Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy in 1955. He is the author of eight novels including Blackwater Lightship, The Master and The Testament of Mary, all three of which were nominated for the Booker Prize, with The Master also winning the IMPAC Award, and Brooklyn, which won the Costa Novel Award. He has also published two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction. His most recent novel is Nora Webster. He lives in Dublin.
Beguiling and deeply intelligent...In a single passage - and in a
rendition, furthermore, of one of the most famous passages of
western literature - Toibin shows how the telling and the details
are all-important. -- Robert Collins * Sunday Times *
Toibin's weary Mary, sceptical and grudging, reads as far more true
and real than the saintly perpetual virgin of legend. And Toibin is
a wonderful writer: as ever, his lyrical and moving prose is the
real miracle. -- Naomi Alderman * Observer *
This is a flawless work, touching, moving and terrifying. -- Linda
Grant * New Statesman *
There is a profound ache throughout this little character study, a
steely determination coupled with an unbearable loss. Although it
has some insightful things to say about religion and the period -
the descriptions of the Crucifixion are visceral - it has a
universal message about the nature of loss. -- Stuart Kelly *
Scotland on Sunday *
This novel is the Virgin's version of the life of Christ. After a
lifetime listening to everyone else's versions of that life, she is
angry and frustrated because they are all questionable. * Irish
Independent *
Toibin has created an impressive work of religious
imagination...haunting, highly original. * TLS *
Beautifully crafted * The Times *
Fearsomely strange, deeply thoughtful * Guardian *
With deceptively modest prose, Toibin presents the Virgin Mary's
story as one of human loss rather than salvation. By doing so he
gives us a Mary to identify with rather than venerate. * Metro
*
Daring and very moving -- John Banville * "Books of the Year",
Irish Times *
The Testament of Mary, a novella of absences and silences,
achieves a shimmering power -- Joseph O'Connor * Irish Times,
"Books of the Year" *
Toibin's take on the most famous mother in history ... is all too
believable * Financial Times, "Books of the Year" *
Finely written * Spectator 'Books of the Year' *
Channels the memories of the Virgin Mary into a subversive tour
de force of economy and
lacerating style
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
