I saw this short story recommended all over the place, so of course I needed to get my hands on it. We basically are following this man named Furlong who is introduced as a man who was born out of wedlock (this impacts the whole story and you find out why later on). You follow Furlong as he prepares for Christmas with his wife and five daughters. He then encounters a situation that makes him feel like he should be doing something, but everyone in town tells him to forget about it so he doesn’t anger those who have more power than he does. This leads us through the whole story and it’s actually heartwarming but also tragic. 

I think what I loved most about this book is its strong sense of morality even though Furlong is surely sacrificing his family’s comfort in doing the right thing. For being a short story, this was honestly such a well-developed and good read. It made your heart ache and your mind wander to what it must have been like in Ireland at that time. The imagery was as vivid as it was emotional and I really did enjoy every moment of it. 

Overall, even though it was way shorter than I would have liked it to be, I really enjoyed this story of what’s right, what everyone says you should do, and what is eventually done. I think it was a wonderful story even if it was tragic in its ending (it wasn’t really an unhappy ending, it was just left a little too open and it made me assume certain things). 4/5 stars for sure, and it definitely would have been rated higher had it been a little bit longer. 

Source: Audiobook from Everand

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Everand, which gives you one free audiobook or ebook of your choice!)