Literature Series: "Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan

Religion in Praxis Conversation Series

📢 Spoiler Alert: This episode contains major spoilers for Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These. If you haven’t read the novel yet, we highly recommend doing so before listening—trust us, it’s worth the read. But if you don’t mind knowing the key plot points in advance, stick around as we unpack this powerful story.

🎙️ A coal merchant. A convent. A secret hidden in plain sight. Claire Keegan’s "Small Things Like These" is a quiet but devastating story about conscience, complicity, and the power of speaking up when everyone else stays silent. We do something different in Literature Series of our podcast. In today’s episode of Religion in Praxis, together with my co-host Phil MacGillivray we explore how the novel critiques institutional faith, the role of the Catholic Church in 1980s Ireland, and whether small acts of courage can really make a difference. Stay with us—this one’s worth thinking about!