by Colm Tóibín
First published 2014
Nora Webster stands at forty with four children and empty bank accounts. Her husband Maurice has died, leaving her alone in Wexford, Ireland in the 1960s. Maurice had pulled her away from the suffocating world of her birth, but now she must navigate widowhood without him. The weight of grief makes Nora self-absorbed and distant. She struggles to connect with her children, who are processing their own loss of their father. Money runs short while bills pile up. Nora must find work and make decisions about her family's future. The small town watches her every move. Neighbors offer help that sometimes creates new problems. Nora begins to discover parts of herself she never knew existed. She learns to stand on her own terms rather than as someone's wife or daughter. The seaside town of Ballyconnigar becomes a refuge where she can think clearly. Slowly, Nora transforms from a woman defined by loss into someone who chooses her own path forward.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-growth, found-family, self-discovery
Setting: Ballyconnigar, Ireland, Wexford
Period: 1960s
373 pages · Hardcover · Scribner