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Claire Keegan

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Antarctica: ‘A genuine once-in-a-generation writer.’ THE TIMES Paperback – 2 Nov. 2023

by Claire Keegan (Author)

1,042 ratings

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The stunning debut story collection from the author of Foster and the Booker Prize shortlisted Small Things Like These

'A beautiful, tender work of great clarity.' Sebastian Barry
'Simply put, Claire Keegan is one of the greatest fiction writers in the world.' George Saunders
'Among the finest contemporary stories written recently in English.' Observer

A secret one-night tryst in the city. A sister's revenge. A love-struck doctor. A missing girl. In Antarctica, an astonishing sequence of stories, one of our most gifted writers illuminates human longing and fallibility in all its variety.

-------

Readers love Antarctica:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This is the best short story collection I have ever read. Trust me she is a real find!'

'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A skilled writer who immerses us seamlessly in the lives of her characters.'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I have now read every word Claire Keegan has written. That's how much I love her writing.'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'With her keen eye and lucid prose, Keegan beguiles, jolts and haunts us beyond the pages.'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The writing is both tender, poetic and authentic ... the stories stay with you long after you have finished reading.'

From the Publisher

	Antarctica	Foster	Small Things Like These	So Late in the Day

Customer Reviews	1,042	16,561	23,081	2,743
Price	£9.19	£8.93	£7.99	£8.95
Discover more of Claire Keegan's bestselling stories	'Among the finest contemporary stories written recently in English.' Observer	'A thing of finely honed beauty.' Guardian	Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022	'Simply put, Claire Keegan is one of the greatest fiction writers in the world.' George Saunders

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Review

Simply put, Claire Keegan is one of the greatest fiction writers in the world. -- George Saunders

Every line seems to be a lesson in the perfect deployment of both style and emotion. -- Hilary Mantel

Amongst the greatest practitioners of the short story form -- Joseph O'Connor

The beautifully crafted stories are like chilling, adult versions of fairy tales - albeit with echoes of Raymond Carver and William Trevor. ― Sunday Telegraph

Keegan has a remarkably poetic vision and she treats hurt and laughter, love and hate, with the same calm, almost ethereal style. ― Sunday Tribute

An exciting first book of deliberate, contemplative short stories. ― Observer

Keegan writes with such grace and accuracy that it is impossible not to be drawn into each world she creates. ― Big Issue

A writer already touched by greatness. -- Declan Kiberd

A genuine one-in-a-generation writer. ― The Times

Book Description

The debut collection of stories from the author of Foster and Small Things Like These.

From the Back Cover

The debut collection of stories from the author of Foster and Small Things Like These.

** From the author of the Booker-shortlisted Small Things Like These **
Antarctica by Claire Keegan is a grand, cold sweep of a short story collection, inhabiting a world where dreams, memory and chance can have crippling consequences for those involved.
'No better feeling than reading a book that makes you excited to discover everything its author has ever written...' - Douglas Stuart (Winner of the Booker Prize 2020)
From the opening story about a married woman who takes a trip to the city with a single purpose in mind - to sleep with another man - Antarctica draws you into a world of obsession, betrayal and fragile relationships. In 'House Calls', Cordelia wakes on the last day ofthe twentieth century and sets off along the coast road to keep a date with her lover that has been nine years in the waiting. In 'The Singing Cashier', a local postman visits two sisters bearingfishy gifts in the hope that his favour will be returned in kind. One of the most moving and disturbing stories in the collection, 'Passport Soup', features Frank Corso, who sits alone eating green tomatoes and bacon, mourning the disappearance of his nine-year-old daughter: 'At one point in that late evening, she was there, and then she wasn't.' Keegan's characters inhabit a world where dreams, memory and chance can have crippling consequences for those involved. Compassionate, witty and unsettling, Antarctica is a collection to be savoured.

About the Author

Claire Keegan's works of fiction are critically acclaimed international bestsellers - and have been translated into thirty languages. Antarctica won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Walk the Blue Fields won the Edge Hill Prize for the finest collection of stories published in the British Isles. Foster won the Davy Byrnes Award - the world's richest prize for a short story. Small Things Like These, a New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Rathbones Folio Prize and won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award. So Late in the Day was published in the New Yorker and shortlisted for the British Book Awards. Keegan was awarded Woman of the Year for Literature in Ireland in 2022, Author of the Year 2023, the Seamus Heaney Award for Arts and Letters 2024 and most recently the Siegfried Lenz Prize.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Faber & Faber; Main edition (2 Nov. 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0571382215
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0571382217
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 1.5 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 20,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 291 in Short Stories (Books)
- 1,832 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- 2,943 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews:
1,042 ratings

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1,042 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's writing style, with one noting its keen eye and lucid prose. The short story collection receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as a beautifully crafted book of good Irish storytelling. Moreover, the book features clearly drawn characters and customers find it well worth reading. However, the stories have a dark tone and disturbing elements that some customers find concerning.

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Writing style Short story collection Value for money Character development Reader engagement Suspenseful Dark tone

14 customers mention ‘Writing style’14 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing style of the book, with one noting its keen eye and lucid prose, while another describes it as evocative.

"Every short story is unique in its own way. They are so beautifully written and engage the reader straight away...." Read more

"...While these topics are hardly earth-shattering, with her keen eye and lucid prose, Keegan beguiles, jolts and haunts us beyond the pages...." Read more

"...this only 3.5 stars as it's beautifully written and very evocative of a not too distant (mostly) Ireland, although some were set in the USA...." Read more

"I have now read every word Claire Keegan wrote. That's how much I love her writing. Settings, characters, plot, dialogue, everything...." Read more

10 customers mention ‘Short story collection’10 positive0 negative

Customers praise the short story collection in this book, describing it as beautifully crafted with good Irish storytelling, with one customer noting there are no excess words in any sentence.

"Every short story is unique in its own way. They are so beautifully written and engage the reader straight away...." Read more

"This is the best short story collection I have ever read. Trust me she is a real find!" Read more

"...That's how much I love her writing. Settings, characters, plot, dialogue, everything...." Read more

"...in Ireland, two are in America and one or two in Britain The Irish stories are best. The protagonists are generally women or girls...." Read more

9 customers mention ‘Value for money’9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a fantastic product that is immense in its quality and worth reading.

"...Her books may be short, but they are immense in their quality!" Read more

"...Trust me she is a real find!" Read more

"...which allows many details emerge in an indirect way. Well worth reading though perhaps not all at once. Recommend." Read more

"Faber is special; good quality paper, well printed, even smell of good quality. Might seem expensive, but worth it." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Character development’4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with several noting the clearly drawn characters, and one customer highlighting that the protagonists are generally women or girls.

"...That's how much I love her writing. Settings, characters, plot, dialogue, everything...." Read more

"...The protagonists are generally women or girls. Children -girls-are a focus in many of the stories.,..." Read more

"...where the Ireland of her childhood leaps from every page, clearly drawn characters and draws us into these stories where we feel a strong sympathy..." Read more

"...Quite dark are some of the stories, but you can really picture the characters. She’s a unique style of writing." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Reader engagement’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging.

"...They are so beautifully written and engage the reader straight away...." Read more

"Love the writing style, so engaging and evocative. Love Claire Keegan !" Read more

"A nice story that kept me reading. Short read with an ending that was intiguing." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Suspenseful’0 positive5 negative

Customers find the book's suspenseful elements disturbing and concerning, with one customer noting it's not suitable for the faint of heart.

"...The stories were haunting, often scary, sad and emotional...." Read more

"Well crafted set of short stories, but not for the faint hearted. Every one has a terrifying undercurrent which certainly gave me nightmares!" Read more

"Whilst the style of writing was great, the stories were deeply disturbing and on occasion, quite upsetting (in fact one affected me for a week or so)..." Read more

"This book is well written but the subject matter is disquieting. It's not really for me - too dark." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Dark tone’0 positive4 negative

Customers find the dark tone of the book surprising.

"...surprised to find that her debut collection of short stories was surprisingly dark and even sinister...." Read more

"...It's not really for me - too dark." Read more

"This book is not for me , the stories are deep, dark and concerning. Perhaps others will enjoy this , so be it, personal choice...." Read more

"Dark and disturbing stories..." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

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yvonne gorman
This author is now my favourite!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2025
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Every short story is unique in its own way. They are so beautifully written and engage the reader straight away. I’ve only just discovered this author, but I now want to devour every single word of her work. Her books may be short, but they are immense in their quality!

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J. Ang
The Perils of Living
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2024
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Having read Claire Keegan’s heartwarming Booker-nominated “Small Things Like These”, I was surprised to find that her debut collection of short stories was surprisingly dark and even sinister.

In the titular opener, a woman seeking a thrilling fling with a stranger gets more than she bargains for. Adultery again features in the next story, “Love in the Tall Grass”, about an affair between a young woman and her married doctor, and what happens when the wife finds out about them.

Something menacing lurks under the surface of most of these stories, and sometimes the threat is more explicit, such as in “You Can’t Be Too Careful”, where a man finds himself with a confession that may just do him in. “A Scent of Winter” details the aftermath of a violent crime and how sometimes one seeks justice outside of the law.

Elsewhere, Keegan casts her keen eye on the politics of familial relationships, whether they be between siblings, such as in “Sister”, within the family in “Men and Women”, or between husband and wife in “Passport Soup”.

While these topics are hardly earth-shattering, with her keen eye and lucid prose, Keegan beguiles, jolts and haunts us beyond the pages. Four-and-a-half stars.

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5 people found this helpful

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Mrs
A fantastic writer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 August 2024
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This is the best short story collection I have ever read. Trust me she is a real find!

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2 people found this helpful

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Robosquid
Hit and miss (mostly hit)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 December 2023
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Feeling slightly guilty for giving this only 3.5 stars as it's beautifully written and very evocative of a not too distant (mostly) Ireland, although some were set in the USA. The stories were haunting, often scary, sad and emotional.

My favourites were "Sisters" and "Antarctica", but there were a few others I didn't particularly enjoy - or maybe I missed the subtleties. It's not my usual type of thing but was a book group read.

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2 people found this helpful

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CivilEyes
Fantastic With Nitpick
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2022
Verified Purchase
I have now read every word Claire Keegan wrote. That's how much I love her writing. Settings, characters, plot, dialogue, everything. The nitpick is--although the stories set in the Deep South were evocative, I was so jolted by terms such as "gas hob" which simply isn't an American term, let alone a Southern American term. They have the air of Flannery about them, but Flannery was a native of the place.

However, I still give this book five stars because it is such incredible writing. I hope with all my heart that CK wins the Booker. More than that, I hope she writes another very soon!

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6 people found this helpful

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Oneclearway
Distinctive collection of short stories
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2025
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This is a distinctive collection of short stories by a. Feted Irish writer.
Not all are set in Ireland, two are in America and one or two in Britain The Irish stories are best. The protagonists are generally women or girls. Children -girls-are a focus in many of the stories., which allows many details emerge in an indirect way.
Well worth reading though perhaps not all at once. Recommend.

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Amalia Melia
Excellent writer.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2025
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Faber is special; good quality paper, well printed, even smell of good quality. Might seem expensive, but worth it.

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Sue S
Dark and disturbing stories
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2023
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Well crafted set of short stories, but not for the faint hearted. Every one has a terrifying undercurrent which certainly gave me nightmares!

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2 people found this helpful

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R H Fenner
Perfect short stories
Reviewed in Germany on 2 April 2024
Verified Purchase

These stories are laconically effective in causing a depression. If you don't know what existential nihilism is, Antarctica will teach you.

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Florence Clark Kadagian
A happy find.
Reviewed in the United States on 15 October 2011
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I was so happy to discover Claire Keegan just recently. I'm only sorry she has not written more. Like William Trevor, she can capture a life in a very few words. Wonderful and magical.

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Charlotte
Violence
Reviewed in Australia on 16 November 2024
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It was well written short stories but the topic of sex, violence and discrimination against women is confronting

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IANELLI-BERTHIER
Tragédie
Reviewed in France on 7 January 2025
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Ne comptez pas rêver en lisant ce livre,car les personnages de Claire Keegan traversent des épreuves cauchemardesques .Au cœur de plusieurs récits on trouve un problème familial . En voici quelques exemples : une mère perd la raison et finit internée, une maison est maudite car une mère y a maltraité ses enfants ,une famille est détruite suite à l’enlèvement de son enfant , deux sœurs se retrouvent dans la maison familiale et l’une d’elle doit partir .
Si l’on parle d’amour dans ce roman ,il est impossible (love in the Tall Grass) ,il conduit également à une séquestration (
Antarctica ).
Livre poignant ,se lit facilement .

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christine morrison
Chilling
Reviewed in Spain on 2 January 2025
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The first story "Antarctica" is a fine piece of terror.

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Antarctica: ‘A genuine once-in-a-generation writer.’ THE TIMES Paperback – 2 Nov. 2023

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5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect short stories

5.0 out of 5 stars A happy find.

2.0 out of 5 stars Violence

5.0 out of 5 stars Tragédie

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling

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Perfect short stories

A happy find.

Violence

Tragédie

Chilling