This is a small book with a big heart.
Bill Furlong is a working-class Irish Catholic man who sells coal and timber to local families. Although he’s certainly not wealthy, he’s doing well and has overcome a disadvantaged background. He’s aware of how differently his life could have turned out if his mother’s employer, Mrs Wilson, had kicked her out after she became pregnant as a teenager.
It’s 1985 and times are tough in Ireland. It’s bitterly cold and people are struggling to heat their homes. Bill is as generous as he can afford to be – dropping off free wood and coal to those in need.
Then one day, close to Christmas while delivering coal to the local convent, he discovers something shocking. He begins to realise that the unwed mothers that live and work in the Magdelene laundry are being terribly mistreated. As he learns more about his own past, he realises this could have been his own mother’s fate, if not for the kindness of Mrs Wilson.
Now that his eyes have been opened, Bill has to decide what to do. What is the cost of doing the right thing? And what is the cost of walking away? Could he live with himself if he does nothing?
Small Things Like These has strong overtones of other Christmas classics like, A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life.
A profound and touching little book that pulls on the heartstrings.
-Katrina Roe, RRL
