Book Review: Foster by Claire Keegan

In FOSTER, a father drops off his daughter with distant relations for an indeterminate length of time; money is tight, children are many, and a new baby is on the way. This girl experiences a substitute family, an alternate way of living. John and Edna Kinsella, themselves childless, attempt to draw her into their daily routines, even as their own unspoken grief is at the edges.

Claire Keegan is masterful at working with language and finding a setting to match her aim, telling what feels on the surface like a sparsely written, straightforward story, but there is a richness to the novella, so that in these pages, almost without realizing, without notice, a deceptively simple story is found to be rich in heart. What does it mean to shepherd a child, to teach them and care for them? How do we find strength to be vulnerable, to connect with another? What does it look like to unconditionally love another?

The emotions are expansive and readers are broken open at the end. After the closing words, I took a deep breath and just sat in the moment, wishing I had someone nearby who'd also read it so we could discuss it.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)