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Review
Colm Tóibín's new collection is the work of an author at the peak of his writing powers
(The Times )
Always deeply moving, the stories here - like the surf-washed pebbles on that Wexford beach - will be read for meaning and enjoyed for their shape and sound for ages to come
(Tribune )
It's a collection that will only further fuel Tóibín's ascent through English fiction (Independent on Sunday )
Exquisite . . . The chief reason to read these stories is the peculiar power of Colm Tóibín's prose
(Telegraph )
Astonishingly precise, depicting complex and conflicted states of mind with rare clarity (Observer )
Beautifully observed
(Sunday Times )
Tóibín's deceptively straightforward style continues to manage somehow to encompass both lucidity and ambiguity, precision and poetry
(Irish Times )
Exquisite
(Metro, Fiction of the Week )
These stories are always intensely interesting and sometimes profoundly provocative (Irish Independent )
Perfect; and as good as the best of William Trevor, than which there can be no higher praise (Scotsman )
Review
Colm Toibin's new collection is the work of an author at the peak of his writing powers The Times Always deeply moving, the stories here - like the surf-washed pebbles on that Wexford beach - will be read for meaning and enjoyed for their shape and sound for ages to come Tribune It's a collection that will only further fuel Toibin's ascent through English fiction Independent on Sunday Exquisite ... The chief reason to read these stories is the peculiar power of Colm Toibin's prose Telegraph Astonishingly precise, depicting complex and conflicted states of mind with rare clarity Observer Beautifully observed Sunday Times Toibin's deceptively straightforward style continues to manage somehow to encompass both lucidity and ambiguity, precision and poetry Irish Times Exquisite Metro, Fiction of the Week These stories are always intensely interesting and sometimes profoundly provocative Irish Independent Perfect; and as good as the best of William Trevor, than which there can be no higher praise Scotsman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I often find short-story collections disappointing, mainly because so many writers try to create impact by giving their work an unwarranted novelty or quirkiness. In Ireland at least however, there is a long tradition of short story writing which tends towards the calm and reflective, providing illuminating windows on to life with far greater integrity than those writers who wish to surprise their readers with their cleverness. Ann Enright's new collection for Granta Books, Granta Book of the Irish Short Story, is full of such, including writers like John McGahern, William Trevor and the author of the subject of this review of The Empty Family, Colm Toíbín.
The stories in The Empty Family are definitely in the Irish tradition of short stories. Each one can be seen as an episode in someone's life, and often they seem like extracts from a longer work, although this is not to say that they do are not complete in themselves. Toíbín manages to drop the reader into the narrative of each story with little difficulty and every story certainly seems complete in itself.
The book contains nine stories, so with only 214 pages to the book, none of them is over-long. Its hard to fault any of them and looking at Amazon reviews by other readers I find it hard to understand those who have rated the book as low as two or three stars - having read a few of those reviews, I've come to the conclusion that generally its the genre of Irish short stories they don't like, or even the "gayness" of some of them which has put them off.
This is never going to be a dramatic read, but rather a slow unfolding, a realisation of things unspoken. By the time I finished the book I was conscious that I had not been confronted full-on by any of these snapshots on other people's lives, but had been drawn in almost as looking through a lighted window, and then, as the story finished, I had turned away as the action continued on pages unseen.
I found this an engaging read - I started it on a Friday evening and had finished it by Sunday. One problem for readers of short stories is that it can be a bit of an effort to get into each story. You just manage to get your bearings on one set of characters and locations when the story finishes and you have to start all over again with the next. In The Empty Family, I found myself drawn on from one to another with no sense of effort, but rather a sense of expectancy as I turned from one story to the next - there was a sort of continuity there which definitely made this collection easier to read than many others.
The stories in The Empty Family are definitely in the Irish tradition of short stories. Each one can be seen as an episode in someone's life, and often they seem like extracts from a longer work, although this is not to say that they do are not complete in themselves. Toíbín manages to drop the reader into the narrative of each story with little difficulty and every story certainly seems complete in itself.
The book contains nine stories, so with only 214 pages to the book, none of them is over-long. Its hard to fault any of them and looking at Amazon reviews by other readers I find it hard to understand those who have rated the book as low as two or three stars - having read a few of those reviews, I've come to the conclusion that generally its the genre of Irish short stories they don't like, or even the "gayness" of some of them which has put them off.
This is never going to be a dramatic read, but rather a slow unfolding, a realisation of things unspoken. By the time I finished the book I was conscious that I had not been confronted full-on by any of these snapshots on other people's lives, but had been drawn in almost as looking through a lighted window, and then, as the story finished, I had turned away as the action continued on pages unseen.
I found this an engaging read - I started it on a Friday evening and had finished it by Sunday. One problem for readers of short stories is that it can be a bit of an effort to get into each story. You just manage to get your bearings on one set of characters and locations when the story finishes and you have to start all over again with the next. In The Empty Family, I found myself drawn on from one to another with no sense of effort, but rather a sense of expectancy as I turned from one story to the next - there was a sort of continuity there which definitely made this collection easier to read than many others.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have come to the works of Colm Toibin rather late in the day after being bowled over by 'Brooklyn'. Many of the themes explored in that prize-winning novel are in evidence in this collection of short stories. All the stories feature individuals, whether male or female, either distanced from their past and their families or find themselves adrift in a world to which they don't belong. Not all are depressed to find themselves in this situation, although the overall tone of this collection is one of melancholy; many relish their isolation which, it has to be said, is mostly of their own choosing.
I cannot fault Toibin's mastery of the short story form. The writing is fluid; the tone absolutely spot on and the characterisation sure. He has said in interviews that he cannot write short fiction but this collection belies that statement. Having said that, I feel that after a while the stories become too 'samey' in that the author's own rather narrow preoccupations begin to predominate. 'Mechanical' descriptions of the sex-act whether heterosexual or homosexual, are tedious if the reader is put in the position of unwilling voyeur. Otherwise, I would have given this collection five stars.
I cannot fault Toibin's mastery of the short story form. The writing is fluid; the tone absolutely spot on and the characterisation sure. He has said in interviews that he cannot write short fiction but this collection belies that statement. Having said that, I feel that after a while the stories become too 'samey' in that the author's own rather narrow preoccupations begin to predominate. 'Mechanical' descriptions of the sex-act whether heterosexual or homosexual, are tedious if the reader is put in the position of unwilling voyeur. Otherwise, I would have given this collection five stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
These stories have a poignancy - individuals who at some point have stepped away to find a career, to follow a dream, to live their lives; and now reconnect with what they left behind. But the connection is broken, or damaged, the pieces no longer fit together.
Tóbin does not go in for dramatic moments; rather he dangles us in the awkwardness of the situation and stretches it out, forcing us to acknowledge and try to accommodate something which cannot be made comfortable.
There is a forlornness here - those who reached for the stars fell short, but got far enough off the ground to make their landing a perilous and painful jolt.
The writing cannot be faulted.
Tóbin does not go in for dramatic moments; rather he dangles us in the awkwardness of the situation and stretches it out, forcing us to acknowledge and try to accommodate something which cannot be made comfortable.
There is a forlornness here - those who reached for the stars fell short, but got far enough off the ground to make their landing a perilous and painful jolt.
The writing cannot be faulted.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A wonderful collection of short stories
I loved reading this collection of short stories by Colm Toibin. The whole book is quite short, coming in at only 214 pages, so this was a relatively quick read - but one I wished... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gabrielle O
Just brilliant.
Ever since receiving a copy of The Blackwater Lightship as a gift, I've been a huge fan of Colm Toibin. Toibin understands family. Read more
Published 6 months ago by B. Roche
Shows how satisfying short stories can be
I've never understood why short stories are seen by so many as a lesser art form than novels. True, some authors short story collections do read like a set of practice pieces... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Pardo
Evocative and Provocative
Toibin is consistently among the best writers in English (along with fellow Irishman John Banville). Read more
Published 12 months ago by Robert Cordner
Bare, austere, but very moving.
This book has been so-well reviewed everywhere else that it hardly needs my comments adding to it. Suffice to say that I enjoyed every single one of the self-contained stories in... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Self-help junkie
Moody fictions of desire and loss
These short stories are more characterised by their evocation of character, mood and situation than description or tight strong narrative - non-closure is more typical than the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Angus Jenkinson
My 82 year old mother bought me this!
My 82 year old mother bought me this for my birthday, so the graphic homo-erotic scenes came as a bit of a suprise. I am assuming she hasn't read it herself. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mot Juste
Another Triumph From Tobin
Yet again, Colm Tobin proves that he is on of the most compelling story tellers writing in the english language today with this collection of short stories which move and intrigue... Read more
Published 14 months ago by nordyboy
Usual high quality writing, could do with a couple of stories trimming
This new short story collection from Colm Toibin concerns itself with the idea of family, the majority of the works contained are about someone returning home to family. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Victor Ward
Lovely short stories
Having recently read the novel Brooklyn by this author, which was the first work by him that I had read, and which I very much enjoyed, it was wonderful to then have the chance to... Read more
Published 14 months ago by L. H. Healy
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