Colm Toibin is a writer of extraordinary emotional clarity. Each of the nine stories is a snapshot of a point of crisis . . . Toibin perfectly understands the instantaneous nature of the ideal short story; the sense that the pen is going straight into a major vein. These are beautiful stories, beautifully crafted. -- Kate Saunders * Literary Review *
The last story in this excellent collection is a superbly powerful tale of betrayal and desertion. Quintessential Toibin. * Spectator *
Moving . . . beautifully captured moments of longing and loss . . . Toibin is a subtle, intelligent and deeply felt writer. * Guardian *
By turns surprising and illuminating, always beautifully written, Mothers and Sons places Toibin in the front rank of modern Irish fiction . . . It may not be going too far to suggest Irish fiction has found its first Master of the new century. * Scotland on Sunday *
It's truly remarkable that a writer of Toibin's great felicity, immense seriousness and general large awareness - a writer so naturally gifted as a novelist - can deliver short stories of such subtle empathy and brilliance. He's dazzling. -- Richard Ford
Toibin is a master of understated emotions. From wintry landscapes, bereft of human life, to crowded pubs filled with musicians, every scene has the ring of truth. * Mail on Sunday *
All the stories share a miraculous density. Short but weighty, they contain whole lives. * Sunday Times *
Subtly and exquisitely written, the language never forced but utterly rooted in real worlds. Each story is haunting and memorable. -- Dermot Bolger * Evening Herald *
Some of the most accomplished and nuanced soundings contemporary fiction has to offer. * New York Times *
