What inspires a writer to write? For Claire Keegan – author of Dua’s Monthly Read for April, So Late In The Day – lessons in storytelling come from absorbing the works of others, whether it’s classic feminist tales or short story formats that influence her own approach to fiction.
“Claire’s stories are small gems: deceptively short, but they carry the heft of a great novel,” says Service95 founder Dua Lipa – which is why she chose the So Late In The Day as her Service95 Book Club pick. Once you’ve finished that (and watched their conversation about it HERE), you’ll be compelled to read more.
So take your cue from Claire and dive into the works of more great writers next. These are the books she cites for teaching her “what good writing is”. They make excellent reading, too.
Peasants by Anton Chekhov
“Quiet works by the master of the short story. How I love and am moved by his light handedness, his hugely athletic imagination, the economy of style. In a letter to his brother, Alexander, he wrote that ‘grace is when you make the least number of movements between two points’. Isn’t that delightful?”
Dubliners by James Joyce
“Possibly the world’s most famous short story collection? We are taken, in so many points of view, around the streets of Dublin into the eating and drinking establishments and homes. It concludes with The Dead. [Irish novelist] John McGahern liked very much that Joyce said Dubliners was ‘written with scrupulous meanness’ – as ‘mean also means middle there’.”
Tess Of The d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
“A feminist, rural story of a dairymaid who falls in love with a man who cannot regard her as his equal until it is too late. I read this book on a ferry crossing from Fishguard to Rosslare in winter 1994 and could not put it down, despite the rough crossing.”
Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor
“Flannery O’Connor is my favourite American short story writer. These are proudly elegant stories of human stupidity, white privileges, rich with humour and what ails the human heart.”
Collected Poems by Louis MacNeice
“It’s time we were reawakened to the poetry of MacNeice, whose work seems more important than ever in these strange times.”
The Barracks by John McGahern
“The story of a marriage. The ending is one the finest I’ve ever read by an Irish writer. There’s a wonderful scene where the wife goes to visit the local doctor. Again, it’s quietly told with little drama.”
Regeneration by Pat Barker
“Regeneration is set in a war hospital during 1917. I fell in love with Doctor Rivers who cares so beautifully for his patients. The whole Ghost Road trilogy is marvellous. Pat Barker’s imagination is astonishing.”
Geography III by Elizabeth Bishop
“Has Elizabeth Bishop ever written a bad or mediocre poem? Her work astonishes freshly all over again with each reading.”
There’s More – Delve Deeper Into So Late In The Day With The Service95 Book Club...
WATCH Dua’s interview with author Claire Keegan
LISTEN to their conversation with the Service95 Book Club podcast
EXPLORE an essay by American writer Jackson Katz on how misogyny diminishes men
