Hamnet | Maggie O'Farrell | Adult | readers who like historical fiction |
| Stoner | John Williams | Adult | readers who like quiet lives |
| Olive Kitteridge | Elizabeth Strout | Adult | readers who like small-town stories |
| The Dutch House | Ann Patchett | Adult | readers who like family sagas |
| The Remains of the Day | Kazuo Ishiguro | Adult | readers who like reflection |
1. Foster by Claire Keegan
A girl sent to live with relatives for the summer discovers kindness. Keegan's brief, luminous story.
Best for: more Claire Keegan.
2. Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan
A collection of short stories set in rural Ireland. Spare and sharp.
Best for: readers who like short stories.
3. Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Eilis leaves Ireland for New York in the 1950s and must choose between two lives. Quiet and beautiful.
Best for: readers who like Irish history.
4. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
A woman in her hundreds looks back on her life in an Irish mental hospital. Lyrical and moving.
Best for: readers who like lyrical prose.
5. Philomena by Martin Sixsmith
The true story of a woman searching for the son taken from her at a convent. Moving and clear.
Best for: readers who want a true story.
6. The Magdalen Girls by V.S. Alexander
Two young women are sent to a Magdalene laundry in Ireland. A novel with a gripping plot.
Best for: readers who want a plotted novel.
7. A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
A World War I veteran restores a church mural in a Yorkshire village. Short and healing.
Best for: readers who like quiet books.
8. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Cyril, born to an unmarried mother in Ireland, lives through decades of change. Long, funny and sad.
Best for: readers who want a longer novel.
9. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
McCourt's memoir of childhood in poverty in Limerick. Funny and heartbreaking.
Best for: memoir readers.
10. Normal People by Sally Rooney
Connell and Marianne's relationship from school into adulthood. Spare and intimate.
Best for: readers who like modern Irish fiction.
11. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Agnes grieves for her son in Stratford. Beautiful, quiet and moving.
Best for: readers who like historical fiction.
12. Stoner by John Williams
William Stoner lives a quiet life as a professor. A forgotten classic that moves many readers.
Best for: readers who like quiet lives.
13. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Linked stories about a retired schoolteacher in a Maine town. Won the Pulitzer Prize.
Best for: readers who like small-town stories.
14. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Siblings are cast out of their childhood home and spend years returning to it in memory. Poignant and beautiful.
Best for: readers who like family sagas.
15. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens, a butler, recalls a life of service and a missed love. Restrained and sad.
Best for: readers who like reflection.
How to Choose
If you want more Keegan, begin with Foster. For Irish history and conscience, read Brooklyn, The Secret Scripture or Philomena. For short, quiet books, choose A Month in the Country or Stoner. Some of these books describe abuse in institutions, so read them when you are ready. At about 100 pages, Small Things Like These can be read in an evening. Quiet books like these are best read in one sitting, with no distractions. Pair Small Things Like These with a nonfiction book such as Philomena if you want the historical background. A cup of tea and an evening is all you need.
Related: Small Things Like These Book Club Discussion Questions (With Summary and Themes) · The Things They Carried Book Club Discussion Questions (With Summary and Themes)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Small Things Like These based on a true story?
It is fiction, but it is based on the history of Ireland's Magdalene laundries, which operated until 1996.
How long is it?
It is a novella of about 100 pages.
Was it a finalist for the Booker Prize?
Yes. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022.
Is there a movie?
Yes. A film adaptation starring Cillian Murphy was released in 2024.
What are the Magdalene laundries?
They were church-run institutions in Ireland where women and girls were made to work, often unpaid, until the last one closed in 1996.
What themes does the book explore?
Complicity, courage, family and the cost of doing the right thing.