Book Review: Small Things Like These

Ireland, 1985. People are losing jobs, and factories are slowly shutting their doors. And the hostile cold doesn’t seem to be helping either. But Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, is in a decent place. His family is doing well and has no nagging debts. During his busiest season, Christmas time, a delivery job to the convent led to a profound discovery, prompting him to examine himself and his conscience.

During his visit to the church that day, he learns that the nuns there ran one of the Magdalene Laundries. These are institutions/workhouses where women who were cast out of their families are made to work in harsh and unclean conditions. Upon this realisation, he knows, deep down from his heart, that this is wrong.

If I were to describe Bill Furlong, I would choose the words ‘Introspective’ and ‘Empathetic’. I might also say he’s ahead of his time for his deep understanding of how society functions, especially when most people go about their routines unaware of how mechanised their days are. He is a true thinking man.

“What was it all for? Furlong wondered—the work and the constant worry. Getting up in the dark and going to the yard, making the deliveries, one after another, the whole day long, then coming home in the dark and trying to wash the black off himself and sitting into a dinner at the table and falling asleep before waking in the dark to meet a version of the same thing, yet again. Might things never change or develop into something else, or new?”

The above line shows how Furlong’s mind works.

“Where does thinking get us?’ she said. ‘All thinking does is bring you down. <…> If you want to get on in life there’s things in life you have to ignore so that you can keep on.”

Whereas this dialogue (from his wife, Eileen) reveals the mentality of everyone else around him at the time.

Ultimately, the book shows the reflective nature of Furlong’s mind as he has two decisions to make: to take action and risk his reputation and family, or to stay silent and “get on in life”.

In these ‘doing the right thing’ books, the main character usually takes action through various flamboyant means that are very loud and exclamatory.

This goes against Furlong’s character and personality as a quiet and observant man, who has just wanted to keep to himself until now.

That’s why Furlong’s ‘taking action’ is more discreet, which makes his decision much more symbolic and meaningful than a big gesture. In the end, it’s ‘small things like these’ that make this book special.