by Claire Keegan, 2021, Grove Press, New York

This is a nice little book which I would classify as a novella as it has only 114 pages. It’s about a man in Ireland who delivers coal to his customers. He has a family of six girls and is somewhat dissatisfied with his life. One day, when he is delivering coal to a nearby convent, he discovers a young girl locked in the coal-house. She is pleading with him to take her with him, but he declines to do so.

It’s a good book and highlights the sad history of the treatment of young “wayward” girls in Ireland who, for a long time, were sent to convents to have their baby and avoid the shame that might have otherwise been endured by the family.