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Nora Webster

Colm Tóibín

3.59 · Rating details · 17,646 ratings · 2,591 reviews

From one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed and beloved authors comes this magnificent new novel set in a small town in Ireland in the 1960s, where a fiercely compelling, too-young widow and mother of four moves from grief, fear, and longing to unexpected discovery. Toibin's portrayal of the intricacy and drama of ordinary lives brings to mind of the work of Alice ...more

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Hardcover, 384 pages

Published October 14th 2014 by Scribner (first published October 2014)

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Jul 23, 2014 Julie Christine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ireland-theme-setting, read-2014, best-of-2014, historical-fiction

Most of us lead lives of quiet desperation, knocked about every so often by rude shocks or lifted up by brief, brilliant joys. But our quotidian troubles and triumphs rarely create ripples beyond our own little ponds.

As readers, we often gravitate toward lives played out on a grander scale—adventures, dalliances, crimes, and misdemeanors far more colorful than our own. But reader, if you haven’t experienced the transcendent storytelling of Ireland’s Colm Tóibín, you may not know what it’s like t Most of us lead lives of quiet desperation, knocked about every so often by rude shocks or lifted up by brief, brilliant joys. But our quotidian troubles and triumphs rarely create ripples beyond our own little ponds.

As readers, we often gravitate toward lives played out on a grander scale—adventures, dalliances, crimes, and misdemeanors far more colorful than our own. But reader, if you haven’t experienced the transcendent storytelling of Ireland’s Colm Tóibín, you may not know what it’s like to feel the earth tilt with the most subtle of emotional tremors.

The story unfolds in rural County Wexford in 1969. Nora Webster, mother of four, is mourning the recent death of her husband, Maurice. She hasn’t worked outside the home in twenty-five years, has neither savings nor higher education and cannot look to extended family to support her, her two daughters pursuing University, or the two boys still at home. The outlook is grim.

She cherished her husband, and her anguish, though closely guarded, is breathtaking. But grief has coated Nora’s emotions with a thin sheen of ice. She longs to escape the endless parade of neighborhood mourners, to simply be left in peace. She regards her young sons, Donal and Conor, with a clinician’s distance and her older daughters, Aine and Fiona, with cautious exasperation. It occurs to her belatedly that she did not once visit or call the boys in the two months they stayed with an aunt while she remained at Maurice’s bedside. She accepts her neglect as a fact, but her remorse is slow to come.

Nora’s reawakening is the found treasure in this elegant, softly spiritual story. Tóibín writes without judgment. His Nora is fierce, stronger than she has any idea of or experience with, but it takes her time to figure out how to straighten her formidable backbone. She also must learn how to accept and adapt to others’ grief, namely that of her children, for she is a jealous guardian of her husband’s memory and love.

There are so many rich moments that show a woman coming into her own: the book’s opening scenes when Nora decides to sell the family’s modest summer home; the simple acts of having her hair done in a new style, purchasing a hi-fi, or deciding to update the “back room” where the family spends most of its time. Nora deftly steers her way through office politics, using her connections and the sympathy her husband’s death elicits to secure her position at the largest business in town, and she rediscovers her singing voice, which makes a lovely metaphor for the discovery of her voice as a grown, independent woman. Her response to Donal’s meltdown when he is denied access to a television to watch the moon landing, her decision not to rescue him from the boarding school where he is so miserable, and her grudging respect for her daughters show a mother relearning compassion.

There are cultural touchstones that keep the reader grounded in place and time, reminding us that just as Nora is awakening to her independence and power, so too is Ireland wrestling with its political and cultural boundaries. The Troubles of early 1970s Ireland, where violence erupts across the border and closer to home, arrive on the Webster’s doorstep in ways you don’t expect from this portrayal of anonymous domestic life.

Nora Webster caused me to reflect on another Nora who entered my literary life this year: Nora Eldridge from Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs. What emotional bookends they make to my reading year: one Nora, driven by lust and longing into a state of rage and self-loathing; the other, slowly awakening to her own keen possibilities. Both Noras are compelling, their stories crafted by superb writers. And each is a reminder that the quiet lives, the secret lives, are often the most astonishing of all.

I recall what Tóibín said about his writing after the publication of his last novel, The Testament of Mary. He stated that he writes the silence; the space between words. God, but I love that. For Tóibín is a master of the quiet dramas that unfold in kitchens and bedrooms, in back offices, in church naves and cafés. He takes the ordinary, and with sublime writing and rich characters, changes our way of perceiving the world.
...more

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Oct 18, 2014 Laura rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Another admirable book that I wish I could say I enjoyed more than I did. I understand that Nora is grieving and that we can only assume she loved her husband, although there’s scant evidence to support this. I have no idea why seemingly perfect Maurice would ever have married Nora, but let’s assume she was a vivacious, engaged spouse before grief took away any semblance of personality. But the Nora we spend 373 pages with is one passive, emotionally estranged individual. I suppose she’s let gri ...more

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Sep 12, 2014 Ron Charles rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Colm Tóibín’s most recent book was about a grieving woman, too. But she was the mother of Jesus Christ, so the stakes seemed somewhat higher. In his new novel, “Nora Webster,” the Irish master has posed an entirely different challenge for himself: Rather than imagining the angry rant of the Virgin who changed human history, he describes a mother who never accomplishes anything unusual, never claims any position in the affairs of the world at all.

It’s far more believable and, ultimately, more mir ...more

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Jun 15, 2018 Steven Godin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ireland, fiction

Apparently, Colm Tóibín wrote the first chapter of 'Nora Webster' in the spring of 2000, but didn't get to complete it fully until September 2013. Saying - "I thought about it every day in between, and wrote sections of it every year". This was a project that was clearly dear to him, and written in a way that shows a great love for his country. Sadly, all that time spent over one novel didn't result in the read I thought it would be. It's a personal, intimate story, the portrait of a grieving wo Apparently, Colm Tóibín wrote the first chapter of 'Nora Webster' in the spring of 2000, but didn't get to complete it fully until September 2013. Saying - "I thought about it every day in between, and wrote sections of it every year". This was a project that was clearly dear to him, and written in a way that shows a great love for his country. Sadly, all that time spent over one novel didn't result in the read I thought it would be. It's a personal, intimate story, the portrait of a grieving woman (Nora Webster) going through the process of finding herself again.

The novel is set in an Irish town in the late 1960s, with the political turmoil that plagued Northern Ireland beginning to rumble away like distant thunder beyond the horizon,.It focuses on Nora, a tough-minded Irish mother living in a country morphing dangerously towards the later Bloody Sunday. Explicitly, it is a powerful study of widowhood and grief, of a woman in her prime years, working out how she is going to live without the love of her life, her late husband, Maurice Webster, a schoolmaster. She would eventually find some comfort in music and singing, a path towards brightness, or some sort of new beginning seems to await her. Her life is never easy, with job problems, trying to stay strong whilst raising her children, and wondering whether love could ever blossom again. She finds that friends become a bigger part of her life than ever before. And slowly starts to become more outgoing, like quiz nights, and weekends away.

Nora is like most of her people, stuck in a world of priests, petty small-town rivalries and the kind of provincial boredom that is almost redeemed by the torments of frustration. Tóibín shows with a deft touch how Nora, imprisoned in her grief and her widowhood, becomes maddened by the tyranny of neighbours condolences and stifling behaviour, and is increasingly desperate to escape.
The sad thing is, not a lot changes throughout the novel, she is stuck, only slowly gaining some sort of happiness or relieve towards the end.

The narrative is definitely in the slow-burning category, with the tone being a sombre one.
For the most part, I was impressed with his writing, but he did tend to lean slightly into the walls of sentimentality more that it warranted. Aside from the little things, the biggest problem I has was it felt too long. Seemed to linger on moments here and there that didn't feel necessary. One good thing I will say, is that the character of Nora herself is somebody you can easily understand, and take to heart. She is the heart of the story, and makes it all the more worthwhile.

I can't compare this to any other of Tóibín's work as this is my first. It's probably 50/50 as to whether I read him again. A sad and heartfelt novel, but far from being anything to remember in the long run. This could be film material, and follow 'Brooklyn' to the big screen. Whether it would gain enough interest though remains to be seen. ...more

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Oct 09, 2014 Laura McNeal rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I don't know how he does it. The sentences are deceptively plain, and at first the novel feels almost colorless, odorless, mute. If you tried to explain the plot to someone, and you said, "It's about an Irish woman with four children whose husband dies while she's in her 40's," and you said that she didn't meet anyone or fall in love again, and there's no adultery, no startling revelation, no reversal, no trip to India or the Appalachian trail or the Outback, the book might sound as if it has no ...more

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Apr 07, 2014 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In plain and unsentimental prose, Toibin gives us the story of a woman, Nora Webster, whose husband of many years has died. Leaving her alone, with two younger boys and two older daughters, she must find her way through life for herself and her children.

I enjoyed this quiet and unassuming novel, watching Nora and the boys change as Nora learns to live her own life. I loved the moment, three years later, when she realizes she can do what she wants now, that there is no one who can tell her she ca ...more

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Aug 22, 2014 Leslie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: family-ties, fiction, friendships, drama, historical-fiction, first-read, women-s-fiction

I wanted to like Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín, but in the end I was left disappointed by the book. This was one of those books that from the start I never got into. Disconnected would be the word I would use to describe my feelings on the story. I was reading the story but I never felt anything towards it. The end result was the complete opposite of what I was expecting from the book when I read its synopsis.

I wanted to feel something for the title character, Nora Webster. I was looking to read h I wanted to like Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín, but in the end I was left disappointed by the book. This was one of those books that from the start I never got into. Disconnected would be the word I would use to describe my feelings on the story. I was reading the story but I never felt anything towards it. The end result was the complete opposite of what I was expecting from the book when I read its synopsis.

I wanted to feel something for the title character, Nora Webster. I was looking to read her life after the death of her husband, Maurice, and how it impacted her both as a widow and a single mother of two young boys, Donal and Conor. As it was, I didn’t get the sense of where she was mentally and emotionally. The story was missing the heart, emotions. To me, the story was just telling us what Nora was doing in terms of the day-to-day errands. I didn’t get a feel of her as a person, as wife, a widow, and mother. In fact, I was surprised at how hands off and at times even ambivalent she was towards her sons. I think that just encompassed my issue with the book, is the disconnect and the flatness of the story. There wasn’t anything regarding the characters and the story that grabbed me. Perhaps there was something there with Donal that could’ve been touched more upon with his stuttering (possible cause or trigger mechansim), his love of photography (although it did focus some time on it but it was from the perspective of Nora which didn’t lend any intrigue to the matter) and his and Conor’s distance with their mother. Unfortunately, it didn’t go into too much detail which I felt could’ve added some depth and interst in the story. As I was reading the book, I kept hoping that some switch will turn on and the story will be infused with some passion or some sort of spark that will liven up the reading. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen and by the time the last few pages were coming up I was hurriedly reading through to get to the end.

Perhaps the fact that the story took place in Ireland during the ‘60s may have affected how the characters and story were perceived by me. It could be that I just didn’t understand how things were back then there and therefore is the reason why I feel the way I do about the book. Either way, in the end I didn’t enjoy the book. The writing was good but the story as whole didn’t make me feel anything.

*Received Advance Reader's Edition from Goodreads First Reads giveaway ...more

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Aug 01, 2015 Paula rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: booker-prize-nominee, andrew-carnegie-nominee, published-2014, cultural, favorite-books, ireland, costa-book-award-nominee, audio-book, award-winner, literary-fiction

What a wonderfully written book. Nora Webster takes you on a journey of an Irish woman who looses her husband and rediscovers her love of music. During this journey, she starts to understand her children and others with more compassion and interest in their lives.

Colm Toibin, short-listed twice for the Man Booker prize, did not disappoint with Nora Webster. One of the Washington Post's five Best Audiobooks of 2014, Nora Webster is a wonderful listening experience. The lovely voice of Nora is rea ...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Rebecca rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-bookkaholic

A subtle portrait of a bereaved family in late 1960s Ireland. Nora, 40, has lost her husband Maurice to sudden illness. Repressing her own grief, she helps her four children move on. She will sell the summer house, get a job, and try to maintain a semblance of normality: vacations in Ireland and Spain, hobbies, and the school year’s rhythms. But how to keep going when life has lost all purpose? “When she asked herself what she was interested in, she had to conclude that she was interested in not ...more

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Aug 21, 2014 Carol rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Virtually nothing of interest happens in this book. It is a long slog of a widow's daily life and her trials and tribulations which don't amount to much. Nora has no notion of grace and appears ungrateful for all the efforts of people around her who try to help her through her endless grief. The other characters come and go leaving little impression at all.

Then we discover that during her husband's two-month illness, she left her two minor boys with an aunt and never once visited them or talked ...more

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Dec 31, 2014 Darlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I became a fan of writer, Colm Toibin, after reading his novel 'Brooklyn' several years ago. If you are a reader who prefers a story filled with action, then Mr. Toibin's writing is probably not for you. But if you are a reader, like me, who falls in love with characters, I think you will enjoy Mr. Toibin's latest novel, 'Nora Webster'.

In 'Nora Webster', Colm Toibin returns to his Irish home and the story takes place in Wexford, Ireland. The year is 1969 and against the backdrop of the lunar la I became a fan of writer, Colm Toibin, after reading his novel 'Brooklyn' several years ago. If you are a reader who prefers a story filled with action, then Mr. Toibin's writing is probably not for you. But if you are a reader, like me, who falls in love with characters, I think you will enjoy Mr. Toibin's latest novel, 'Nora Webster'.

In 'Nora Webster', Colm Toibin returns to his Irish home and the story takes place in Wexford, Ireland. The year is 1969 and against the backdrop of the lunar landing and the tensions beginning to come to a boil between Catholics and Protestants, we meet Nora Webster. Nora, a 40 year old wife and mother of four, has become widowed. Maurice, her husband of many years, has died after months of illness and Nora is shellshocked.

'Nora Webster' is a story about… simply put Nora Webster. Mr. Toibin has created Nora and then proceeds to dissect her character…. not in a clinical way; but instead in a way which almost lovingly demonstrates the true complexity of human nature. Nora's story is perhaps a common one… a woman married for many years becomes accustomed to having her life flow in a particular rhythm. Maurice, Nora and their children comprised what was in 1969, a typical family. Maurice was the breadwinner and Nora was the homemaker. Each relied on the other to perform particular duties and responsibilities… until Maurice died and Nora was left, not only filled with grief over the loss of the person she considered the 'love of her life' ; but also filled with fear… how would she be able to handle the doubling of her responsibilities… handle her life without her husband and partner?

Just as human beings are complex and multifaceted, Mr. Toibin has created a complex and multifaceted character in Nora Webster. At times, Nora wants to withdraw from society… from her life.. and simply focus on carrying out the routines that she and her two young sons are accustomed to…. almost as if nothing had happened… wishing that the mourners and well-wishers would leave her alone. At other times, she seems to desire to relinquish her responsibilities and decisions to her sister and brother-in-law, wishing for them to make decisions regarding her finances, her daughters' higher education and her sons' daily activities. Nora vacillates between completely focusing only on herself and her own feelings of fear and grief; then focusing on her sons' grief and obsessing over their behaviors. She seems almost clueless at times about what is happening in her children's lives; at other times, however, she is highly involved in what they are doing and seems full of insight into their feelings.

Through his use of simple, plain and yet exquisitely eloquent language, Mr. Toibin demonstrates his comprehension of the nature of grief. Nora is at times self-centered and absorbed completely in herself… but really, isn't that the true nature of grief? Does it not, at least for a time, cause a person to turn inward… toward her truest self? Nora is both overwhelmed and carried away by her grief and is at the same time, struggling to regain some control over her life. Mr. Toibin demonstrates, through Nora, that grief really IS a process which won't be rushed. Nora, over the course of the three years of this novel, turns inward to acknowledge all that has been lost to her; but then slowly turns outward again, realizing her life must continue. We see NOra evolve with every sentence … she begins as a woman full of self-doubt and afraid to make any decisions.She impulsively sells the family's vacation/summer home and then immediately worries what Maurice would think of her decision.. what her family and neighbors will think of her decisions, But ever so slowly, Nora begins to make decisions based on her OWN judgment and what SHE wants and what will be good for her children…. simple decisions such as dying her hair… to more weighty matters such as returning to the workforce. We see Nora slowly gain confidence and Nora's evolution is demonstrative of Mr. Toibin's ever-present sensitivity and his ability to truly understand human emotion. Through Nora Webster , Mr. Toibin demonstrates his understanding his understanding that grief is not a process which occurs in a straight line; Nora experienced the very real 'two steps forward, one step back' in her grieving. Through her grief, she allowed herself to look inside and pull up those qualities that she had forgotten she possessed and in doing so, she literally 'found her voice'.

Although Nora Webster was not always a likable character, she WAS always understandable and sympathetic.. proof once again of Colm Toibin's remarkable talent for creating realistic, 'flesh and blood' feeling characters. ...more

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Sep 29, 2019 Peter Boyle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: irish

I can't believe it took me so long to get around to Colm Tóibín. Within a few pages I was fully immersed in this tale of love and sorrow in a small Irish village.

The story is set in 1969. Nora Webster, the mother of two girls and two younger boys, has just lost her husband Maurice. His death has left a huge hole in their lives. She worries about money and how she's going to provide for her family. Most of all, she's concerned about how her children will cope without her father. Her neighbours h I can't believe it took me so long to get around to Colm Tóibín. Within a few pages I was fully immersed in this tale of love and sorrow in a small Irish village.

The story is set in 1969. Nora Webster, the mother of two girls and two younger boys, has just lost her husband Maurice. His death has left a huge hole in their lives. She worries about money and how she's going to provide for her family. Most of all, she's concerned about how her children will cope without her father. Her neighbours have been helpful and sympathetic, but she feels nervous when they approach her after Mass, finding their pity "intrusive and hurtful." Nora's predicament forces her out of her comfort zone, and she gradually begins to fill the emptiness in unexpected ways.

We are left in no doubt about the feelings Nora had for Maurice. She thinks back to a happier time, when she was so proud to be standing at his side: "She loved that she had Maurice beside her, she loved how they were out together at a wedding wearing new clothes and that everyone in the party knew that she was married to him." Without him, she feels so lost, like she is "wandering in a sea of people with the anchor lifted." Nora has her own way of coping but she still worries about how his passing will affect the boys:
"She was aware now that the changes in their lives had come to seem normal to them. They did not have her sense of watching every scene, every moment for signs of what was missing, or what might have been. The death of their father had entered into a part of them that, as far as she could see, they were not aware of. They could not see how uneasy they were, and maybe no one but she could see it, yet it was something that would not leave them now, she thought, would not leave them for years."

I loved the way the story explored grief, it felt so honest and so perceptive. Things like how self-conscious it can make a person feel, the effort it takes to appear dignified and balanced when your whole world is falling apart. And I liked how there was no magic fix for Nora, she just battled through it all with courage and determination. It is a work of such compassion and elegance. If every Colm Tóibín novel is this good, I can't wait to read more. ...more

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Dec 17, 2014 Snotchocheez rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I'm just not understanding the raves on this one at all. The catch words from fellow Goodreaders that drew me to read Colm Tóibín's Nora Webster were poetic, understated, gorgeous, elegant bereavement, Olive Kitteridge (huh? Really? In what alternate literary universe could this hold a candle to Ms Strout's short-storied delight?)

I felt no connection at all to the titular Nora, a Wexford, Ireland (circa late 1960s) mother of four whose husband passes away from heart ailments. And I was totally ...more

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Jan 21, 2014 Angela M rated it really liked it · review of another edition

There is no end to the world as we know it , except that it feels this way to Nora Webster and her family as they suffer the loss of a husband and father . There is no violence here in Wexford, except there is in the cities around them . There is no major dramatic event in this place , except for what it seems to this family , but in the world at large a man is landing on the moon.

What I did find here was a quiet reflection on the everyday lives of people from the mundane of Nora's work in the o ...more

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Sep 17, 2014 switterbug (Betsey) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, booker-material

t's a modest elegance that pulls you along in this story of 40-ish Irish widow Nora Webster and her family in County Wexford, in Ireland. The gulf between wife and widowhood is daily captured by Nora's inscrutable, withdrawn demeanor and period of emotional turmoil. She is struggling to adjust without her husband, Maurice, who died three months ago. He was a fine teacher and a capable, loving partner, although he didn't share her love of music. It begins circa 1969; no dates are mentioned, but o t's a modest elegance that pulls you along in this story of 40-ish Irish widow Nora Webster and her family in County Wexford, in Ireland. The gulf between wife and widowhood is daily captured by Nora's inscrutable, withdrawn demeanor and period of emotional turmoil. She is struggling to adjust without her husband, Maurice, who died three months ago. He was a fine teacher and a capable, loving partner, although he didn't share her love of music. It begins circa 1969; no dates are mentioned, but one can assign it by historic events and people, and the story closes three years later.

Over the course of the novel, we settle deeper into the conventions and conceits of Nora's provincial family, and especially Nora herself, as she strives to emerge from her quiet despair and well-meaning but stifling cadre of support. She wants to be left alone with her inner life and her sons (she chose not to have a phone), but the visitors, while trickling to few now, continue to politely intrude. Tóibín's exquisite examination of the quotidian reveals a masterpiece of character and reflection. Reading this was like listening to movements of classical music in a minor key. Many are mentioned in the book, such as Schubert's hymn "To Music;" I was drawn to listen to it. The text, or the context of the novel, would fit neatly inside the hymn.

Nora's two nearly grown daughters, Fiona and Aine, and her two young sons, Donal and Conor, are her primary concerns. The two daughters seem to be confident and established, on to their own futures (although Fiona teaches close to home). Conor, the youngest son, and Donal, a few years older, (with a significant stammer) worry her the most. She wants to provide a steady life for them, but feels periodically inept. Her widow's fee is small (which increases), and the idea of going back to work after twenty years of marriage is grim. Then there's the idea of reconfiguring her social life, a tough one for the widow.

Nora seeks structure, a soothing coping strategy that provides consistency and limits. Every summer now, she takes her children to the beach at Curracloe for two weeks. When she starts working, Nora comes home for lunch (or tea), when the boys do, and is also there to prepare dinner at the end of the day. It's as if she is trying to protect others from experiencing her grief. Her sisters and other family members observe her anxiety, and she knows that they do. She just wishes everyone would leave her alone, and stop coming to visit her with their obligatory condescension.

When Maurice was dying at a TB clinic at the edge of town, she had left the boys with her Aunt Josie while she was at her husband's bedside for several months. After revisiting her aunt again early in the novel, Nora is wracked with a tremendous but nebulous psychological strain and fear. She feels something unsaid in the air, and a crushing suffocation from her thoughts about it. This ongoing duel with her inner self and the temporal world mounts with tension, and Tóibín's delicate distillation of prose down to its most spare essence allows the reader to meditate on the blank spaces, which corresponds to Nora's "world filled with absences." The voids threaten to topple over into discord at times; at other times, eloquent stillness. But she is rarely meek, just restrained by custom.

Nora is as bordered as a button, with deep-seated zones of repressed desire. There's no grand heroics in her baby steps toward spirited liberation, which makes her that much more relatable. Her private moments listening to music, close to trance-like in her enjoyment--even that has its limits for Nora. I held my breath at times, watching and waiting (hoping) for Nora to emerge from her shell, more fully realized.

As Nora gradually moves toward active engagement with the present, the music I hear picks up, and I hear a confident capriciousness at intervals. I was installed in Nora's rich, inner life--one that is stifled, boundless, and hesitantly optimistic. In an inner life, the contradictions are more congruous, spoken only to the self. That's not to say that Nora didn't have her outspoken, laconic wit; she also had moments of fierce independence and what others may think of as eccentric behavior. She wanted release from being everyone else's idea of a widow. Along the way, a nun, a music teacher, and a selfish young woman indirectly guide the taciturn widow forward toward her vocal talent.

Nora's doubts and mourning are expressed superbly in her response to music by Beethoven:

"The energy in the playing was sad, and then it became more than sad, as if there was something there and all three players recognized it and were moving towards it." "...she was sure someone had suffered, and moved away from suffering and then come back to it, let it linger and live within them." ...more

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Sep 15, 2014 Cheryl rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, library, fiction, ireland, goodreads-giveaway, both

This book settled on to me, and so I settled in to it.

You know when you’re younger, you think that - wherever you are - nothing happens here. Things happen elsewhere. But never here. It’s just regular stuff here. It’s just regular, plain old life. And you itch for the big L ‘Life’. When will that start?
Oooohhh, look, a bit of drama here, aah that wrinkle smooths out into the everyday fabric now, moving on.
Tragedy strikes, such a blow, how can one possibly cope, get over it, pick up with life’s ...more

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Jan 16, 2017 Ailsa rated it liked it · review of another edition

"This might of been what Maurice dreaded the most when he was dying, that there would come a time when he would not be missed, that they would all manage without him. He would be the one left out."

An unbearably intimate portrait of a woman grieving over the loss of her husband. Disconnected from her children and family she faces her neighbours' suffocating pity and struggles to find contentment. Nora is a nuanced character, sympathetic but not entirely likeable. It's almost painful to read her a ...more

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Jul 01, 2015 Mary rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, fiction, ireland

This is my second Toibin book and I had the same issues this time around: I mostly enjoyed it and wasn’t too bored, but when I finished I was just sort of 'meh' about the whole thing. I read that Toibin writes about silence and the subtle ways people interact with each other and deal with their pain. Those with families who suppress emotions will likely relate to this; those with fiery, door-slamming families will be left frustrated by the emptiness. I also read that Nora was partly based on Toi ...more

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Jun 24, 2019 GTF rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Although 'Nora Webster' showcases some of Tóibín's signature vivid writing, the novel is written under a very thin plot. For the most part, it is a dull account of one woman's stoicism following the death of her husband.

Firstly, I think that Tóibín should have given the protagonist of Nora Webster a wider range of emotion; her frequent passiveness and taciturn nature made her come across as apathetic a lot of the time. Secondly, the narration was not thought-provoking or profound enough to comp ...more

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Oct 04, 2014 Gearóid rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a really lovely book to read.

Colm Toibin seems to have a great insight into human nature.
In this book he really explores grief and loss and loneliness and
carrying on with life even after a real tragedy in a young family.

His characters are just so real and you really connect with them.
It was a very moving story and beautifully written with great descriptions
of the times which happen to be the times when i would have been the same age
as Nora Webesters sons and even have spent summer holid ...more

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Apr 18, 2016 Will Ansbacher rated it liked it · review of another edition

Sometimes as you pass in the street, your eyes meet a stranger's for a moment before you look away: it's nothing more than a shared acknowledgement of humanity. That fleeting interaction is at a level only slightly lower than the intensity generated in Colm Toibin's Nora Webster. But despite that, this is a book that slowly began to grow on me.

At the beginning Norah's husband Maurice has just died after a long and awful illness, leaving her with two older daughters Fiona and Aine, and two young Sometimes as you pass in the street, your eyes meet a stranger's for a moment before you look away: it's nothing more than a shared acknowledgement of humanity. That fleeting interaction is at a level only slightly lower than the intensity generated in Colm Toibin's Nora Webster. But despite that, this is a book that slowly began to grow on me.

At the beginning Norah's husband Maurice has just died after a long and awful illness, leaving her with two older daughters Fiona and Aine, and two younger sons Donal and Conor still at home; and we follow her through the next three years as she rebuilds her life. Beneath Nora’s quiet dignity and reserve is woman of few words but a sharp wit and heart of steely determination.
She was much in love with Maurice, though it was seemingly never really expressed in words. They were a close and happy family, Nora realizes now, without her ever having given it much thought previously. And now it is gone, yet not once does she even mention Maurice to her children, not so much as a "do you miss your father?" One Christmas, (this has to be at least two years after he died) she wonders whether to mention his name at the family gathering, but decides it would “sound too forced”. Nora’s way of dealing with the world is to not say anything.

You might think to weep for the lost opportunity to connect, but that’s not how it works. Well, of course the children miss him and know that their mother still loves them, it goes without saying doesn't it? Yes actually, it does; eventually you understand, like Nora, why there isn’t any point in talking about things that can’t be changed.

It's not just Norah who is so undemonstrative, this is conservative small-town Ireland, where nobody kisses, embraces or even seems to shake hands warmly; these are people who "nod to" each other. All around them is ferment – Northern Ireland exploding in protest (this is the early seventies), Bloody Sunday on TV right in their homes. But don’t look for drama and histrionics here: at one point they -including Fiona and her friend Paul - think that Aine is missing, perhaps caught up in one of the violent demonstrations; Norah "... realized that she was desperately worried". (She could not have said this to the others of course). After telling him how grateful she was for everything he had done to try and find Aine, she said to Paul:

“I am going home now to look after Conor, so I would really appreciate if you and Fiona phoned my sister to let me know when you have seen Aine”. He nodded. He seemed for a second almost afraid of her. She nodded to Fiona and left them.

Arrggggh! If that sounds like emotional constipation, well it is. But it's not the characters who are constipated, it's the writing itself. It’s flat and affectless, it meanders all over the map and drifts into pointless description. Even reading silently to yourself, you can’t help hearing it read in the voice of a monotonous bore. The blurb calls it “elegant in its simplicity” but that won’t wash; I think Toibin was trying to match his characters’ moods and didn’t manage to pull it off. (at least I hope this isn’t how he always writes – I was looking forward to Brooklyn).

It’s not just the style either. Toibin introduces too many disjointed incidents that seem to be concocted to show some aspect of Nora’s character, but are never linked in any way. A few are fine - her threat to picket the school when Conor is put in a lower class and her confrontation with the teachers allows Nora’s determination to shine through, but more of them are like her encounter with an unspeakably rude choirmaster. She’s briefly humiliated by it, and it later it turns out the man is apparently sorry for his rudeness, but the incident doesn’t lead anywhere at all.

There is some energy and tension in the final chapter, through physical pain that’s the result of Nora’s attempting to paint her ceilings. Through the painkillers and the sleeping pills she's prescribed, she re-lives the time long ago when she sat alone with her mother laid out after her death, and she has a waking dream in which Maurice has returned to talk to her. That final encounter helps her accept that Maurice has gone. It’s beautiful and I wish the rest of the book had been more like that.
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Feb 21, 2016 aPriL does feral sometimes rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: forgot-to-turn-on-the-oven, girly, dnf, waxed-floors-and-perfect-lipstick

‘Nora Webster’ is dull and slow. I get what the author was writing about - a woman coming out from under her old role as a wife and mother - but on the other hand, personally I've never been able to understand the small, scared tentative attempts to change while apparently being more terrified and concerned about the community's opinion. Some people care more about their surface appearances of emotion, apparently, than acting authentically, and Nora is one of these people. These kinds of women s ...more

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Jul 23, 2014 Linda rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads-giveaways, bookclub-grist

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway program in exchange for an unbiased review.

Unlike the majority who've read this book before me, I found this book about a widower of four children dull and lifeless. The story is about a grieving woman who must move forward after the death of her husband and put one foot in front of the other which she does very stoically with quiet but admirable strength. Nora very slowly transforms herself from someone who lived behind her husband's shadow to someone who I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway program in exchange for an unbiased review.

Unlike the majority who've read this book before me, I found this book about a widower of four children dull and lifeless. The story is about a grieving woman who must move forward after the death of her husband and put one foot in front of the other which she does very stoically with quiet but admirable strength. Nora very slowly transforms herself from someone who lived behind her husband's shadow to someone who now has the freedom to seek her own interests and stand on her own. There seemed to be more depth to the story, but it was always lurking just beneath the surface and never fully realized, much to my chagrin. The reader was always left to wonder. Did Josie do something that caused Donal's stutter? Was Aine a member of the IRA? Did Nora actually want to join the choir? Then at the very end of the book, somewhat unexpectedly, the future is foretold, albeit very sparingly, and yet another mystery posed. I found that maddening.

This is my first book by this author who obviously has a very lean writing style which suits the critics who seem to prefer authors who leave things unsaid, ones who show and don't tell. Unfortunately, I was unable to glean much emotion from the characters as other readers have with the exception of Nora's occasional rages. I blame the book blurb which set my expectations for a more passionate book. The blurb described Nora as "drowning in her own sorrow" when to me it appeared that she was more or less just surviving it. It described Maurice as the "love of her life" while the only evidence to that fact was that she sat by his deathbed and held his hand. I thought many times about abandoning the book even as late as 30 pages from the end. If I hadn't had the obligation to finish it, I doubt I would have. I plan to make another attempt with this critically acclaimed author as I have Brooklyn buried on my nightstand somewhere. It might stay there for awhile until I have finished grieving the hours lost to me while reading this book. ...more

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Dec 04, 2014 Wanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, public-library

Nora Webster is a young widow in 1960s Ireland. She is charming, formidable, weak, heart-broken, and grief-stricken by turns. In age, Nora falls between my mother’s and my grandmother’s generations—about the time that women were supposed to aspire only to being housewives and that men were in charge of the finances and the family. When her husband Maurice dies, she is left as sole parent to four children and provider to at least the two youngest. She has to find her financial feet and deal with ...more

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May 23, 2014 Emily rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, arc, ireland

I love Tóibín's writing, but this book just didn't do it for me. It's a quiet, contemplative kind of story, focusing on Nora's life after the sudden, early death of her husband. While the relationships are written in an interesting way and I enjoyed reading about life in 1960s Ireland, I didn't feel enough of a connection to Nora for this book to be memorable.

Like Nora, I'm also the oldest of three sisters, and I would have liked this angle to be explored more. There's a long, twisted family hi ...more

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Jul 18, 2014 eb rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Read a plot overview of Nora Webster, and it might not sound that exciting—a 40-something mother struggles along following the death of her husband—but I found it to be a rip-roaring page-turner. Tóibín is a wizard at capturing the huge tension all humans feel during everyday interactions: clashing with their bosses, getting in fights with their sisters, worrying about their kids. His larger project, I think, is to show us the inner life of a woman whom most people perceive as cold and combative ...more

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Jul 23, 2014 Jill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I’ve always been of two minds of Colm Toibin. On one hand, his prose is meticulously crafted, lovingly rendered, and it’s clear from the very first sentence that the reader is in the hands of a master. On the other hand, there’s something a little detached and reserved about his plotting and characters, keeping me at a respectful distance.

Nora Webster goes further than his past books to draw readers like me in, although the gap still remains. There are no fireworks here: Nora Webster’s beloved h I’ve always been of two minds of Colm Toibin. On one hand, his prose is meticulously crafted, lovingly rendered, and it’s clear from the very first sentence that the reader is in the hands of a master. On the other hand, there’s something a little detached and reserved about his plotting and characters, keeping me at a respectful distance.

Nora Webster goes further than his past books to draw readers like me in, although the gap still remains. There are no fireworks here: Nora Webster’s beloved husband Maurice dies before his time, leaving his widow to sort through the debris – two daughters who are of university age, two young sons (including Donal, a sensitive boy who stutters and may be partially based on the author himself.)

There is insightful beauty in the almost stream-of-consciousness of Nora’s life: “It was not the solitude she had been going through, nor the moments when she felt his death like a shock to her system, as though she had been in a car accident, it was this wandering in a sea of people with the anchor lifted, and all of it, oddly pointless and confusing.”

The book shines the most in the interactions of Nora and Donal, both of whom are solitary and waiting for a new life to begin to take shape. Nora reflects, “…how easy it might have been to have been someone else, that having the boys at home waiting for her, and the bed and the lamp beside her bed, and her work in the morning, were all a sort of accident.” She struggles quite literally to find her voice as she belatedly pursues her dream of being a singer. Similarly, Donal hides behind his camera – where images at first are underexposed – and connects to the world through it.

As Nora emerges from Maurice’s shadow – and Donal emerges from his mother’s – we begin to see the possible trajectory of their lives. Or do we? As Nora’s singing teacher says on hearing of Nora’s dream to sing, “We can all have plenty of lives, but there are limits.” Colm Toibin’s insistence on being true to life – life relentlessly moves forward with its share of unfair moments, sadness and joys – elevates this book among so many others who force false dramatic epiphanies. Still, as a very open person, I couldn’t help but feel the way I do when meeting a self-described “private person” – as if I were being held just a tad at arm’s length. That is the intention, but I’m not so sure it was satisfying – for me.
...more

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May 19, 2014 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, irish-literature, e-books, read-2014, netgalley

I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in return for an honest review.

This is the story of Nora, who became widow when she was forty years old and how she struggled to raise her four children without money.

By telling Nora’s story, the author magnificently describes the ordinary life of an Irish town in the late 1960s. Moreover to face her grief, Nora becomes mad by the neighbours’ condolences from which she tries to escape in order to regain her own life.

It s ...more

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Aug 21, 2014 Brian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Set during the late nineteen sixties and early seventies in small-town Ireland, Nora Webster is the story of a middle aged woman struggling to deal with the impact of the death of her husband and to remake her life as an independent person. Her transformation takes place against a backdrop of sympathy, curiosity and prurience from her friends, neighbours and family whose assumptions and expectations only add to her difficulties.

There's a remarkable authenticity to Tóibín's writing and this depic ...more

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About Colm Tóibín

Colm Tóibín

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Colm 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.