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87th out of 483 books
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The Story of the Night
by
Colm Tóibín
Hailed by the Irish Independent as the "best Irish writer of his generation", Toibin brings readers a powerful and moving novel set in Argentina during the time of generals. As Richard Garay's country slowly changes and love enters his life, he realizes that the Faustian bargain he has made with experience is gradually becoming a nightmare.
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
July 15th 2005
by Scribner
(first published January 1st 1996)
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Colm Toibin is one of my favorite Irish authors writing today. Among his books that I've read to date ("The South", "The Heather Blazing", "The Blackwater Lightship", "Mothers and Sons" and this one - I haven't read "The Master" yet), "The Story of the Night" is my favorite.
Set in Buenos Aires during the Falklands war and its aftermath, the novel tracks the development of Richard Garay, a gay schoolteacher, the son of an Arg...more
Set in Buenos Aires during the Falklands war and its aftermath, the novel tracks the development of Richard Garay, a gay schoolteacher, the son of an Arg...more
A Timelessly Important Yet Also A Timely Novel
2005 and Argentina has just revoked amnesty for those responsible for the brutality and occult treachery of the Dirty War that ended with the overthrow of the military junta with the British defeat of Argentina's forces over the Falkland Islands. And it is during this closure of a long suppressed circle that Colm Toibin's superb 1995 book THE STORY OF THE NIGHT comes back into circulation. By all means read this book now not only to celeb...more
2005 and Argentina has just revoked amnesty for those responsible for the brutality and occult treachery of the Dirty War that ended with the overthrow of the military junta with the British defeat of Argentina's forces over the Falkland Islands. And it is during this closure of a long suppressed circle that Colm Toibin's superb 1995 book THE STORY OF THE NIGHT comes back into circulation. By all means read this book now not only to celeb...more
WTF?!?!?!?! I thought this would be like gay Joan Didion, twisting together a sordid coming out tale and the shadowy political intrigue of Argentina's desaparecidos-era dictatorship. Granted, it IS that for the first 20pp., but unless you're Henry Kissinger you wont understand a thing that's going on because it's totally oblique and confusing. (Only good thing about this novel is it was so iffy on the political part it forced me to go down a Google hole learning about Operation Condor; what a sh...more
I may not have Mr Naipaul's astonishing ability to judge the gender of writer from the first two paragraphs of a book (nor do I aspire toward such an ability) but I believe I possess a certain capacity to judge the merit of a book after reading a couple of pages.
The Story of the Night struck me immediately as a difficult book—not because it is difficult to grasp but because it's tedious to go through. It is not the tedium of self-conscious style. It is the tedium of the self-conscious lac
...more
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Riviting reading the like of which I have not come across in a long time. Toibin's style in this novel is so racy, it places you in a trance, links you profoundly to Richard Garay's character and emotions and finally crushes you into sudden oblivion, as Richard is wiped out by the wicked senselessness of the plague, HIV Aids. However, the nobility of this character is such, that not only does he emerge from the closeted and suffocating personal existence of the lone homesexual but he also abando...more
Ian Young
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Toibin’s third novel, written in a much more direct style than his more recent work, with simpler and less poetic language. The narrator is a young gay man growing up in Argentina, and follows his life from before the Falklands war through to the early years of AIDS. There are two main themes – political change in Argentina (especially American manipulation of the politics and oil industry of Argentina) and the impact of AIDS (again, change coming from America). The book’s title, therefore, p...more
I do love Colm Toibin. He's one of my favourite authors but this early novel is not one of my favourites. It follows a lost gay Argentinian/English teacher who lives with his mother until her death, when he is forced to go out in the world and participate in it. He lucks into a better job, friends and money and eventually love, all of which make a good storyline but I found his style in this book a bit undeveloped. He goes into full detail of some conversations and not others and it just seems q...more
The subject matter of the book is intense and important -- being gay in a repressive society, Argentinian politics and corruption, emotional isolation, AIDS -- and yet it had less impact than I expected. The narrator is oddly emotionally distanced, which makes sense in the context of his childhood (a British mother who holds herself at a distance from the Buenos Aires society she's spent most of her life in; the constant sense of his sexual difference), but even when he falls genuinely in love...more
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Beautiful and moving gay story set in Buenos Aires around the time of the Falklands war, its politico-economic aftermath, and the ascent to power of Menem. Tóibín seems to me a very calm, patient and precise writer as he tells the life story of Richard Garay, the building up of different stages in his life and his coming to terms with his sexuality. The subject of AIDS at the beginning of the crisis brings back to the time when it all was so unclear, unknown, terrifying, indefinable. Definitely ...more
After reading Toibin's The Master, a book I absolutely loved for its beautiful poetic language and deep but subtle understanding of Henry James, I was looking forward to reading his earlier novel which deals more directly with gay themes.
Well, I am very disappointed. Two of the three parts of Story of the Night deal with the political and business climate in Argentina in the 70s and 80s. Supremely boring and written like a journalist. This reminded me a bit of Hollinghurst's Line of B...more
Well, I am very disappointed. Two of the three parts of Story of the Night deal with the political and business climate in Argentina in the 70s and 80s. Supremely boring and written like a journalist. This reminded me a bit of Hollinghurst's Line of B...more
Toibin's third novel was his first openly 'gay' novel and I wonder how much he felt compelled to tackle the subject of AIDS. It was published in 1996 so maybe there was a sense of obligation on his part. Reading it in 2006, I couldn't help sighing a little with a sense of deja vu when the topic reared its head at the end of the book - which is, admittedly, an unfair reaction.
The novel blends confession, love story and the sort of ambassadorial intrigue that Graham Greene went in for....more
The novel blends confession, love story and the sort of ambassadorial intrigue that Graham Greene went in for....more
This was the first book by Colm Toibin that I read. I did not realize he was an Irish author since the story was so convincingly set in Argentina. In fact it was his sixth book and I was as sorry that I had not discovered him sooner as I was glad to have finally found this very good writer who would go on to win the Booker Prize. The Story of the Night, presents a narrator, Richard Garay, who lives in silence about his homosexuality and in denial about the actions of his country, Argentina, w...more
Tilbatilba
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Recommended to Tilbatilba by:
Found it in the local library and remembered that this was the g
Excellent love story (unless you're homophobic). I enjoyed the psychological study of the main character and the Argentinian background. The novel was very sad in some sections.
The author seems to have a lot in common with Patrick Gale (family relationships and gay themes), but I enjoy Colm Toibin's writing more.
The novel is sparsely written - "less" is definitely "more" in this case!
Chrissie.
The author seems to have a lot in common with Patrick Gale (family relationships and gay themes), but I enjoy Colm Toibin's writing more.
The novel is sparsely written - "less" is definitely "more" in this case!
Chrissie.
This was excellent. Well-written, lyrical, captivating. I am excited to read more Toibin. He's a candidate, I'd guess, for "classic status." Worth noting that this is a perfect example of "you can take the boy of Ireland [ie set the plot in Argentina], but you can't take the morose out of the Irish boy." In other words, be prepared to contemplate the depths of the abyss after reading.
James Haliburton
added it
Buenos Aires during the transition of power from the dictatorship of Galtieri to the privatisations of Menem is the backdrop to Richard Garay's coming to terms with his homosexuality. The two narratives do not always gel and the ending seems rushed but Tóibín's writing is never anything less than remarkable - economic, insightful and above all truthful.
I was originally going to score this book a 3/5 because the politics etc bored me to death. I am not one for politics and government, etc, so that part of the story really did put me off, but as the story progressed, and with what we learned in part 3 (won't say, spoilers) the story grew on me more. It's a hard read, and I presume this book was previously in a different language, but it's interesting to read. I would recommend it, if you're not put off by politics etc.
The first thing I've read since 1995 that drags you into the visceral horror of full blown AIDS. A brave queer v. gay book that doesn't pull punches. The landscape shots are all CIA/privatization of Argentina's oil/devaluation of the peso and not Casa Rosada and tango. I never fell in love with the narrator. Denying a fifth star.
What an incredible book. This is my first time reading Toibin, but I don't think it'll be the last. This book was written at the end of the 90's, and is a story about a gay man in Buenos Aires during the 80's. Fascinating time in the history of not only Argentina, but gay men in general, really dealing with the AIDS crisis. Highly recommended!
A history of Argentina interspersed with quite detailed descriptions of gay sex does not a riveting book make.
I can understand an author wanting to write an intellectual novel featuring a gay male protagonist, but why oh why does said protagonist have to die from AIDS? All of a sudden it's the 80s, and whereas the first 400 pages detailed the political games and general turmoil in Argentina, the book veers suddenly into horrific details of illness. Is this a story of Argentina or the pligh...more
I can understand an author wanting to write an intellectual novel featuring a gay male protagonist, but why oh why does said protagonist have to die from AIDS? All of a sudden it's the 80s, and whereas the first 400 pages detailed the political games and general turmoil in Argentina, the book veers suddenly into horrific details of illness. Is this a story of Argentina or the pligh...more
This is the third book of Toibin that I read. The first book of his that I read was “The Master”, it is very nicely written and because of it, I looked for another book written by him. Soon, I read “The Blackwater Lightship”, a story about relationship of three women, a grandma, a mother, and a daughter. Toibin loves detail and tells story in slow way, which might not be suitable for everyone taste. In this book, which is actually his earlier work (The Master is the latest one), he describes the...more
Beautifully written, lyrical love story. Played out against the background of political unrest.
This is one of those books which draws one in, I felt a sense of loss when I reached the end. Admittedly a sad ending. But, this is about life! love and loss. Read it!
This is one of those books which draws one in, I felt a sense of loss when I reached the end. Admittedly a sad ending. But, this is about life! love and loss. Read it!
An interesting narrative of homosexuality in Argentina. Although, call me a prude, but it was a little heavy on the descriptions of sex for me. It was fun to read whilst in Buenos Aires though, recognizing the streets they walk down.
Part of the appeal of the book was that I read it while in Argentina, but I think that even if I hadn't I still would have enjoyed it. It was easy to read, but the writing was good and it had enough twists to keep it interseting.
Beautiful story, At times you think its a gay love story, then other times you think its a war story, but both aspects intertwine well, and show survival and strength through the secrecy of sexuality and the surroundings of war.
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Rambling and depressing, I'm not sure what the point was.
...or else I know what the point was, and I'm not sure I like that point.
...or else I know what the point was, and I'm not sure I like that point.
A very bleak book about a gay man's double life in Buenos Aires. You need to be in the right frame of mind for this one.
hard to find good gay fiction...this one in Argentina... well worth the read.
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(From the authors website - http://www.colmtoibin.com/content/biogra... )
"Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. Out of his experience in Barcelona be produced two books, the novel ‘The South’ (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/ Aer Lingus...more
More about Colm Tóibín...
"Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. Out of his experience in Barcelona be produced two books, the novel ‘The South’ (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/ Aer Lingus...more
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