Synopsis
A stunning collection of nine stories that teases out the delicate and difficult strands woven between mothers and sons.
'Beautifully captured moments of longing and loss' – The Guardian
'Truly remarkable' – Richard Ford
Mothers and Sons is a sensitive meditation on the dramas surrounding this most elemental of relationships. Psychologically intricate and emotionally incisive, each story focuses on a moment in which an unspoken balance shifts; in which a mother or son do battle, or experience a sudden crisis, thus leaving their conception of who they are subtly or seriously altered.
An acute, masterful and moving collection from Colm Tóibín, the bestselling author of Brooklyn.
Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.
Details
Reviews
“It’s truly remarkable that a writer of Tóibín’s great felicity, immense seriousness and general large awareness – a writer so naturally gifted as a novelist – can deliver short stories of such subtle empathy and brilliance. He’s dazzling.”Richard Ford
“Colm Tóibín is a writer of extraordinary emotional clarity. Each of the nine stories is a snapshot of a point of crisis . . . Tóibín perfectly understands the instantaneous nature of the ideal short story; the sense that the pen is going straight into a major vein. These are beautiful stories, beautifully crafted.”Kate Saunders, Literary Review
“Subtly and exquisitely written, the language never forced but utterly rooted in real worlds. Each story is haunting and memorable.”Dermot Bolger, Evening Herald
“The last story in this excellent collection is a superbly powerful tale of betrayal and desertion. Quintessential Tóibín.”Spectator, Spectator
