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The Blackwater Lightship

by Colm Tóibín

3.81 · rating details · 861 ratings · 116 reviews

It is Ireland in the early 1990s. Helen, her mother, Lily, and her grandmother, Dora have come together to tend to Helen's brother, Declan, who is dying of AIDS. With Declan's two friends, the six of them are forced to plumb the shoals of their own histories and to come to terms with each other.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, The Blackwater Lightship is a deeply reso

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Paperback, 288 pages

Published June 5th 2001 by Scribner (first published 1999)

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Aug 10, 2011

Autumn rated it

The Blackwater Lightship is a lovely book. Set in Ireland in the early 1990s, it's the story of three women (Helen, Lily, and Dora), come together to care for their brother, son, and grandson (Declan) as he suffers perhaps the end of his struggle with AIDS. Along with two friends of Declan, the six of them spend the week together, telling stories of their lives and putting old demons to rest.

This sounds like a serious book, and it is. Matters of life, death, and especially family his...moreThe Blackwater Lightship is a lovely book. Set in Ireland in the early 1990s, it's the story of three women (Helen, Lily, and Dora), come together to care for their brother, son, and grandson (Declan) as he suffers perhaps the end of his struggle with AIDS. Along with two friends of Declan, the six of them spend the week together, telling stories of their lives and putting old demons to rest.

This sounds like a serious book, and it is. Matters of life, death, and especially family history, shape who the characters (and we) are to a huge extent, and that's serious business. However, real life is not all drama, and neither is this book. There are very funny parts as well--Dora learning to drive a car jumps immediately to mind.

Toibin is a lovely writer. I envy his command of language; the words are chosen precisely-there is no doubt at any point what idea or feeling he is trying to convey. I love that his characters feel so very real. Lily, mother to Helen and daughter to Dora, and unrepentant homophobe, could have been an easily disliked and unsympathetic character... but she's not. Toibin makes the reader think by also making her a determinedly loving mother and daughter. She has flaws, large ones, in fact, but her redeeming characters make her difficult to hate. By contrast, as the main character, Helen would have been very easy to write as heroine: she lives as urban life, with a varied list of friends, she knew her brother was gay and didn't care, she feels herself betrayed by her mother's actions in the past... but she's also unbending in her prejudices vis'a'vis her personal past. She accepts that her brother is gay, yes... but why didn't he tell her that he had AIDS? She holds her husband and children back from her while simultaneously clinging to them. Helen is allowed to be a real woman with her own issues.

The beauty of this story is in the backstories of the characters and how the lessons of their individual pasts are either recognized or unrecognized by the character him/herself, and how those lessons are interpreted by the others. Especially helpful is seeing a situation through multiple eyes: Helen's father's death, many years before, was formational in the lives of many of the characters, and seeing that time through multiple sets of eyes is sobering. What seems to be a given to Helen is viewed very differently through Lily's eyes, or Dora's, and is a sharp reminder that our personal perceptions aren't reality.

One thing that I'm only noticing now is that we 'hear' stories from everyone except Declan. I wonder why that is? Now I have to re-read, and it will be a joy. There are layers of meaning in this slight, 273 page book. It is a marvel. I give this an enthusiastic four coffee cups out of five.(less)

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May 25, 2011

Gail added it

For some time then, no one would appear in this landscape; the sea would roar softly and withdraw without witnesses or spectators. It did not need her watching, and in these hours, she thought, or during the long reaches of the night, the sea was more itself, monumental and untouchable. It was clear to her now, as though all week had been leading up to the realisation, that there was no need for people, that it did not matter whether there was people or not. The world would go on. The virus that...more

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Apr 30, 2011

Tony rated it

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

Toibin, Colm. THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP. (1999). ***.
This novel by a gay Irish writer explores the dynamics of a dysfunctional family when they are faced with AIDS contracted by one of their members. The horror of the disease causes all the members of the family to return to their birthplace to minister to the needs of Declan – the individual who has AIDS and is on the inevitable downward cycle of the disease. The meeting place is Declan’s grandmother’s house. Gramma is there, along ...more

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Oct 19, 2010

Cheree rated it

Well drawn characters — sometimes unlikeable but always recognisable. Sparse writing creates space enough for rich story to develop. The relationships between three tough generations of women are examined and juxtaposed against the nurturing, loving relationship of the three male friends. In fact, all the male characters exhibit strong (shall we say) feminine traits.

Physically absent, but emotionally omnipresent is the character of the main protagonist’s father, characterised by the Bl...more

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May 15, 2010

Holly rated it

Story of an Irish family in the 90s coping w/ AIDs; three strong women try to cope w/ the eminent loss of a grandson/son/brother while reconciling a lifetime of differences.

This book is beautifully written; I've noticed that many pick perfect phrases from Toibin's books to quote. He writes prose that describes human interaction in a fresh and searing way that avoids being dry, been-there-done-that. Also, his use of imagery is excellent and perfectly timed. Grandmother Dora lives on t...more

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Nov 14, 2009

Danielle Arostegui rated it

The Blackwater Lightship is a difficult novel to describe in a few words. On the surface it tells the story of Helen, her estranged mother Lily, her grandmother, and her brother Declan whose revelation of his lifetime struggle with AIDS forces the family back under one roof for the first time in a decade. Underneath the harrowing and, at times, graphic descriptions of Declan's losing battle with the disease, there is an entire other story centered on communication, and particularly the breakdown...moreThe Blackwater Lightship is a difficult novel to describe in a few words. On the surface it tells the story of Helen, her estranged mother Lily, her grandmother, and her brother Declan whose revelation of his lifetime struggle with AIDS forces the family back under one roof for the first time in a decade. Underneath the harrowing and, at times, graphic descriptions of Declan's losing battle with the disease, there is an entire other story centered on communication, and particularly the breakdown in communication that has occurred over three generations of women in this family. It is a novel where the strong masculine character is missing- Helen's father died of cancer when she was young, her grandfather died some time thereafter, and her husband is out of town with her sons for the duration of the story. The three males who are involved in the story are gay and the two friends take on the mothering role for the sick and child-like Declan. Despite much of the criticism of the novel which views it as an AIDS narrative, I would argue that Declan's story, far from being central, is in fact almost incidental to the main plot: the confrontation between the three women, and particularly Helen and her mother. Declan is, more than anything, a plot device to bring the women together.

Toibin's prose is sparse and devoid of extraneous flourishes. The influence of Hemingway is clear in his pared down style. This makes it an easy story read, but also one that does not waste words on amusements for the reader. In this way there is a correspondence between the style and thematic content of the story. The theme of communication is reiterated constantly in a variety of ways, from Helen's chilly reserve to the frequent repetition of communication verbs, and even down to the almost secretive way in which the narrator reveals information in the story: there is much that is never fully communicated to the reader. I enjoyed The Blackwater Lightship particularly for its adherence to the central conflict and for the effective use of symbolism that Toibin employs. However, it is not for the faint of heart or the easily bored. Descriptions of Declan's symptoms are not glossed over, nor does Toibin make up for the haunting emptiness of his prose with snappy witticisms. Read it for the poignant story of family troubles and for a glance into one of the first AIDS narratives in Ireland, not for the entertainment value.(less)

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Aug 16, 2009

yb rated it

I decided to read this based on Toibin's short story in the Book of Other People. In fourteen painful, exquisite pages he created a character, a history, and a sense of loss that it would take most writers a novel to accomplish. And so in the space of a novel, he is able to explore fully the fractured relationship between three women - the protagonist, her mother, and her mother's mother - against the backdrop of her 30 year old brother's battle with AIDS. The characters are all deeply flawed...more

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Oct 12, 2007

Angela rated it

Something about the way he writes really resonates with me - this is the way I would like to write myself. People without a patience for "quiet" writing might find it boring, though - there's lot of family drama in this novel, but that still doesn't change the fact that it's overall rather understated.

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Oct 29, 2009

Yulia rated it

Shelves: gay-lit

This beautiful novel chronicles a week in the lives of its characters as they try to comfort their mutual connection, Declan, a man in his late 20s dying of AIDS and running out of time to see long-standing conflicts be put aside between his sister, mother and grandmother, all of whom are estranged from one other for over a decade because of reasons even they cannot quite articulate or understand. Aided by two friends who've been looking after him long before his family suspected anything was w...more

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Oct 24, 2011

Joanmom rated it

Shelves: novel, favorite

Truly a wonderful book. The only similarity between this book and Toibin's Brooklyn is his insight into family dynamics. This story is about families and true friendships. The "hero" in my opinion is really Declan, who suddenly contacts his estranged family (meaning everyone is estranged from everyone else) with the news that he is gay, has AIDS, is very sick, and wants to see them. He and two close gay friends certainly change the atmosphere of his old granny's seaside home. She turns...more

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Jan 09, 2010

Lauren Albert rated it

Shelves: fiction

I've always disliked segmenting literature: "Jewish American fiction"; "Gay fiction." Good fiction is as close to universal as is possible no matter who the characters are. Toibin shows an estranged family coming together over the impending death of one of its members. The fact that Declan, the ill brother, has AIDS mostly matters only in that it is a terrible terminal illness that causes suffering. The central fact is that Declan is loved by his family and friends and tha...more

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Mar 13, 2011

Jay rated it

Shelves: literature-english-language

There are three contemporary authors writing in English whom I find extraordinarily engaging: Cormac McCarthy, Tim Winton and Colm Tóibín . They are all stylistically brilliant and all three weave worlds that address significant issues regarding the human condition. All, also, have received significant recognition for the quality of their production. Among that recognition, McCarthy by Pulitzer; Winton and Tóibín , by Man Booker.

Cormac McCarthy’s writing is probably the more unconve...moreThere are three contemporary authors writing in English whom I find extraordinarily engaging: Cormac McCarthy, Tim Winton and Colm Tóibín . They are all stylistically brilliant and all three weave worlds that address significant issues regarding the human condition. All, also, have received significant recognition for the quality of their production. Among that recognition, McCarthy by Pulitzer; Winton and Tóibín , by Man Booker.

Cormac McCarthy’s writing is probably the more unconventional. He is less attentive to traditional grammar, punctuation and style. And the worlds he created are categorically darker, disheartening. Even in the comparatively brighter Border Trilogy (brighter than, say, “The Orchard Keeper”, “No Country for Old Men” or “Blood Meridian”), John Grady Cole and Billy Parham in the final volume are clearly marching into the postapocalyptic future of “The Road”. Hope and redemption dissipate in the ravaged earth.

Hope—or at least thoughtful resignation and conditional re redemption—survive in Tim Winton and in Colm Tóibín’s worlds. The futures their people face are not suffocatingly black. It would be difficult to imagine one of McCarthy’s people writing about his life in retrospect as did Bruce Pike in “Breath”: “And though I’ve lived to be an old man with my own share of happiness for all the mess I made….”

Tim Winton, compared to McCarthy is a more academic writer—at least in terms of the mechanics of writing. But like McCarthy, his prose is ultimately lyrical. It is clear and expressive—beautifully poetic that never misses a beat. So is Tóibín’s writing poetic. Tóibín’s writing, however, is also more elliptical than that of the other two writers. It moves quietly—stealthfully—page to page, focusing on what appears to be the mundane, on minutiae. In “The Blackwater Lightship”, Tóibín describes, at the beginning of the novel, Helen’s preparations for a party. The preparations seem to be limited to the delivery and the final pick up of chair and tables. But that economy of description ultimately explodes in the reader more than the words would seem to do. Tóibín , with his words, is a bit like Picasso with his brushes during his cubist period. He throws them out on the page, seemingly disordered and unrelated but re-structured to have them recomposed in the reader’s mind, infused with sudden insights and complex visions.

The physical environment also plays a different role with each of the three. For Winton, the physical environment is integral to his plots. With the exception of “The Riders”, his novels unfold in Western Australia—in the narrow stretch of land sandwiched between the western sea and the eastern desert. It is a within that littoral that the bulk of Western Australians live. But that said, the waters of the ocean and of the rivers that empty into it are a living presence in Winton’s writings. In “Breath”, the ocean and its waters dominate. But they play a role in his other works as well, linked often to the very souls of his characters.

In contrast to Winton, the physical environment for McCarthy and Tóibín are more simply stages on which their stories unfold. McCarthy’s plots play out in specific regions in the United States—in the Appalachians and, starting with Blood Meridian, the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. Tóibín is more varied, with stories set in Argentina, the United States and Europe. But Toíbín and McCarthy’s characters are not entwined inexorably to their environments as are Winton’s. For Tóibín and McCarthy, place helps define the themes but it does not control them.

With their differences, the three writers are similar in regard to their voices. For example, Tóibín’s “Blackwater Lightship”, “Brooklyn” and “The Story of the Night” are more about emotion, thought and communication than about action. But the same is also true of McCarthy and Winton’s novels. All three tell engaging and compelling stories. But those stories engage and compel because they embroil the reader in the very themes of life. They all translate into works the same questions Paul Gauguin asked in paint: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
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Mar 21, 2008

Jon rated it

Shelves: read-recommended

Devastatingly good book. Was taken in from the very beginning to the end. Colm has definitely become one of my favorite authors.

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May 22, 2008

Padraic rated it

Shelves: ireland, read-and-loved

No one writes like Colm Toibin. Don't let the Hallmark TV version scare you away either. It weren't half bad....

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Apr 26, 2011

Sandra Lawson rated it

· review of another edition

I found Colm Toibin's 'The Blackwater Lightship' enlightening and heartbreaking. It's like working outwards through the ripples in a pond as he expands the story to encompass Helen's relationships with her family and her dying brother's friends. In 'Tradition and the Individual Talent' T S Eliot believes that 'the past should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past'. In this novel Helen journeys back to her past, examines it in the light of present occurences ...more

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Jan 13, 2010

Liz (Consumed by Books) rated it

Shelves: 5-star, own, class-twentieth-century-irish-litra

The Blackwater Lightship is a story that any reader can relate to. This is my first book by Colm Toibin and I definitely plan on checking out more by him. I've come out of this book not only feeling impressed, but as though I know the characters.

Toibin creates a solid plot which feels realistic and well-constructed. Themes of family and friendship play a major role in this novel when Declan, the brother of the main character Helen, becomes sick with AIDS and the struggle brings to...more

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Nov 09, 2008

Gary added it

One of those life-affirming novels that leaves you depressed but glad to be alive. I think...

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Apr 22, 2010

Courtney Johnston rated it

Shelves: borrowed, fiction

Reminded me strongly of Anne Enright's 'The Gathering', which is unfair, given this was published several years earlier.

There's also a restraint to Toibin's writing that I enjoy - not the diamond-hard sparseness of Cormac MacCarthy, but a reluctance to embroider adjectives on every sentence that doesn't result in any lack of power.

But why read what I have to say when you can read himself yourself - try him out with this recent review of the Marina Abramovic show at MoMA.

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Aug 22, 2011

Deanie rated it

A subtle, simple novel. The pace is slow, but the story is never boring. The writing is superb and light, but there's so much intrigue and emotion under the surface elements of the novel. The novel deals with homosexuality and AIDS but never once did I feel like I was being preached to or overwhelmed by these hot-button issues. At the core, this novel is simply a story of love and family. On another note, the descriptions of the Irish seaside town and house are lovely; they made me nostalgi...more

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Nov 13, 2010

Elizabeth Quinn rated it

This was my first book by Tóibín, and I quite liked it. It's a melancholy story about a fractured family that illustrates again what seems to be, contrary to the stereotypes held by many Americans, a pathological reticence in the Irish. In this story, the family's only male, Declan, is dying of AIDs, something that comes as news to his sister Helen, their mother Lily, and their grandmother. Helen and Lily have been estranged for years, but the family gathers, along with two of Declan's friends w...more

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Jan 28, 2009

Lanea rated it

Shelves: celtic-studies, fiction

Tóibín is one of the finest English-language writers I've come across. I first encountered him as the editor of a great anthology called Soho Square 6 (it's a series--if you can lay hands on a copy of this issue, do). I've been following Tóibín since, and he never disappoints, on the page or in person. I've been fortunate enough to go to a few lectures and symposia that Tóibín also attended, and his insight into the work of writers is immense. He got his start as a journalist, and his attent...moreTóibín is one of the finest English-language writers I've come across. I first encountered him as the editor of a great anthology called Soho Square 6 (it's a series--if you can lay hands on a copy of this issue, do). I've been following Tóibín since, and he never disappoints, on the page or in person. I've been fortunate enough to go to a few lectures and symposia that Tóibín also attended, and his insight into the work of writers is immense. He got his start as a journalist, and his attention to detail and depth is clear throughout his work. And while I try not to harp on an artist's sexuality most of the time, Tóibín's homosexuality is very important in his work.

As I've mentioned in the past, I occasionally go on reading sprees, wherein I accidentally or intentionally read a series of books on a given theme. I've intentionally read only the work of women for a year, I've read books on water, books on dogs, only poetry, etc.

A month or so ago, I accidentally started reading about young men dying in tragic ways. I had to consciously put an end to the cycle almost as soon as it started.

In this book, an Irish family is wrecked by the death of a young father. Decades later, the fractured family is reunited by illness when the son/brother confesses both his homosexuality and his declining health as his HIV turns to AIDS. It's all very 90s, open-minded, brave Dublin goodness.

Except that no one is heroic or even all that "good" in the novel. Mother, son, daughter, grandmother, and friends are all grimy and broken and wrong, just like in real life.

The novel opens in Dublin and then shifts to Enniscorthy on the southeast coast of Ireland. Declan, the son/brother /patient/friend, asks to be taken to his grandmother's shore-side house to convalesce. His friends and longstanding caretakers come into conflict with the women of Declan's family. Good smoldering anger throughout. I won't give away much more, but will say that there is only the one death in the book--the death of the protagonists' father when they are children. That was a welcome relief.

And on the title--The Blackwater Lightship was a lighthouse in Cush, which served as a counterpart to the Tuskar Lighthouse . The Blackwater Lightship was removed years ago, but Declan and his sister Helen reminisce about the two lighthouses illuminating their grandmother's house at night when they were children. The twin sources of light are, of course, significant in the novel. Nuff said.(less)

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Jun 05, 2010

Pat rated it

I can't say i liked this book. I felt irritated with the women. I thought some of the most interesting characters made their appearance at the beginning at a party and never came back.

As a study of mother-daughter relations over generations it seemed over simplistic.

I felt outside of all the characters especially Declin, woh was pivotal to the reunion.

The beginning captured me, then I felt let down. Maybe I am missing something.

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Aug 18, 2010

Boyce rated it

This is a wonderful book by a wonderful author. Not only is Tóibín an excellent writer (he's Irish), as in maker of fine prose, he is as careful an observer as I've read in some time. This is a sad story, three generations of women, a brother and his two friends, sickness and impending death, but so beautifully told that the pages turn themselves.
I loved The Master and will get my hands on Brooklyn as soon as possible. Read him.

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Jan 04, 2011

Chel Hartrick rated it

Shelves: read-in-2011, bookmooch

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 07, 2011

Lori Bamber rated it

Shelves: read-in-2011

Life is hard, and people make terrible mistakes that damage those around them. In this moving, deeply intimate story, grief and courage create a path on which forgiveness can slowly, painfully, falteringly, incrementally be forged.

Colm Toibin writes emotion so vividly that it is the rare reader, I'm guessing, that won't see themselves in at least one of the brilliant characters in The Blackwater Lightship.

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May 28, 2011

SillySuzy rated it

Shelves: general-fiction

Rather depressing story about a man dying of AIDS and the people around him. Toibin does a wonderful job describing the tensions between Dora, Lily and Helen caused by things that happened in the past and they do find a way to come to terms with one another, but maybe this story is a little bit too close to home for me and I was glad when I had finished the last page and could put it away.

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Sep 08, 2011

Rosebud rated it

· review of another edition

Wonderful little Irish story of 3 generations of women,Mrs. Devereux, Lily and Helen, who come together as their grandson/son/brother needs them when he is dying of AIDS. His 2 close friends, Larry and Paul, teach these women how to communicate honestly with each other, finally, so they can have a future together beyond just loving Declan. Good writing and true frustrations of family relationships.

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Oct 28, 2011

Lisa rated it

Shelves: irish-ireland, literary

So glad I've discovered Colm Toibin. I've loved all three of his books that I've read: The Empty Family, Brooklyn, and now Blackwater Lightship. You really get a feel for Ireland and the Irish. He is also very good at portraying the complexities of family relationships. Blackwater Lightship is about a family and friends getting together when the son is dying of AIDS. Sounds really depressing, but oddly, it's not.

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Dec 22, 2008

Paul Gilbert rated it

Recommended by a professor during our discussion of Sizwe's Test. I really like Colm Toibin's writting but the characters here aren't very likable. Near the middle of the book they just seemed like deeply flawed, psychologically damaged people--and there are plenty of those folks in real life--but the ending was quite good. Not artificial or sugar-coated, but just like how we all move on with our lives.

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Jun 20, 2011

Susan Kavanagh rated it

Shelves: irish

Another grand book from this incredible writer. Toibin's draws characters so real this reader feels like she is in the room with them. This novel engendered a 20-minute discussion over brunch about a character's relationship with her mother and grandmother. What more could one ask for from literature? The subtle ending is terrific. Read it!

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About Colm Tóibín

(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(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 First Fiction Award) and ‘Homage to Barcelona’, both published in 1990. When he returned to Ireland in 1978 he worked as a journalist for ‘In Dublin’, ‘Hibernia’ and ‘The Sunday Tribune’, becoming features editor of ‘In Dublin’ in 1981 and editor of Magill, Ireland’s current affairs magazine, in 1982. He left Magill in 1985 and travelled in Africa and South America. His journalism from the 1980s was collected in ‘The Trial of the Generals’ (1990). His other work as a journalist and travel writer includes ‘Bad Blood: A Walk Along the Irish Border’ (1987) and ‘The Sign of the Cross: Travels in Catholic Europe’ (1994). His other novels are: ‘The Heather Blazing (1992, winner of the Encore Award); ‘The Story of the Night’ (1996, winner of the Ferro-Grumley Prize); ‘The Blackwater Lightship’ (1999, shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Prize and the Booker Prize and made into a film starring Angela Lansbury); ‘The Master’ (2004, winner of the Dublin IMPAC Prize; the Prix du Meilleur Livre; the LA Times Novel of the Year; and shortlisted for the Booker Prize); ‘Brooklyn’ (2009, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year). His short story collections are ‘Mothers and Sons’ (2006, winner of the Edge Hill Prize) and ‘The Empty Family (2010). His play ‘Beauty in a Broken Place’ was performed at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin in 2004. His other books include: ‘The Modern Library: the 200 Best Novels Since 1950’ (with Carmen Callil); ‘Lady Gregory’s Toothbrush’ (2002); ‘Love in a Dark Time: Gay Lives from Wilde to Almodovar’ (2002) and ‘All a Novelist Needs: Essays on Henry James’ (2010). He has edited ‘The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction’. His work has been translated into thirty languages. In 2008, a book of essays on his work ‘Reading Colm Toibin’, edited by Paul Delaney, was published. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ulster and from University College Dublin. He is a regular contributor to the Dublin Review, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books. In 2006 he was appointed to the Arts Council in Ireland. He has twice been Stein Visiting Writer at Stanford University and also been a visiting writer at the Michener Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently Leonard Milberg Lecturer in Irish Letters at Princeton University.

Colm Toibin’s collection of stories ‘The Empty Family’ will be published in the UK in October 2010 and in the US and Canada in January 2011. His collection of essays on Henry James, ‘All a Novelist Needs’ will be published in November 2010."(less)

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