Books from Ireland

During the summer of 1981, an unnamed young girl is sent from her crowded family home to live with relatives in rural County Wexford while her mother prepares to give birth. Quiet and observant, she arrives at the Kinsellas’ farm uncertain of what awaits her. But unlike the home she has left behind, this household offers her tenderness, attention, and a sense of belonging she has never experienced before. As the summer unfolds, the girl discovers the transformative power of being cared for. Yet beneath the peaceful routines of farm life lies a grief the Kinsellas rarely discuss. Through small gestures, unspoken truths, and the child’s growing awareness of the adult world, Claire Keegan creates a moving portrait of childhood and the complicated bonds between parents and children. Foster is a beautifully restrained novella about the families we are born into, the love we find unexpectedly, and the lasting impact of being seen and valued.