In The News from Dublin, a beautiful collection of short stories from the bestselling author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín delves into the days and nights of those living far from home: lives of great longing, at a great distance from past lives and past selves.
A woman in Galway hears of the death of her son in the First World War. An Irishman seeks anonymity in Barcelona, haunted by crimes he has committed. A man goes to Dublin from Enniscorthy to implore the Minister for Health for a special favour. A young woman is pregnant during the Spanish Civil War. An undocumented worker finds himself living an illegal life and must leave San Francisco, and his child, after thirty years in America. Three sisters who have been living in Argentina decide to return to Catalonia.
Colm Tóibín is the three times Booker-shortlisted author of eleven novels, and former Laureate for Irish Fiction (2022-2024). His books include The Master, Brooklyn (made into a major film starring Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson) and its sequel Long Island, and The Magician.
Read: Five Bridges, Pan McMillan (this link opens up a PDF)
First line: She promised the climbing would be easy.