Imagine the snow. 

It’s soft, harsh, and cold. There’s a quiet tranquility that occurs around it, a paradox of sorts. Cars become muffled. Dead and dormant trees become suddenly beautiful. Yet hands are chapped and noses are red. It makes children grin with delight and adults groan in displeasure. It comes during the darkest part of the year, but makes the sky brighter. 

Touch it with a glove and it’s light and friendly. Touch it with the skin and it burns like fire. 

Small Things Like These is a contemporary paradox. Like snow, it soothes and scars, pointing out the flaws of mankind while also reinforcing its strengths. Altogether it begs the question: “What is a meaningful life?” 

The narrative, told from the eyes of Bill Furlong, a coal merchant in New Ross, Ireland, isn’t long. Despite having grown up in a slightly unconventional way, without a mother or father and working quite a lot, Mr. Furlong has a lovely life: a handsome wife, five daughters, and a steady, well-paying job.

But he thinks often of his childhood, and the hardships he once dealt with. When he discovers certain ignored horrors in his own town, he cannot sit still and watch them continue to occur. 

In his head, he debates the purpose of life and how it is best spent. But he lives a life like ours. Normal. Real. He knows that there is suffering and abuse in this world, and he comes to know that most people prefer to ignore it.  He battles between prioritizing his own life and family and prioritizing his conscience, which tells him that there are others who need his attention too. 

The prose is easily devoured and there is something immediately calming about the writing. It’s an argument, yes, but it’s also just a story. Just a story, but at the same time, just a life. Mr. Furlong confronts the problems of the world hesitantly, and with a fair share of confusion. Why are things this way? His wife tells him to stop worrying so much and instead focus on their children. Is she wrong? 

Even though the story centers on what people refuse to see, it also shows what people can do. When we refuse to turn the other cheek, when we take in the world in all its beauty and horror, we can change things. The power of action that Bill Furlong discovers is something that rests inside all of us. Even in the smallest ways, our decisions matter.

Small Things Like These is a lovely contemplation of life, in all its simple, and not so simple, ways of being. It’s a dispute of the heart, a call to action, and an argument for justice. It’s a reminder that there is a balance between focusing on your life and standing on the sidelines of someone else’s. And despite its darker topics, it’s a call to remember that, somewhere, there is always a shining light.