Foster, Claire Keegan

In just 96 pages, Claire Keegan packs an awful lot of emotional intensity into Foster.

Like Small Things Like These, Foster is set in early 1980s south east Ireland. A girl is sent to live with another family for a short time while her mother gives birth to a baby to add to their considerable brood. The girl thrives under the care of her foster family and when the baby is born, she is sent back to live with her birth family.

That’s a very bald description. Like saying Macbeth is about a Scot who believes some witches who tell him he’ll be king.

Foster is really about family and families, about loss, about secrets, about directed and misdirected love, about what’s missing but not known until it’s compared with what becomes known.

The central character is (significantly) not named, nor is it even clear how old she is – maybe nine or 10? It’s also not clear whether she is abused or neglected by her brusque father, or loved by her over-burdened mother.

Keegan tells the story from the point of view of the girl, so we only know what she knows, learn what she learns, understand what she understands. And she’s bright, bright enough to realise there have been things missing in her life that are brought out by her foster family.

She learns of their loss, and they teach her of her own potential.

This is all conveyed in writing that is sparse and laconic, yet somehow lushly evocative, all wreathed in rich Irish phrasing and succinct, near poetic, descriptions of people, animals, land, buildings, and events.

There is so much to discover, and read into, Foster – extraordinary in such a short book. If I had to compare it to anything it would be the later work of Alan Garner, when he’d learned how to ground his stories in real life and under-write for maximum impact.

As Foster‘s central character does, there are different conclusions the reader can come to. Or just absorb the emotional impact without coming to any.

And I’d point out that “foster” is also an active verb, not just an adjective for a temporary family.

Highly recommended.