Foster

"Foster is spare, heart-rending – and perfect. This is the first release of its full text in the U.S., which, since its original publication in Claire Keegan’s native Ireland in 2010, has become part of the school curriculum. The nameless narrator is a little girl whose parents, impoverished Catholic farmers already overwhelmed by too many children and the father’s bad habits, farm her out to distant relatives before the next baby’s arrival. She has no idea what to expect – whether she’ll be worked hard or treated kindly, and for how long. The experience turns out to be life changing, as the deprivations of her former life reveal themselves through the things she notices, like the sparkling kitchen and calm efficiency of her temporary guardians."

"How about a long story? Claire Keegan’s “Foster.” It’s told from the point of view of an Irish girl whose parents, lacking the money to care for her, send her to live with childless relatives, whom she ends up preferring. The ending is absolutely heartbreaking, every single word in the right place and pregnant with double meanings."