Colm Tóibín was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of ten novels, three of which were nominated for the Booker Prize, two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction. His most recent novel, The Magician, was a top ten bestseller and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Award. In 2021 he was awarded the David Cohen Prize.
Droll, careful reflections on Ireland, illness and religion in a
welcome collection of essays . . . [the] melancholy elegance of the
prose guarantees the reader's enjoyment
*Guardian*
Erudite, forensic, moving and wry . . . the breadth of the
collection is impressive: a snapshot of Irish society over decades;
Buenos Aires, in the wake of thousands of 'disappeared' people;
Covid-era Venice . . . a lesson in how the right words in the right
order can get to the truth of the matter
*Irish Times*
[These essays] are always interesting and intelligent, written in
an admirably clear prose free of academic jargon . . . journalism
at its best. I learned a lot from them and am grateful for that.
It's a collection to which I will surely return, just as I do to
Orwell's, Ian Jack's, Ferdinand Mount's and Patrick Marnham's
*Scotsman*
A feast for the reader . . . the novelist applies his inquisitive
and empathetic mind in wide-ranging series of essays, from the
political to the poignant . . . [Toibin] seeks no lessons; he tries
only to be good company on the page. (He succeeds.)
*Irish Independent*
Erudite essays from one of the world's finest writers . . .
Throughout, the poetry of Tóibín's prose is as impressive as
always. In [the] title piece, he writes that his mother was 'what
most of us still write for: the ordinary reader, curious and
intelligent and demanding, ready to be moved and changed.' Readers
like her will savor every page of this book
*Kirkus Reviews, starred*
The clarity of the novelist's descriptive ability shines through
essays on topics ranging from his treatment for cancer to the joys
of an empty Venice . . . On every subject, Tóibín's writing is what
people these days inevitably describe as nuanced, a word that has
become a kind of shorthand for expressing a person's rare ability
to understand . . . the foibles of others
*Observer, Book of the Day*
I love everything Colm Tóibín has written
*New Statesman*
I wanted to read out loud, to fully savour writing that is so
careful and so lyrical
*Sunday Times*
Reading Irish novelist, playwright and poet Colm Tóibín is always a
delight
*Independent*
Both epic and intimate . . . a moving portrait of three generations
of sprawling, loving, fractious family life . . . a triumph
*Financial Times on The Magician*
A work of art, an emotional reckoning with a century of change
*The Times on The Magician*
I love everything Colm Tóibín has written
*New Statesman*
A work of art, an emotional reckoning with a century of change
*The Times on The Magician*
Both epic and intimate . . . a moving portrait of three generations
of sprawling, loving, fractious family life . . . a triumph
*Financial Times on The Magician*
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