190,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Come visit us in-store this weekend! 📚 Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Foster

By Claire Keegan
0.0 (0 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Foster by Claire Keegan is a poignant tale set in rural Ireland during a sweltering summer. A young girl is sent to live with relatives, the Kinsellas, where she experiences love and care previously unknown to her. Yet beneath the warmth lies an unspoken tension, and the temporary nature of her stay casts a shadow over the blossoming relationship. This intimate story explores themes of childhood, loss, and affection.
Read More
Format: Hardback
$5500

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Foster will resonate with readers who appreciate emotionally rich literary fiction that delves into complex family dynamics and the bittersweet nature of belonging. It is ideal for those who enjoy contemporary stories framed in evocative rural settings.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An international bestseller and one of The Times' "Top 50 Novels Published in the 21st Century," Claire Keegan's piercing contemporary classic Foster is a heartbreaking story of childhood, loss, and love; now released as a standalone book for the first time ever in the US.

It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household—where everything is so well tended to—and this summer must soon come to an end.

Winner of the prestigious Davy Byrnes Award and published in an abridged version in the New Yorker, this internationally bestselling contemporary classic is now available for the first time in the US in a full, standalone edition. A story of astonishing emotional depth, Foster showcases Claire Keegan's great talent and secures her reputation as one of our most important storytellers.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780802160140

Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 November 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Weight: 300g

Pages: 128

Collections

Claire Keegan Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Claire Keegan's works of fiction are internationally acclaimed and have been translated into thirty languages. Antarctica won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Walk the Blue Fields won the Edge Hill Prize for the finest collection of stories published in the British Isles. Foster won the Davy Byrnes Award -- the world's richest prize for a short story. Small Things Like These was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Rathbones Folio Prize. It won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and The Kerry Prize for Irish Novel of the Year. She was awarded Woman of the Year for Literature in Ireland, 2022, and Author of the Year, 2023.

Also by Claire Keegan

View all
  • Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Small Things Like These
    Set in 1985, in a small Irish town, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan tells the poignant story of Bill Furlong, a dedicated coal and timber merchant. As Christmas approaches, Bill finds himself busier than ever, delivering fuel to the cold homes of his neighbours. Amidst his routine, he begins to confront the quiet, oppressive presence of the Church...
    By Claire Keegan
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Foster
    Foster by Claire Keegan is a masterful novella, unfolding during a scorching summer in rural Ireland. The poignant narrative follows a young girl who is sent to live with foster parents on a farm, uncertain of when—or if—she will return to her family. As she adjusts to the rhythms of her new life, she finds a warmth and kindness that...
    By Claire Keegan
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • So Late in the Day
    A genuine once-in-a-generation writer. - The Times Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving. - Hilary Mantel Claire Keegan makes her moments real - and then she makes them matter. - Colm Toibin After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes...
    By Claire Keegan
    Hardback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Foster
    A stunning new hardback edition of Claire Keegan's classic and beloved novella Foster. WINNER OF THE DAVY BYRNES IRISH WRITING AWARD 'A real jewel.' Irish Independent 'A small miracle.' Sunday Times 'A thing of finely honed beauty.' Guardian 'As good as Chekhov.' David Mitchell It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A girl is sent to live with foster...
    By Claire Keegan
    Hardback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Walk the Blue Fields
    A long-haired woman moves into the priest's house and sets fire to his furniture. That Christmas, the electricity goes out. A forester mortgages his land and goes off to a seaside town looking for a wife. He finds a woman eating alone in the hotel. A farmer wakes half-naked and realises the money is almost gone. And in the title...
    By Claire Keegan
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Forester's Daughter
    The evening is fine. In the sky, a few early stars are shining of their own accord. She watches the dog licking the bowl clean. This dog will break her daughter's heart, she's sure of it. The Forester's Daughter by Claire Keegan takes us into the heart of the Wicklow countryside, exploring the life of the farming family of Victor...
    By Claire Keegan
    Paperback
    $1499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Antarctica
    The stunning debut story collection from the author of Foster and the Booker Prize shortlisted Small Things Like These. 'A beautiful, tender work of great clarity.' - Sebastian Barry 'Among the finest contemporary stories written recently in English.' - Observer A secret one-night tryst in the city. A sister's revenge. A love-struck doctor. A missing girl. In Antarctica, an astonishing...
    By Claire Keegan
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Small Things Like These
    'A single one of Keegan's grounded, powerful sentences can contain volumes of social history. Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving.' - Hilary Mantel 'This is a tale of courage and compassion, of good sons and vulnerable young mothers. Absolutely beautiful.' - Douglas Stuart 'Marvellous - exact and icy...
    By Claire Keegan
    Hardback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Small Things Like These
    A stunning new edition of Claire Keegan's multi-award-winning, bestselling novel Small Things Like These. NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING CILLIAN MURPHY A SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES' '100 Best Books of the 21st Century' WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE AND THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE...
    By Claire Keegan
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • So Late in the Day
    From the bestselling author, Claire Keegan, an exquisitely written story which finds an unsatisfied man on his bus journey home reflect on the love that got away. After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have...
    By Claire Keegan
    Paperback
    $1999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Antarctica
    'A beautiful, tender work of great clarity.' — SEBASTIAN BARRY 'Simply put, Claire Keegan is one of the greatest fiction writers in the world.' — GEORGE SAUNDERS 'Among the finest contemporary stories written recently in English.' — OBSERVER A secret one-night tryst in the city. A sister's revenge. A love-struck doctor. A missing girl. In Antarctica, an astonishing sequence of...
    By Claire Keegan
    Hardback
    $2699
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Walk the Blue Fields
    AN IRISH TIMES TOP 100 IRISH BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY'Exquisite . so intricately wrought, so strange and beguiling as to entirely bewitch.' GUARDIAN'Pure magic.' COLM TÓIBÍN'Lyrical, thoughtful, but with a thick, dark strain of melancholy running through.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYA long-haired woman moves into the priest's house and sets fire to his furniture. That Christmas, the electricity goes out....
    By Claire Keegan
    Hardback
    $2699
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

More from General Fiction

View all
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    A Court of Splintered Harmony
    Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.What was broken will be remade.Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories,...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Threshing Day
    The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-color illustrations by artist Joe Requeza.    Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing and In the...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Hardback
    $6999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Assassin’s Apprentice
    Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in the rich and immersive world of the Six Duchies. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom teetering on the brink of civil war, this gripping tale introduces readers to FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard whose existence threatens the stability of the crown. When the crown prince's secret...
    By Robin Hobb
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
    All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." —USA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $9999
    Elsewhere:
    $12495
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    John of John
    The stunning new novel from the Booker Prize-winning, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo.'John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy of his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed' - Colm Tóibín'To read John of John is to move to...
    By Douglas Stuart
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    The Things We Never Say
    Internationally bestselling and prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout's new novel tells the story of a chance incident in a man's life—a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, and free will in a capsizing world. Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a...
    By Elizabeth Strout
    Hardback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Chain Reaction
    Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! ‘She knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .’ Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...
    By Lee Child and Andrew Child
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin
    The third instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. In A Court of Wings and Ruin, the gripping third book of the ACOTAR series, Feyre Archeron faces the ultimate battle for her world. Having returned to the Spring Court, she is determined to gather...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 190,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all