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Mothers and Sons
Each of the nine stories in this beautifully written, intensely intimate collection centers on a transformative moment that alters the delicate balance of power between mother and son, or changes the way they perceive one another. With exquisite grace and eloquence, Tóibín writes of men and women bound by convention, by unspoken emotions, by the stronghold of the past. Many are trapped in lives they would not choose again, if they ever chose at all.
A man buries his mother and converts his grief to desire in one night. A famous singer captivates an audience, yet cannot beguile her own estranged son. And in "A Long Winter," Colm Tóibín's finest piece of fiction to date, a young man searches for his mother in the snow-covered mountains where she has sought escape from the husband who controls and confines her.
Winner of numerous awards for his fifth novel, iThe Master/i -- including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award -- Tóibín brings to this stunning first collection an acute understanding of human frailty and longing. These are haunting, profoundly moving stories by a writer who is himself a master.
A man buries his mother and converts his grief to desire in one night. A famous singer captivates an audience, yet cannot beguile her own estranged son. And in "A Long Winter," Colm Tóibín's finest piece of fiction to date, a young man searches for his mother in the snow-covered mountains where she has sought escape from the husband who controls and confines her.
Winner of numerous awards for his fifth novel, iThe Master/i -- including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award -- Tóibín brings to this stunning first collection an acute understanding of human frailty and longing. These are haunting, profoundly moving stories by a writer who is himself a master.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Colm Tóibín
187 books3,857 followersColm Tóibín FRSL, is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, journalist, critic, and poet. Tóibín is currently Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University in Manhattan and succeeded Martin Amis as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 290 reviews
February 14, 2023
[Revised 2/14/23 mainly to hide spoilers. I wrote this review before I even knew how to use the spoiler tags!]
Short stories from the author of several novels and two fictional biographies: one, The Master about Henry James, and the Magician, about Thomas Mann. All the stories in this short story collection are indeed about mothers and sons.
A newly widowed mother in a stifling small town rescues her grocery store from bankruptcy with the aim of selling out and moving her children to a decent life in Dublin.
An elderly woman brings her only son home to visit her husband who is paralyzed by a stroke.
An irreligious mother has a devout son who is a priest. Late in life she learns that
A teen-aged son is transferring to CD vinyl records of folk songs his mother made years ago. He wants to listen to them with her but she won’t do so.
A juvenile delinquent grows into a professional burglar and finds that his pub-fly mother
The week after his mother’s death, a young man has his first homosexual experience.
A grandmother deliberately attaches herself to one grandson for companionship.
In a story set in Spain, an older brother, returned from military service, watches his younger brother get ready to serve his time.
These stories, almost all with local color of Ireland, are of rural and small town folks just barely getting by. The plots are original, the writing excellent, and the emotional depth impressive. I’d say a rating of 4.5, rounded up. Toibin is as good a short story writer as he is a novelist.
Top photo of Kinsdale, Ireland by Pat O’Connor on ricksteves.com
The author (b. 1955) from britannica.com
Short stories from the author of several novels and two fictional biographies: one, The Master about Henry James, and the Magician, about Thomas Mann. All the stories in this short story collection are indeed about mothers and sons.
A newly widowed mother in a stifling small town rescues her grocery store from bankruptcy with the aim of selling out and moving her children to a decent life in Dublin.
An elderly woman brings her only son home to visit her husband who is paralyzed by a stroke.
An irreligious mother has a devout son who is a priest. Late in life she learns that
A teen-aged son is transferring to CD vinyl records of folk songs his mother made years ago. He wants to listen to them with her but she won’t do so.
A juvenile delinquent grows into a professional burglar and finds that his pub-fly mother
The week after his mother’s death, a young man has his first homosexual experience.
A grandmother deliberately attaches herself to one grandson for companionship.
In a story set in Spain, an older brother, returned from military service, watches his younger brother get ready to serve his time.
These stories, almost all with local color of Ireland, are of rural and small town folks just barely getting by. The plots are original, the writing excellent, and the emotional depth impressive. I’d say a rating of 4.5, rounded up. Toibin is as good a short story writer as he is a novelist.
Top photo of Kinsdale, Ireland by Pat O’Connor on ricksteves.com
The author (b. 1955) from britannica.com
April 2, 2023
#Irish Readathon 2023
Há autores que comigo resultam muito melhor com contos do que com romances e, depois de ter desistido de “Brooklyn” e de ter reagido de forma tépida a “Testamento de Maria”, Colm Tóibín pode muito bem ser um deles.
Em “Mães e Filhos”, há um filho que é criminoso, uma mãe que abandonou a família por um homem, um filho que pretende herdar o negócio da família, uma mãe idosa que é a última a saber que o filho padre é pedófilo, um filho que vai para umarave depois do enterro da mãe, uma mãe com um filho deprimido, um filho cujo amor da avó pode ser uma benesse ou um fardo, num conjunto muito equilibrado de histórias de amor mas também de conflito maternal e filial.
“Famous Blue Raincoat” e “Um longo inverno” são os pontos altos desta colectânea.
Na primeira, uma mãe recua aos seus tempos de cantora numa banda, quando o filho adolescente descobre os seus discos. Há uma versão do tema de Leonard Cohen num conto que combina soberbamente duas coisas que, para mim, representam a Irlanda, a literatura e a música.
Mas era mais conhecida pelo seu trabalho no período áureo do folk e nos primeiros anos do rock de Dublin: as suas fotografias de Geldof, como uma estrela jovem e rebelde e, mais tarde, de Bono, como um adolescente belo e ingénuo, ainda apareciam com regularidade em revistas do mundo inteiro.
Na segunda, uma mãe que recorre à bebida para entorpecer a dor da ausência dos filhos a cumprir o serviço militar acaba por sair de casa no dia em que cai o primeiro nevão do inverno. É inevitável e previsível que diga: uma mãe faz muita falta.
Nunca ias deixar de ter medo de uma coisa assim, da morte dela, agora livraste-te disso. Já aconteceu. Já não pode acontecer outra vez. (...) Sempre que vejo alguém com uma ligação a outra pessoa, sinto pena deles. É melhor não sentir nada. Tens sorte por ela não te poder ser tirada outra vez.
Há autores que comigo resultam muito melhor com contos do que com romances e, depois de ter desistido de “Brooklyn” e de ter reagido de forma tépida a “Testamento de Maria”, Colm Tóibín pode muito bem ser um deles.
Em “Mães e Filhos”, há um filho que é criminoso, uma mãe que abandonou a família por um homem, um filho que pretende herdar o negócio da família, uma mãe idosa que é a última a saber que o filho padre é pedófilo, um filho que vai para umarave depois do enterro da mãe, uma mãe com um filho deprimido, um filho cujo amor da avó pode ser uma benesse ou um fardo, num conjunto muito equilibrado de histórias de amor mas também de conflito maternal e filial.
“Famous Blue Raincoat” e “Um longo inverno” são os pontos altos desta colectânea.
Na primeira, uma mãe recua aos seus tempos de cantora numa banda, quando o filho adolescente descobre os seus discos. Há uma versão do tema de Leonard Cohen num conto que combina soberbamente duas coisas que, para mim, representam a Irlanda, a literatura e a música.
Mas era mais conhecida pelo seu trabalho no período áureo do folk e nos primeiros anos do rock de Dublin: as suas fotografias de Geldof, como uma estrela jovem e rebelde e, mais tarde, de Bono, como um adolescente belo e ingénuo, ainda apareciam com regularidade em revistas do mundo inteiro.
Na segunda, uma mãe que recorre à bebida para entorpecer a dor da ausência dos filhos a cumprir o serviço militar acaba por sair de casa no dia em que cai o primeiro nevão do inverno. É inevitável e previsível que diga: uma mãe faz muita falta.
Nunca ias deixar de ter medo de uma coisa assim, da morte dela, agora livraste-te disso. Já aconteceu. Já não pode acontecer outra vez. (...) Sempre que vejo alguém com uma ligação a outra pessoa, sinto pena deles. É melhor não sentir nada. Tens sorte por ela não te poder ser tirada outra vez.
January 12, 2022
Mothers And Sons is Colm Tóibín's first collection of short stories, and my introduction to his work. I've been meaning to read him for a long time, though somehow never got around to reading any of his more famous novels - Brooklyn, Nora Webster or The Master. However, as an aficionado of short stories and human relationships, I could not have let this book pass me by.
Most of the stories in Mothers And Sons are set in Tóibín's native Ireland - only the last story, A Long Winter, is set in Spain. Although none of them have bored or disappointed me, I could not help but feel that they were snippets of longer works, unfinished - a sign of longer things to come.
Thieves, musicians and priest populate Tóibín's stories, which focus - predictably - on the relationships between mothers and sons, although in ways that might surprise you. In the opening story , The Use of Reason, a burglar discovers that his own mother almost reveals the secret of his profession after a few drinks. What is he to do about it, and her? As the story moves towards its conclusion and we meet said mother, we discover another face to the man's character and a possible reason for him choosing this profession and being the way he is. In The Name of the Game a woman converts her late husband's store into a fish and chip shop, on which she intends to make money to pay off the bills, and provide for a better life for her family, aiming to ultimately leave their small town; she is surprised to see her teenage son do well at running the store, though to her horror she discovers that he does not want to attend school anymore and is planning to take it over when she'll retire. This contradicts the vision that she held for him - but does a parent always automatically have the right to decide what is best for their child?
A Song and Famous Blue Raincoat both deal with music. In the first story a young singer stumbles upon his mother - who left when he was very little, and whom he hasn't seen since - singing at a bar. Over the years he has wondered about his mother, if she knew about his slim musical career, and now he imagines how he would accompany her on stage. Famous Blue Raincoat music is in the past - a woman's son discovers old records of an Irish folk band that she once was a member of, and intends to transfer them to CD. He does not know that for his mother this means confronting the memory of her dead sister, with whom she performed together - something she doesn't want that, she did not want to have to listen to these songs and experience that grief ever again.
In A Long Winter - the longest story in the collection, which would be better classified as a novella - Miguel's mother walks out of their home in a little Spanish village in the Pyrenees into the snowy winter, and is never seen again. As Miguel ventures out to find her, he discovers more that he expected to find: the conflict between his mother and father which drove her to be dependent on drink for happiness, and explores his own sense of longing and loss which leads him to discover something about himself that he has not previously experienced. This is probably the best story of the entire collection, as it allows us a deeper insight into the protagonist and his grief, and allows us to see him grow as a person.
Mothers And Sons is not a bad introduction to Colm Tóibín's fiction - it held my attention throughout, and made me want to read more of his stories and novels.
Most of the stories in Mothers And Sons are set in Tóibín's native Ireland - only the last story, A Long Winter, is set in Spain. Although none of them have bored or disappointed me, I could not help but feel that they were snippets of longer works, unfinished - a sign of longer things to come.
Thieves, musicians and priest populate Tóibín's stories, which focus - predictably - on the relationships between mothers and sons, although in ways that might surprise you. In the opening story , The Use of Reason, a burglar discovers that his own mother almost reveals the secret of his profession after a few drinks. What is he to do about it, and her? As the story moves towards its conclusion and we meet said mother, we discover another face to the man's character and a possible reason for him choosing this profession and being the way he is. In The Name of the Game a woman converts her late husband's store into a fish and chip shop, on which she intends to make money to pay off the bills, and provide for a better life for her family, aiming to ultimately leave their small town; she is surprised to see her teenage son do well at running the store, though to her horror she discovers that he does not want to attend school anymore and is planning to take it over when she'll retire. This contradicts the vision that she held for him - but does a parent always automatically have the right to decide what is best for their child?
A Song and Famous Blue Raincoat both deal with music. In the first story a young singer stumbles upon his mother - who left when he was very little, and whom he hasn't seen since - singing at a bar. Over the years he has wondered about his mother, if she knew about his slim musical career, and now he imagines how he would accompany her on stage. Famous Blue Raincoat music is in the past - a woman's son discovers old records of an Irish folk band that she once was a member of, and intends to transfer them to CD. He does not know that for his mother this means confronting the memory of her dead sister, with whom she performed together - something she doesn't want that, she did not want to have to listen to these songs and experience that grief ever again.
In A Long Winter - the longest story in the collection, which would be better classified as a novella - Miguel's mother walks out of their home in a little Spanish village in the Pyrenees into the snowy winter, and is never seen again. As Miguel ventures out to find her, he discovers more that he expected to find: the conflict between his mother and father which drove her to be dependent on drink for happiness, and explores his own sense of longing and loss which leads him to discover something about himself that he has not previously experienced. This is probably the best story of the entire collection, as it allows us a deeper insight into the protagonist and his grief, and allows us to see him grow as a person.
Mothers And Sons is not a bad introduction to Colm Tóibín's fiction - it held my attention throughout, and made me want to read more of his stories and novels.
June 11, 2022
Overall, to me, it was an uneven read. And perhaps it mattered what stories I read initially. I did not start from the beginning.... The stories initially read I was less enthused about and then when I started this morning at the start of the book, I very much appreciated the writing in those stories.
There are 9 stories and they are not interconnected but they are all supposed to involve relationships between a mother and her son. Eight were published in one form or another earlier.
1. The Use of Reason — published originally in another collection, Finbar’s Hotel — 3 stars
• Had very good writing, albeit very troubling evocative portrayal of violence. I was disappointed because the ending just fizzled out.
2. A Song — published originally in The Guardian — 4 stars
• Sad...a son hasn’t seen his mother for 19 years
3. The Name of the Game — originally published in The Dublin Review — 4.5 stars
• Damn good. If all the stories were like this it would have been a 5-star book for me. Just this story alone weas worth reading this collection. A woman loses her husband from a car crash and he left a grocery store heavily in debt to her and their 3 children. This was 57 pages long, but it was very enjoyable and interesting to read.
4. Famous Blue Raincoat — originally published in The Guardian — 1.5 stars
1. This had little to do with mothers and sons if you ask me, and it was boring to boot.
5. A Priest in the Family — originally published in the London Review of Books — 3.5 stars
• A son (priest) gets charged with sexual abuse (pedophilia) from a while back and the story is about how his mother deals with it.
6. A Journey — originally published in In Dublin — 3 stars
• A son who is 20 years old is mired in depression...and the mother is facing this as well as her husband who just had a stroke.
7. Three Friends — originally published in The Faber Book of Best New Irish Short Stories — 2.5 stars
• Not really about a mother-son relationship as the story opens with the mother dead. The whole story is essentially about the son who is in his 20s going to an all-night rave party.
8. A Summer Job — 3.5 stars
• A grandmother favors one grandchild over the other ones....and upon her death that grandson rebels.
9. A Long Winter — originally published in a limited edition by the Tuskar Rock Press —2 stars
• This was really long, and it got interminably boring to me. On the inside flap of the dust cover it was stated that this was Colm Toibin’s finest fiction to date...I preferred ‘The Name of the Game’ hands down this one.
Reviews
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/bo...
• https://www.curledup.com/ctmother.htm
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
There are 9 stories and they are not interconnected but they are all supposed to involve relationships between a mother and her son. Eight were published in one form or another earlier.
1. The Use of Reason — published originally in another collection, Finbar’s Hotel — 3 stars
• Had very good writing, albeit very troubling evocative portrayal of violence. I was disappointed because the ending just fizzled out.
2. A Song — published originally in The Guardian — 4 stars
• Sad...a son hasn’t seen his mother for 19 years
3. The Name of the Game — originally published in The Dublin Review — 4.5 stars
• Damn good. If all the stories were like this it would have been a 5-star book for me. Just this story alone weas worth reading this collection. A woman loses her husband from a car crash and he left a grocery store heavily in debt to her and their 3 children. This was 57 pages long, but it was very enjoyable and interesting to read.
4. Famous Blue Raincoat — originally published in The Guardian — 1.5 stars
1. This had little to do with mothers and sons if you ask me, and it was boring to boot.
5. A Priest in the Family — originally published in the London Review of Books — 3.5 stars
• A son (priest) gets charged with sexual abuse (pedophilia) from a while back and the story is about how his mother deals with it.
6. A Journey — originally published in In Dublin — 3 stars
• A son who is 20 years old is mired in depression...and the mother is facing this as well as her husband who just had a stroke.
7. Three Friends — originally published in The Faber Book of Best New Irish Short Stories — 2.5 stars
• Not really about a mother-son relationship as the story opens with the mother dead. The whole story is essentially about the son who is in his 20s going to an all-night rave party.
8. A Summer Job — 3.5 stars
• A grandmother favors one grandchild over the other ones....and upon her death that grandson rebels.
9. A Long Winter — originally published in a limited edition by the Tuskar Rock Press —2 stars
• This was really long, and it got interminably boring to me. On the inside flap of the dust cover it was stated that this was Colm Toibin’s finest fiction to date...I preferred ‘The Name of the Game’ hands down this one.
Reviews
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/bo...
• https://www.curledup.com/ctmother.htm
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
February 11, 2015
This is Colm Toibin’s first book of short stories, and you feel him striving for the same effects that he gets so effortlessly in novels like his recent Booker prize-nominated The Master.
Quaint title aside, these aren’t celebrations of Hallmark card family unity, complete with bucolic Irish settings. In at least half of the stories, the mothers and sons barely exchange a word. One pair haven’t spoken to each other in 19 years. The mood is as grey, overcast and shadowy as the weather.
Toibin’s big theme is the failure – you might say the impossibility - of communication. It’s what’s made his works difficult to adapt to the big or small screen.
The mysterious machinations of the human mind and heart are hard to make into compelling visuals. But on the page, they can often make hypnotic reading.
The book opens with a strong tale about a thief who’s trying to get rid of a stolen Rembrandt, which he’s buried in a mountain. The narrator is an analytical criminal who lives life like a chess game. The only unknown variable in his scheme is his heavy-drinking mother.
This story’s echoed in the book’s final tale, a novella about a Spanish man whose mother – also a hard drinker - has disappeared after a family fight. She may or not be buried beneath the winter snow.
Toibin seems to prefer longer narratives. In "The Name Of The Game," for instance, a widow hides her debt from her family and the rest of the small Irish town where she lives, and that secrecy irrevocably separates her from her own son, whom we see as a young boy, entrepreneurial young man then disillusioned adult.
Toibin’s attempts at vignettes seem more forced, whether set at a crowded pub or a tense car ride home to visit an ailing family member.
What saves even the weaker tales is Toibin’s precise use of language. A phrase like “the sound of his car had died down in the distance” reveals as much about a character’s state of mind than any words she chooses to speak.
Quaint title aside, these aren’t celebrations of Hallmark card family unity, complete with bucolic Irish settings. In at least half of the stories, the mothers and sons barely exchange a word. One pair haven’t spoken to each other in 19 years. The mood is as grey, overcast and shadowy as the weather.
Toibin’s big theme is the failure – you might say the impossibility - of communication. It’s what’s made his works difficult to adapt to the big or small screen.
The mysterious machinations of the human mind and heart are hard to make into compelling visuals. But on the page, they can often make hypnotic reading.
The book opens with a strong tale about a thief who’s trying to get rid of a stolen Rembrandt, which he’s buried in a mountain. The narrator is an analytical criminal who lives life like a chess game. The only unknown variable in his scheme is his heavy-drinking mother.
This story’s echoed in the book’s final tale, a novella about a Spanish man whose mother – also a hard drinker - has disappeared after a family fight. She may or not be buried beneath the winter snow.
Toibin seems to prefer longer narratives. In "The Name Of The Game," for instance, a widow hides her debt from her family and the rest of the small Irish town where she lives, and that secrecy irrevocably separates her from her own son, whom we see as a young boy, entrepreneurial young man then disillusioned adult.
Toibin’s attempts at vignettes seem more forced, whether set at a crowded pub or a tense car ride home to visit an ailing family member.
What saves even the weaker tales is Toibin’s precise use of language. A phrase like “the sound of his car had died down in the distance” reveals as much about a character’s state of mind than any words she chooses to speak.
November 1, 2014
Tóibín's words are quietly powerful. They seeped slowly, almost stealthily, into my pores. Beautiful. Spare. A bit melancholic. And then suddenly the pain of his "silent" tale found its way like a finger of smoke to my very center and I gasped for breath. With each of these short stories there was a time or two (or three) that I closed the book and went about daily chores giving myself a bit of time and mundane life to sort through. Always I returned. Exquisite, simply exquisite.
September 30, 2019
I was impressed with every story in this collection. I admire Toibin's insights into his characters and their relationships; his subtle use of imagery; and the way he crafts his stories. Even a 'simple' turn of phrase of his engenders my respect. I love his writing and become more impressed every time I read something by him.
*
Addendum:
This quote about Toibin and this collection is what I was trying to say earlier but failed to:
"His greatest strength is his restraint: this is a voice so unobtrusive that sometimes it feels as if there is no writing going on at all." (Reviewer: Archie Bland for Time Out London)
*
Addendum:
This quote about Toibin and this collection is what I was trying to say earlier but failed to:
"His greatest strength is his restraint: this is a voice so unobtrusive that sometimes it feels as if there is no writing going on at all." (Reviewer: Archie Bland for Time Out London)
July 18, 2017
interesting collection of short stories examining relationships between mothers and sons ranging different emotions and feelings from who I regard as a leading light in modern Irish literature. each story expresses a different emotion and relationship as you feel as you are an observer to it in the background.
January 15, 2023
Toibín is very interested in and explores in depth some of the possible relationships between sons and their mothers, usually reflecting on it through the suffering of the mothers caused by something committed by the sons, but not necessarily nor exclusively. This theme will later culminate in the brilliantly written novella The Testament of Mary.
The seemingly simplistic plot i.e. mother-son relationship is complicated since whatever the sons might or might not do is oftentimes (usually?) heavily correlated with the mothers' lives or deeds. Misery, trauma, loss, shame, sadness, grief, sacrifice, lies, lack of communication, even addiction and sexual identity go hand in hand in these short stories. The first and last story, both having an alcoholic mother as protagonist, beautifully frames the collection. The last story is more of a novella, one of the few longer narratives in the book, set against the hauntingly beautiful and harsh world of the Catalan Pyrenees. The length gives enough space for Toibín to explore, although somewhat superficially, the interrelatedness between one and one's milieu. This works beautifully in the The Name of the Game too.
It took me years to finish the book. It was given to me by a dear friend who passed away when I was about halfway through the book, at which point I just stopped reading and couldn't resume it for a very long time. This review is, in a way, an homage to the beautiful Siobhan. Thank you.
The seemingly simplistic plot i.e. mother-son relationship is complicated since whatever the sons might or might not do is oftentimes (usually?) heavily correlated with the mothers' lives or deeds. Misery, trauma, loss, shame, sadness, grief, sacrifice, lies, lack of communication, even addiction and sexual identity go hand in hand in these short stories. The first and last story, both having an alcoholic mother as protagonist, beautifully frames the collection. The last story is more of a novella, one of the few longer narratives in the book, set against the hauntingly beautiful and harsh world of the Catalan Pyrenees. The length gives enough space for Toibín to explore, although somewhat superficially, the interrelatedness between one and one's milieu. This works beautifully in the The Name of the Game too.
It took me years to finish the book. It was given to me by a dear friend who passed away when I was about halfway through the book, at which point I just stopped reading and couldn't resume it for a very long time. This review is, in a way, an homage to the beautiful Siobhan. Thank you.
November 9, 2007
Colm Toibin's prose is so innocuous as to leave one unprepared for the understated emotional devastation in this landscape of mothers and sons. The stories that really shine in this collection are the ones of men adrift in the aftermath of a mother's death (The Three Friends) or disappearance (The Long Winter). In this immediate twilight, these sons are at a loss how to react and how to feel, and here's where the authenticity really slices through in wonderful ways, in this empty numbing space, the impermissible is allowed to happen -- a man allows himself to have sex with his male friend, and neither is homosexual; a son finds a substitute brother, closer to a stranger than he is to his own family.
There is some razzle-dazzle in the plotting and setting of some of the stories. The first in the collection is about a son who has stolen a Rembrandt from a museum. The details of the robbery and the after-dealings come off almost like a set for a movie -- while it makes for an exciting, engrossing read, the emotional nuance here seems plotted and grafted on. Another equally interesting story charts the rise of a band and its dissolution -- reminiscent of many young bands that rise to sudden occasional fame only to fade again into complete obscurity -- but here, the theme of mothers and sons seems stretched and accidental.
Still, there is no doubt as to Toibin's flair in storytelling -- even in the bleakest of landscapes when all is wind, ice and snow (and not much else) (THe Last Winter), things happen at a lively tempo, keeping the reader on his toes. And that is admirable -- Toibin invests in the short story the breadth, length and depth of the happenings of a novel.
There is some razzle-dazzle in the plotting and setting of some of the stories. The first in the collection is about a son who has stolen a Rembrandt from a museum. The details of the robbery and the after-dealings come off almost like a set for a movie -- while it makes for an exciting, engrossing read, the emotional nuance here seems plotted and grafted on. Another equally interesting story charts the rise of a band and its dissolution -- reminiscent of many young bands that rise to sudden occasional fame only to fade again into complete obscurity -- but here, the theme of mothers and sons seems stretched and accidental.
Still, there is no doubt as to Toibin's flair in storytelling -- even in the bleakest of landscapes when all is wind, ice and snow (and not much else) (THe Last Winter), things happen at a lively tempo, keeping the reader on his toes. And that is admirable -- Toibin invests in the short story the breadth, length and depth of the happenings of a novel.
May 31, 2016
Lives Led in Ellipses
So what are these stories about? Despite the title, mostly not about mothers and sons, or only peripherally so. As I have felt before with Tóibín, I sense an elusiveness there, as though the real author were hiding somewhere in the shadows. Beautiful shadows, don't get me wrong; the man has a great gift for atmosphere, character, and feeling. But these stories, ranging in length from eight pages to over seventy, seemed to be reaching beyond their ostensible subject, towards something that he could not quite find the length, or the form, or the occasion to put into words.
Take two stories that are indeed about mothers and sons, specifically about mothers who walk out on their families. "A Song," one of the shortest, is a bittersweet encounter in a country bar between a band singer and his estranged mother, a famous folk singer herself. The pathos of its elusive ending works perfectly at that length, and makes it by far my favorite. By contrast, "A Long Winter," the longest story in the book, is almost a novella. Set in the Spanish Pyrenees, it tells of a young man trying to find his mother, who has left home and been caught in a blizzard. It is detailed and at times exciting, but well before the end it has morphed into something else entirely—the young man's discovery of his own sexuality. The inconclusive ending is probably the only one possible for that new subject, but it leaves the original topic entirely behind. The writing is honest and believable throughout, but you can see the material fighting against the short-story form, trying to turn into a novel, but not quite succeeding at either length.
Perhaps a third story, "Three Friends," gives a clue. A day or so after his mother's funeral, a young man is invited by three friends to a seaside rave, and has his first tentative experience of gay sex. As in the Pyrenean story, there is no direct connection between the mother/son theme and the sexual one; the two are just placed side by side. The writing is somewhat explicit, but nothing like the near-pornography of three of the stories in Tóibín's later collection, The Empty Family. Yet it does make me suspect that the true subject in all these tales is the mystery of gay sexuality, its origin, its loneliness, its occasional passion.
Tóibín is too wise a writer to imply that this is a universal situation, or that there is any causality between one thing and another. These are no more than tentative analogies to his own experiences. He writes of connections that are not made, families that are broken up, lives lived in absence or sorrow. You see him feeling towards instances, memories, regrets, but never quite bringing them into the light. All his stories seem to end in ellipses, as though he were merely offering us something to consider, then moving on. (I noticed this even in his novel The Master, which is wonderful at taking you into the mind of its subject, Henry James, but presents no cogent reason why it should begin or end where it does.) Yet it makes the whole book rather unfocused. I can certainly respect Tóibín's exploration of the emotional half-world, but there are times when I would just like a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
So what are these stories about? Despite the title, mostly not about mothers and sons, or only peripherally so. As I have felt before with Tóibín, I sense an elusiveness there, as though the real author were hiding somewhere in the shadows. Beautiful shadows, don't get me wrong; the man has a great gift for atmosphere, character, and feeling. But these stories, ranging in length from eight pages to over seventy, seemed to be reaching beyond their ostensible subject, towards something that he could not quite find the length, or the form, or the occasion to put into words.
Take two stories that are indeed about mothers and sons, specifically about mothers who walk out on their families. "A Song," one of the shortest, is a bittersweet encounter in a country bar between a band singer and his estranged mother, a famous folk singer herself. The pathos of its elusive ending works perfectly at that length, and makes it by far my favorite. By contrast, "A Long Winter," the longest story in the book, is almost a novella. Set in the Spanish Pyrenees, it tells of a young man trying to find his mother, who has left home and been caught in a blizzard. It is detailed and at times exciting, but well before the end it has morphed into something else entirely—the young man's discovery of his own sexuality. The inconclusive ending is probably the only one possible for that new subject, but it leaves the original topic entirely behind. The writing is honest and believable throughout, but you can see the material fighting against the short-story form, trying to turn into a novel, but not quite succeeding at either length.
Perhaps a third story, "Three Friends," gives a clue. A day or so after his mother's funeral, a young man is invited by three friends to a seaside rave, and has his first tentative experience of gay sex. As in the Pyrenean story, there is no direct connection between the mother/son theme and the sexual one; the two are just placed side by side. The writing is somewhat explicit, but nothing like the near-pornography of three of the stories in Tóibín's later collection, The Empty Family. Yet it does make me suspect that the true subject in all these tales is the mystery of gay sexuality, its origin, its loneliness, its occasional passion.
Tóibín is too wise a writer to imply that this is a universal situation, or that there is any causality between one thing and another. These are no more than tentative analogies to his own experiences. He writes of connections that are not made, families that are broken up, lives lived in absence or sorrow. You see him feeling towards instances, memories, regrets, but never quite bringing them into the light. All his stories seem to end in ellipses, as though he were merely offering us something to consider, then moving on. (I noticed this even in his novel The Master, which is wonderful at taking you into the mind of its subject, Henry James, but presents no cogent reason why it should begin or end where it does.) Yet it makes the whole book rather unfocused. I can certainly respect Tóibín's exploration of the emotional half-world, but there are times when I would just like a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
January 24, 2018
This collection contains Tóibín's beautiful writing but the structure of most the stories was lacking, I thought. They read more like parts of novels than short stories. The exception to that was the last story, "One Plus One" which was beautifully realized.
October 8, 2017
Tóibín's work has been such a mixed bag experience for me. By and large I enjoy it, he's definitely a very able and talented writer and has a terrific knack for a certain sort of quiet fiction. His characters are usually Irish, of a certain socioeconomic class and mindset and Tóibín has a great eye/ear for finding the beauty and grace in their everyday lives. He sings the ordinary into magical, at his best, and for that he's vey much worth a read. The downside of that, though, is a certain lack of originality and excitement, which is certainly evident in this collection. Lovely as the writing is, the stories themselves are sometimes mere snippets, sometimes longer slices of life, some engaging, some ending too soon and some merely episodic and, while all are quite good, none really stand out. The first one was possibly the best, the tale of an art thief. The last one (longest of all) seems to be everyone's favorite and an award winner and I found it to be the most underwhelming. Go figure. All of these have to do with mothers and sons (as the title suggest) and other familial relations. Not sure if maybe these should be read one at a time at intervals with maybe other things in between, but all in one go the experience is pleasant, but slightly monotonous. I listened to it on audio and the narrator did a great job. Enjoyable collection, though doesn't quite wow. Possibly I just wanted something more dynamic for my commute. Book moods can be tough to narrow down sometimes and library audiobook selection are limited.
September 1, 2014
As relações entre mães e filhos (rapazes) podem estar enraizadas em amor, afeto, compreensão; mas também em equívocos e distância.
Neste livro de Colm Tróibín, cada um dos nove contos “breves mas fortes, contem vidas inteiras”.
Neste livro de Colm Tróibín, cada um dos nove contos “breves mas fortes, contem vidas inteiras”.
November 3, 2015
The writing was deep and beautiful. The stories compelling. I just wished I understood them. I think I did on the surface, but there was always this tickle in the back of my mind reminding me that I really had no idea what I was reading.
May 18, 2024
Toibin is a writer who does not waste words so I was looking forward to reading this intriguing collection of stories about mothers and sons confronting crisis points in their lives.
It was moving at times and some of the stories were brilliantly conceived. I also like the way Toibin includes characters as well as settings from other books in the plots.
However I thought this uneven as a collection and although I enjoyed it, it was not quite up to the level of his best work.
It was moving at times and some of the stories were brilliantly conceived. I also like the way Toibin includes characters as well as settings from other books in the plots.
However I thought this uneven as a collection and although I enjoyed it, it was not quite up to the level of his best work.
July 3, 2021
DNF this in 68% Mark. When I found the book I couldn't really make out was it was exactly about. The back of the book where just quotes praising the book and what prizes it's almost one or actually wonn. And the blurb inside didn't say much either. Thought this was a full novel and if I had known it was short stories I would have probebly not picked it up. I didn't get with the writing at all. Feelt more pretentious then elegant and well written. Colm Toibin might not be an author for me, but maybe I should give him one last try before deciding
March 17, 2018
Easy five stars! This was my first time reading Colm Toíbín’s work and it was stunning. These stories were heartbreaking but so beautifully and masterfully written, especially the final two stories in the collection. I will have to add more of his work to my collection!
June 15, 2020
"A Priest in the Family" gutted me.
November 16, 2012
Toibin is one of those writers who I'm not crazy about but I keep returning to. This collection of short stories is very similar to his collection of novels in general in that I found a few emotionless (with purpose) and lacking energy, and several that were moving and have remained with me a month later. Technically, he's a great writer and I trust his intelligence, which causes me to examine more deeply those stories and novels that I don't find immediately satisfying. However, those stories that I do find immediately intriguing are well worth it. He has a very subdued and subtle way of conveying the emotions of real life in a way that I truly resound with. Rage, grief, regret and longing silently sneak up on the reader. One moment I felt I was reading a benign and slightly boring short story with characters I wasn't quite sure I cared too much about, and ten minutes later this same safe and benign story would leave me absolutely unsafe in my identification with the conflicting and multi-layered emotions presented therein. What I'd say to someone interested in this particular collection is, keep reading. I found the first story totally not compelling, but most of the others are really great. Toibin's voices sound authentic and these safe and subdued stories can be subtly shattering to the discerning participant.
May 27, 2021
This is a collection of stories about ... mothers and sons! They somehow all seem to share a common thread. The writing is compelling and makes me want to keep reading. However, I find the subjects quite dark, a lot of emphasis on death, and grief, and suffering. Probably very appropriate for much of the world, who needs help in dealing with these very issues, it just doesn't appeal as much to me because I have been blessed to not suffer much tragedy in my life. It just seems so sad, and I prefer "happier" books.
October 27, 2019
Book 55
Mothers and Sons
Colm Toibin
2006
4/5
Nine short stories about mothers and their sons, all sorts of mothers and all sorts of sons in all sorts of situations. All stories are good, some are excellent. The man's prose is subtle, spacious and precise. God I love Irish writers. The characters have depth and a past and a life to live even if, as in the collection's highlight, they are pushing 80. They are complex people and often a mystery to themselves. Great stuff.
Mothers and Sons
Colm Toibin
2006
4/5
Nine short stories about mothers and their sons, all sorts of mothers and all sorts of sons in all sorts of situations. All stories are good, some are excellent. The man's prose is subtle, spacious and precise. God I love Irish writers. The characters have depth and a past and a life to live even if, as in the collection's highlight, they are pushing 80. They are complex people and often a mystery to themselves. Great stuff.
July 26, 2017
This is a collection of short stories, exploring the relationships between sons and their mothers. A couple fall a little short, however there are a few which strike some powerful chords: of loss, of unrelenting duty, of death and sickness, of entitlement.
November 20, 2020
This was an excellent read.
March 20, 2022
A fine collection of nine well written short stories, eight being set in contemporary Ireland. My favourites are:
‘The Name of the Game’ which is about a middle aged woman successfully converting her late husband’s failing small town business into an off licence and chip shop. Her teenage son is adept at managing the shop, expecting to quit school and eventually take over the shop. However the mother has other plans involving selling up and moving to Dublin.
‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ is the story of a woman’s son becoming interested in the folk records she and her sister made on their youth, bringing up painful memories of her sister’s death.
Colm Toibin fans should find this book a very satisfying reading experience.
This book was first published in 2006.
‘The Name of the Game’ which is about a middle aged woman successfully converting her late husband’s failing small town business into an off licence and chip shop. Her teenage son is adept at managing the shop, expecting to quit school and eventually take over the shop. However the mother has other plans involving selling up and moving to Dublin.
‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ is the story of a woman’s son becoming interested in the folk records she and her sister made on their youth, bringing up painful memories of her sister’s death.
Colm Toibin fans should find this book a very satisfying reading experience.
This book was first published in 2006.
April 30, 2021
Colm Tóibín is an Irish writer with an annoying range of work. He writes novels, short stories, plays, travel writing and journalism. He wins awards for it, too. Tóibín has long been on my list of to-be-read authors, if only because of fellow Irish writers William Trevor and Caoilinn Hughes. I’m very pleased to make Tóibín’s acquaintance by way of this short story collection Mothers and Sons.
To read the full review, please visit my website for Irish Rovers.
To read the full review, please visit my website for Irish Rovers.
November 25, 2018
Com Toibin's beautiful prose is the standout feature of this collection. He writes with precision and delicacy and evokes emotion with patience and restraint. However the plotting, characterisation and themes are somewhat inconsistent. The settings are very Irish, all dead mothers and villages where everybody knows your business, which I struggle to relate to unless there are more universal themes addressed.
The first two stories, "The Use of Reason" and "A Song" left me cold, as they described situations that were neither familiar nor interesting to me. I decided to persist and was glad I did when the subtle realism of "The Name of the Game" was up next. I wavered again in "Famous Blue Raincoat", but from there the stories alternated between wonderful and disappointing.
One of my great frustrations with short stories, and one of the reasons I don't often read them, is that by the time I've decided if a story is any good, it's almost over. There's rarely the chance to settle into a story knowing that the next pages will be worth savouring. Obviously this collection doesn't do anything to change that reservation, but the rewards - in the form of moving, emotionally true stories - are worth the frustrations, in my view.
The first two stories, "The Use of Reason" and "A Song" left me cold, as they described situations that were neither familiar nor interesting to me. I decided to persist and was glad I did when the subtle realism of "The Name of the Game" was up next. I wavered again in "Famous Blue Raincoat", but from there the stories alternated between wonderful and disappointing.
One of my great frustrations with short stories, and one of the reasons I don't often read them, is that by the time I've decided if a story is any good, it's almost over. There's rarely the chance to settle into a story knowing that the next pages will be worth savouring. Obviously this collection doesn't do anything to change that reservation, but the rewards - in the form of moving, emotionally true stories - are worth the frustrations, in my view.
January 9, 2017
Jo lainatessani kirjan kirjastosta tiesin, että tämä on oleva erinomainen lukuelämys, sillä Colm Toíbínista on tullut nopeasti yksi niistä kirjailijoista, joiden jälkeen aina luotan. Yllätyksenä tuli kuitenkin se, että kyseessä oli romaanin sijaan novellikokoelma. En novelleista yleensä juuri perusta, mutta tämä kokoelma vei minut mukanaan. Yhdeksän novellia, joista jokainen kertoo tarinan joko äidin tai pojan näkökulmasta, ja jokainen novelli rakentuu jonkin heidän suhteessaan perustavanlaatuisen muutoksen ympärille, mutta eivät kuitenkaan jää vellomaan pelkästään siihen, vaan jokaisella hahmolla on kokonainen elämä jonka osa novellin tapahtumat ovat. Jos et mitään muuta lue, lue ainakin viimenen A Long Winter.
Äitini poika kun olen, useampi näistä novelleista osui ja upposi. Antaisin kuusi tähteä, jos vain voisin.
Äitini poika kun olen, useampi näistä novelleista osui ja upposi. Antaisin kuusi tähteä, jos vain voisin.
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February 1, 2021Slow start for me — found the first few stories limp. Suspected that maybe I’m more responsive to his style in novel form — loved Brooklyn. Then, starting with A Priest in the Family, something clicked and I was back in sync with CT. The last 5 stories intrigued and moved me.
April 15, 2012
Very bleak, the writing is good, but the book lacked a bit of genuine love and warmth.
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