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The Empty Family by Colm Toibin (view source)
Revision as of 07:49, 17 September 2020
, 07:49, 17 September 2020no edit summary
|reviewer=Paul Curd
|genre=Short Stories
|summary=This collection of short stories by the double Booker-shortlisted novelist is beautifully written and each story is full of atmosphere, often with Toibin's typical sense of loss and longing, of 'sad echoes and dim feelings'. The majority of the stories are five-star gems but there are one or two that don't quite come off, which affects the overall rating. A very good read nevertheless.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
Toibin is strongest when he is exploring the complexity of family relationships, and the bitter-sweet sense of nostalgia for the 'home' that his protagonists usually had a good reason to leave. It is because many of these stories dwell on that familiar mix of emotions that this is such a good collection.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag. We also have a review of [[New Ways to Kill Your Mother by Colm Toibin]].
Further reading suggestion: If you haven't read it already, you really must read Colm Toibin's [[Brooklyn by Colm Toibin|Brooklyn]]. If it's more great short stories you want then try [[The Collected Short Stories of Lydia Davis by Lydia Davis|The Collected Short Stories of Lydia Davis]]. You might also enjoy [[Ghosts and Lightning by Trevor Byrne]].