The Empty Family
Colm Tóibín
2010 • Viking
I’m not sure about themes. They almost come despite me, and are never planned. Maybe this time I was thinking about exile and return–none of the characters lives where they were born. In ‘The Colour of Shadows’ (which is the story I like best) and ‘The Pearl Fishers,’ the protagonist is a Wexford person in Dublin, which might seem a slight sort of exile, but in Ireland is a serious one. (At least it is for me; I have never really warmed to Dublin.) But within exile and return, there are characters (rather than illustrations of themes) and I am giving them autonomy and trying to tell a story, or offer a rhythm that might hit the reader’s nervous system, so what comes can come despite me, and often I don’t quite understand it.
— Colm Tóibín
The Empty Family
Colm Tóibín
2010 • Viking
I’m not sure about themes. They almost come despite me, and are never planned. Maybe this time I was thinking about exile and return–none of the characters lives where they were born. In ‘The Colour of Shadows’ (which is the story I like best) and ‘The Pearl Fishers,’ the protagonist is a Wexford person in Dublin, which might seem a slight sort of exile, but in Ireland is a serious one. (At least it is for me; I have never really warmed to Dublin.) But within exile and return, there are characters (rather than illustrations of themes) and I am giving them autonomy and trying to tell a story, or offer a rhythm that might hit the reader’s nervous system, so what comes can come despite me, and often I don’t quite understand it.
— Colm Tóibín
Description
The Empty Family is Colm Tóibín’s second collection of short stories (see also Mothers and Sons, 2006), and his eighth work of fiction. Contents: One minus one — Silence — The empty family — Two women — The pearl fishers — The new Spain — The colour of shadows — Barcelona, 1975 — The street.
Excerpts
Interviews
- The Huffington Post: 'Colm Tóibín Talks About his new Story Collection'
- The Guardian: 'A Life in Books - Colm Tóibín'
Prizes & Awards
Reviews
- Heller McAlpin, NPR
- Keith Miller, The Telegraph
- Heather Ingman, The Irish Times
- Brian Lynch, The Irish Independent
- Francine Prose, The New York TImes
- George Ducker, The LA Times
- Viet Dinh, Lambda Literary
- Angel Gurria-Quintana, The Financial Times
- Jane Smiley, The Globe and Mail
- Randy Boyagoda, The National Post
- David Mattin, The Independent
- Michelle Woods, New York Irish Arts
- Hermione Lee, The Guardian
- John Strawn, The A Position
- The Express
Audio
Video
- Steve Bertrand on Books: Colm Tóibín on Seeing his Book on the Shelf
- Speak Easy Series: Colm Tóibín reads from The Empty Family
- Live from the NYPL: Colm Tóibín - The Empty Family, A Conversation with Paul Holdengraber
