From one of contemporary literature’s bestselling, critically acclaimed, and beloved authors: a “luminous” novel (Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Book Review) about a fiercely compelling young widow navigating grief, fear, and longing, and finding her own voice–“heartrendingly transcendant” (The New York Times, Janet Maslin). Set in Wexford, Ireland, Colm Toibin’s magnificent seventh novel … magnificent seventh novel introduces the formidable, memorable, and deeply moving Nora Webster. Widowed at forty, with four children and not enough money, Nora has lost the love of her life, Maurice, the man who rescued her from the stifling world to which she was born. And now she fears she may be sucked back into it. Wounded, selfish, strong-willed, clinging to secrecy in a tiny community where everyone knows your business, Nora is drowning in her own sorrow and blind to the suffering of her young sons, who have lost their father. Yet she has moments of stunning insight and empathy, and when she begins to sing again, after decades, she finds solace, engagement, a haven–herself.
Nora Webster “may actually be a perfect work of fiction” (Los Angeles Times), by a “beautiful and daring” writer (The New York Times Book Review) at the zenith of his career, able to “sneak up on readers and capture their imaginations” (USA TODAY). “Miraculous…Toibin portrays Nora with tremendous sympathy and understanding” (Ron Charles, The Washington Post).more
There aren’t many men who can write from a woman’s point of view. I can think of hardly any who can do this and sound realistic. But Colm Toibin writes from a woman’s perspective in this book, in an extraordinary way. If you’re looking for an action-packed adventure, then this isn’t it, but the story unfolds in a really moving and original way, and one I’m still thinking about.
Nora Webster is in her 40s and recently widowed. The time is the 1970s in Ireland, and feminism is a long way off reaching County Wexford. Colm Toibin portrays Nora’s struggles to find work, the way she’s patronised as a woman, her struggles to cope with her own grief and that of her sons’. But I think it’s the way Toibin writes about Nora’s touching relationship with her children and her constant worry about them that moved me the most. I thought only mothers would understand the agonies we go through at times as our children get older, but Toibin brought this to life in a way that brought tears to my eyes. He’s a great writer and now I want to devour all the rest of his books.
Read 2.8.2018
This is my review from Goodreads, where there were an ABSURD amount of negative reviews for this book [which led me to be pretty verbal about why they are all wrong and have never dealt with ANY kind of grief before] – just wanted to put that out there since I have not read any reviews here for this.
“MASSIVE. BOOK. HANGOVER. That is what I have. I have no idea how I will get the rest of my books read [I know this will pass, but still. WOW]. I had no idea what to expect as I have never read Colm Toibin and I saw a lot of very negative reviews about this book. All I had to go on was that my best friend loves him and got to see him live last year [something I am now extremely jealous of]. Let me just say here…
ALL. OF. THE. NEGATIVE. REVIEWS. ARE. RUBBISH.
There. I said it. Rubbish.
Nora Webster is a woman in the middle of some serious grief. Her beloved husband has died after a traumatic illness and she is left, at 40, with 4 children to take care of and finish raising [the two youngest are at home with her and the girls are at school in Wexford and Dublin]. She has not worked in years and has no idea how she is going to go on, much less cope. The children are all affected and she barely knows how to help them and their grief as she can barely help herself in her own grief. There were a lot of tears shed while reading this book I will tell you now.
To the reviewer that said Nora was one-dimensional – have you ever suffered serious, severe loss? CLEARLY not; if you had, then you would know why she seems flat at times. Her WHOLE FREAKING LIFE has changed and been upended. Unless you have suffered that powerful thing that is grief, I guess you would think someone who IS suffering from it and struggling just to move forward in life would be one-dimensional and dull. It makes me glad I am not your friend.
The last 2 chapters just about wrecked me completely – we are coming up on the 2 year anniversary of my Dad’s passing and I can see so much of what is going on in these chapters happening here in my own house with my own Mum. And within myself [this man chose to be my Dad; he didn’t have to but did and my heart is completely and forever broken by his death]. And I cried and cried and cried.
What an amazing book. I listened to the audiobook and Fiona Shaw [of Harry Potter/Aunt Petunia fame] was the narrator; she was, quite simply, brilliant. Absolutely fantastic.
I recommend this book to anyone, but I guess not to people who have never grieved or have been around people in grief or are not empathetic. Those types of people will not get this book at all. And will be worse off because of it.”
**UPDATE 8.6.2021**
I STILL think about this book. All of the time. It is one I give to people when they are grieving. It is such a gorgeous book and such a true depiction of what grief and having to pick up every single piece of your life is like. This book will have a forever spot in my top ten. It was simply one of the best books I have ever read.
Toibin touches me so much with his writing because he is so gifted at expressing the pain that humans feel, yet rarely share. In this novel, Nora is exhausted from being widowed too soon, and begins to wear herself thin. Not only is she struggling with being a single parent, she is struggling to move past her own personal limitations-the same ones we all have. I identified with Nora greatly-just the notion of keeping one’s head above water. And the reader cheers her on.
Toibin’s characters are unpredictable, authentic, honest — people just like us that we can identify with and forgive. Once again, like Henry James, Toibin taps into the soul of a woman. He knows Nora from inside and I can so identify with her. A very, very good read.
I enjoyed this story of an Irish woman’s struggle to regain her footing following the death of her husband. She is left it in a precarious financial position with two daughters in college and two young sons at home. Even while her husband was alive,her relationship with her children was superficial and minimal and this is more problematic after his death. The book moves on with Nora working to find some happiness in life. I enjoyed the characters in this Irish neighborhood.