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Antarctica

By: Claire Keegan
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon, Sheena May, Aidan Quinn, Sophie Roberts
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Summary

From the opening story about a married woman who takes a trip to the city with a single purpose in mind - to sleep with another man - Antarctica draws you into a world of obsession, betrayal and fragile relationships.

In 'House Calls', Cordelia wakes on the last day ofthe twentieth century and sets off along the coast road to keep a date with her lover that has been nine years in the waiting. In 'The Singing Cashier', a local postman visits two sisters bearing fishy gifts in the hope that his favour will be returned in kind.

One of the most moving and disturbing stories in the collection, 'Passport Soup', features Frank Corso, who sits alone eating green tomatoes and bacon, mourning the disappearance of his nine-year-old daughter: 'At one point in that late evening, she was there, and then she wasn't.'

Keegan's characters inhabit a world where dreams, memory and chance can have crippling consequences for those involved. Compassionate, witty and unsettling, Antarctica is a collection to be savoured.

©2021 Claire Keegan (P)2021 Faber & Faber
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What listeners say about Antarctica

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A masterpiece

Unmatched stories and performances. I've read and listened to this book twice. Claire is a master.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great collection of Short Stories

Great collection excellently written and read. Very authentic stories both from an Irish and American perspectives with some outstanding performances.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great storyteller

Claire tells is like it is - the beauty being you didn’t know it was missing until she wrote what it was

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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The Irish stories are great...

...but the American-set and genre stuff never really come close. The mumbling male narrator doesn't help one bit.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Short stories that leave you room for thought!

Again I liked the spareness of Keegans work. Many stories ending where others may have continued… she’s a wonderful writer because of this.

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Great short story collection

This is a superb collection of varied short stories, many with a dark theme and loss as a central thread. Only the first felt a clunky reading; the rest were perfection.

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Good stuff

Interesting collection of very different stories from a writer who is so strong with the image- in these stories you see that developing - a pleasure to read

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Beautifully written

I loved all the short stories in Antarctica. The readers were excellent. Such warmth and feeling.

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Great characters

I am not generally a huge fan of short stories. Sometimes you feel you are just getting into a story and it ends. The same is true for some of these stories but at the same time they are definitely worth a listen. I would say the strength of the writing lies in the sketching of the characters and making you feel for them as they go through some pretty dark times. I read the standalone short story “Foster” before I read this book and that was also excellent. I have found myself thinking of it since - always a good sign

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beautiful stories

very beautiful short story collection, i really liked them. dark themes, treated with a lot of subtlety.
good performance.

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