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Antarctica

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About this listen

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 bearing fishy 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.

©2021 Claire Keegan (P)2021 Faber & Faber Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Short Stories Witty Polar Region
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The writing is gorgeous! The storytelling magnificent! I loved it! I'm new to Claire Keegan but plan to devour all her work!

Brilliant!

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I loved all the short stories in Antarctica. The readers were excellent. Such warmth and feeling.

Beautifully written

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Again I liked the spareness of Keegans work. Many stories ending where others may have continued… she’s a wonderful writer because of this.

Short stories that leave you room for thought!

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Claire Keegan stands out as a master of the short story format. They start out as descriptions of life, ordinary, hometowney, often rural. When she gets to the crux of it all, you’d better be ready. The sharpness of her knife varies in these stories, the unusual vies for space with the everyday, but she always manages to cut to the quick. If anything the title story is the weakest one in my eyes, though fairly exiting. Passport Soup made me weep, a rare occurrence for short stories. Though they are shorter, and therefore less able to allow for the depth of her novels, these stories are well worth your time (and tears).

The narrative performances are aptly great, honoring the source material.

Keegan cuts to the core of family life

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Unmatched stories and performances. I've read and listened to this book twice. Claire is a master.

A masterpiece

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