“With my mother it was all work. But this is a different type of house. Here there is room, and time to think.” Foster, a novella by Irish author, Claire Keegan, slows readers down and takes us back to rural Ireland in 1981. We meet the Kinsellas, relatives, who welcome the young protagonist into their peaceful home overflowing with warm kindness!
She is dropped off, literally, by her disengaged shiftless Da (aka father), what a contrast her past abode and living situation is to what is now before her.
“The water tastes cool and clean…it tastes of my father leaving, of him never having been there.”
Kate’s one word summary was belonging. Our forlorn narrator is invited into the rhythm of the Kinsellas household. Belonging encourages our young protagonist to bloom in an amazing way. Sheila’s one word summary was actually two : ) Torn describes the beginning and end of the book, their is tension between staying in the better place versus returning to the chaos she previously called home. In the middle of the book the word opportunity comes to mind.. As we have opportunity, let us do good to one another. The Kinsellas show us hospitality with a capital H. The young girl learns to read following John Kinsella’s finger across the pages of Heidi as he reads to her each evening. “It was like learning to ride the bike; I felt myself taking off, the freedom of going places I couldn’t have gone before, and it was easy.”
Blessings dear readers! Let’s connect to reflect!