Droll, careful reflections on Ireland, illness and religion in a welcome collection of essays . . . [the] melancholy elegance of the prose guarantees the reader's enjoyment * Guardian *
Erudite, forensic, moving and wry . . . the breadth of the collection is impressive: a snapshot of Irish society over decades; Buenos Aires, in the wake of thousands of 'disappeared' people; Covid-era Venice . . . a lesson in how the right words in the right order can get to the truth of the matter * Irish Times *
[These essays] are always interesting and intelligent, written in an admirably clear prose free of academic jargon . . . journalism at its best. I learned a lot from them and am grateful for that. It's a collection to which I will surely return, just as I do to Orwell's, Ian Jack's, Ferdinand Mount's and Patrick Marnham's * Scotsman *
A feast for the reader . . . the novelist applies his inquisitive and empathetic mind in wide-ranging series of essays, from the political to the poignant . . . [Toibin] seeks no lessons; he tries only to be good company on the page. (He succeeds.) * Irish Independent *
Erudite essays from one of the world's finest writers . . . Throughout, the poetry of Toibin's prose is as impressive as always. In [the] title piece, he writes that his mother was 'what most of us still write for: the ordinary reader, curious and intelligent and demanding, ready to be moved and changed.' Readers like her will savor every page of this book * Kirkus Reviews, starred *
The clarity of the novelist's descriptive ability shines through essays on topics ranging from his treatment for cancer to the joys of an empty Venice . . . On every subject, Toibin's writing is what people these days inevitably describe as nuanced, a word that has become a kind of shorthand for expressing a person's rare ability to understand . . . the foibles of others -- Rachel Cooke * Observer, Book of the Day *
I love everything Colm Toibin has written -- Nicola Sturgeon * New Statesman *
I wanted to read out loud, to fully savour writing that is so careful and so lyrical -- Laura Hackett * Sunday Times *
Reading Irish novelist, playwright and poet Colm Toibin is always a delight * Independent *
Both epic and intimate . . . a moving portrait of three generations of sprawling, loving, fractious family life . . . a triumph * Financial Times on The Magician *
A work of art, an emotional reckoning with a century of change * The Times on The Magician *
