I had intended to buy this collection of three short stories, when I came across one of the three in The New Yorker, February, and realized that I had in fact read the other two in the collection in Antarctica and Walk the Blue Fields.

The short story whose name in the title of the book, can be listened to online in New Yorker, February 2022.

So Late in the Day is a near-perfectly written story about a few hours in the life on a man whose misogyny and lack of empathy is slowly revealed as he goes about his life on the day his marriage didn’t happen. Every feeling, thought and action is exquisitely drawn; the pace is almost unbearably slow, as the full extent of the man’s poverty of personality is revealed.

A Long and Painful Death is published in Walk the Blue Fields. A female writer has a residency in the seaside home of Heinrich Böll. Her peace is disrupted by an unwelcome male visitor.

In Antarctica published in Antarctica a married woman who spends the night with a stranger in order to see what it feels like ends up in a spoiler alert. The less said about this the better.

All three stories are about men and what’s wrong with them. Seriously, there’s no other way to say it. ( )

This is the second short story of Keegan's that I have listened to, the first being Small Things Like These. I couldn't bring myself to buy a copy because it is so short, so listened to the audiobook that I borrowed from the library. It is good.

It is a tense story of a relationship; an irish man and a french woman where the key question comes halfway through the book - what is it that Irish men want? (You could take the Irish out of the equation.)

Cafal is a man bored or distracted from his job and to show this, Keegan details all the small actions he takes from losing a file on his computer to the woman who talks to him on the bus where he catches himself wishing that she would shut up. This is the first clue that not everything is alright in his world.

The story then goes on to detail his meeting Sabrine, their getting together, discussing marriage and becoming engaged although at each key point, something is said by Cafal that upsets Sabrine. He moans when he has to buy cherries from Lidl that cost 6 euros. He never cooks for her or brings her breakfast in bed and then he is upset at all her 'stuff' that she brings with her when she moves into his house. he compalins when he has to pay more for the engagement ring because the stones have been reset.

There is one point in the book when Cafal, his brother and father laugh at something they do to their mother. It was a cruel act, designed to humiliate a 60 year old woman by men who are misogynists. I found it almost unbearable and with Keegan's writing, terse and succinct, it was over and done in a couple of sentences. And then, Cafal's brother texts him about his situation. Is it too late in the day for Cafal to change his ways? Sadly, I suspect it might be because those around him are also misogynists and he doesn't sound like the type of man who would carve his own path. ( )

Beautifully written and truthful, but feeling slight, as there was no tension in the telling, you knew exactly where it was going. ( )

A tight little relationship story about an ill-fitting couple. In this case one feel's the male of the species will only find a fit if he finds a female of the species who is prepared to comply. Sadly there are still a few about, but in the western world at least hopefully these are a rarer species if not yet extinct. Would that this kind of male of the species were rarer.

Really a short story presented as a novella, but Keegan's writing is as keen as ever. I very quickly felt my hackles raising. ( )

Cathal leaves his work in a Dublin office for a long weekend at his home in a more rural area. When he gets there he considers a woman called Sabine and over the course of the evening he thinks about the life he could have had with her. The story itself is only 47 pages long and yet there is so much packed into it. I started off thinking Cathal was one kind of person and then revised my opinion of him as the story progressed. The fact that it was originally published in France as Misogynie might give some indication of Cathal's nature.

The story is beautifully written and impeccably executed and the sense of place is strong. Keegan is economical with her words but still manages to expose Cathal and convey the reason for the title and the relevance of this particular day. So Late in the Day is the third Claire Keegan book I have read, each one short but perfectly formed. I enjoyed it very much. ( )