Colm Tóibín writes literary fiction about exile, family, sexuality and people whose lives are shaped by quiet decisions rather than dramatic plots. Brooklyn follows Eilis Lacey as she leaves Ireland for work in New York and becomes divided between two countries and two possible futures. The Master imagines the inner life of Henry James, while The Testament of Mary retells the aftermath of Jesus's death from Mary's sceptical, grieving perspective. Nora Webster returns to small-town Ireland through a widow rebuilding her life after her husband's death. Tóibín's prose is restrained, precise and character-led. His work fits Irish literary fiction, migration literature, queer historical fiction and biographical novels. Brooklyn is the clearest starting point for Tóibín's restrained style because Eilis's choices between Ireland and America are presented through small practical decisions rather than dramatic declarations; readers of Anne Enright may recognise the close attention to Irish family life. Read more Less
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