Explore the literary and cinematic artistry of two understated, radiant works by contemporary Irish storytellers: Claire Keegan’s novella, Foster (first published in 2010 and re-released to broader acclaim in 2022), and its film adaptation, The Quiet Girl (2022), co-written by Keegan and the film's director Colm Balread, and the first Irish language film to be nominated for an Academy Award. Set in the early 1980s, the book's protagonist, a young girl, is temporarily dispatched due to her family’s poverty and dysfunction to stay with an older, childless couple on their farm in rural Ireland. She initially flourishes in this nurturing, orderly household until the summer ends with the exposure of a family secret. Re-titled The Quiet Girl, the 2022 film adaptation offers a beautifully rendered portrait from the observant, vulnerable girl's perspective of people who live a simple existence on the surface yet harbor complicated interior lives. Please read or listen to the novella and view the film (available on Amazon Prime) prior to class.
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