Claire Keegan, Antarctica. Faber, 2023; 19991
I’ve commented in previous posts on the fiction of Claire Keegan that she’s a gifted writer:
Small Things Like These, 2021 (link HERE) – an intensely moving account of hypocrisy in the Irish Catholic church, with young women the ones who suffer cruel treatment by the nuns supposedly caring for them.
So Late in the Day, first published as a story in the New Yorker in 2022, (link HERE) – once again Keegan’s concisely crafted fiction exposes the tendency to misogyny and emotional atrophy in some young Irish men, and once again it’s women who are expected to deal with this.
Faber have now produced a handsome paperback edition of Keegan’s first published fiction: Antarctica is a collection of 15 short stories. They vary considerably in theme, subject matter and setting (mostly Ireland, but also the UK and USA). The fault lines in men’s often patriarchal attitudes to women underpin several of them (as they do in the titles mentioned above), but there are also stories about the tensions in women’s relationships with other women, other families, and with their own family members.
In ‘You Can’t Be Too Careful’, set in the American deep south, a man trustingly takes out a near stranger (also male) on his boat on a fishing trip. When the guy drunkenly confesses to murdering his ‘little lady’, the narrator realises that his own life is in danger; as he sobers up, the bloodstained killer will realise that he has just compromised himself. The remote Mississippi delta is a perfect place to sink a body with little chance it’ll be found any time soon. How the story resolves is cleverly done – a rare example of Keegan indulging in a plot-driven story with a twisty ending. But she’s incapable of neglecting character, and each of those here, and in most of the other stories, is deftly portrayed.
I’m not sure the American stories are as strong as the ones set in her native Ireland, I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it’s just that I’m more at home with those set in places I’m more familiar with – or perhaps it’s that I’m aware she’s openly experimenting with or adopting narrative voices that are different from the ones I’m accustomed to in her later fiction.
I won’t say any more here; I’d recommend you head over to Jacqui’s recent post (link HERE), where she has a perceptive and more detailed account of Keegan’s literary acumen, and of several of the outstanding stories in Antarctica. I agree with her that ‘Sisters’ is one of the most powerful, with its depiction of fierce female sibling jealousy, but for me the outstanding story is ‘Men and Women’. That story alone is worth the admission price, with its depiction of a woman triumphantly but quietly turning the tables on her coercively controlling husband.
Thanks so much for the shout-out, Simon, that’s very generous of you!
I’m glad you’ve commented on the US-based stories, partly because I ran out of room in the end, and it’s great to see them getting some coverage here. The one you’ve picked out was my favourite of the American pieces – and, as you indicate, the scenario is chilling. It reminded me a little of elements of Selva Almada’s novella ‘Not a River’ and some of Mariana Enriquez’s short stories, although the riverside settings are in Argentina rather than the US. Again, as you say, these places can be seen by toxic men as convenient dumping grounds for bodies, often women or girls…
Most welcome, Jacqui- your post was spot on. It was interesting to see her use American locations and inflect her language with American usage – she creates a very different atmosphere in the stories set there, more Gothic than the Irish ones.
Just ordered! You’ve never steered me wrong, Simon. Looking forward to a good contemporary read.
I’ve been slogging through several of James Branch Cabell’s books, and while I do enjoy them, I need a break.
Hope you enjoy it! I don’t know Cabell- sounds rather heavy.
Actually not. He’s sarcastic and satirical and often quite funny. It’s just that I had four books to read, and they’re all very much of a sameness.
The one I’m currently in the middle of (The Cream of the Jest) is my favorite so far. However, I got halfway through last night, and the rest of the pages in the book had never been cut! It was printed in 1917, and no one, obviously, had read it since then. I don’t have a purpose-built paper knife, so I guess I’ll use my utility knife?
I must look him up.
You’ve both convinced me to add this to the list, not that I needed much convincing …
I hope you like it, Liz.
Interesting review as always, Simon! Like most of the rest of the world, I admire Keegan’s writing enormously & have been meaning to get to her short stories forever. I think of Keegan as such an Irish writer; it’s hard for me to imagine her using the Mississippi delta as a setting. Since I’m from that neck of the woods myself, I’ll be most interested in my reaction!
Surprised me too that she used such contrasting settings. Very different themes and styles, too. I’d be interested to hear whether she gets the tone right.
I have finally read this book and while I didn’t say it as strongly as you do, Men and women is one of the standouts for me, partly because of the ending but partly too because of the young daughter’s growing awareness and attempts to intervene in her father’s behaviour. Sisters, I agree, is similarly good about a woman taking a stand.
There is so much to say about her stories, and her approach to writing. Quite breathtaking.
It would have been possible to write separate posts on several of these stories – summarising and commenting on the collection as a whole can’t do it justice. Breathtaking writing, as you say.