First published 1999 by Picador. This edition published 2000 by Picador, London. Paperback, 273 pages.
Cover photograph: © Michael Franke/Photonica

Shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize and 2001 International IMPAC Literary Award

The blurb:
It is Ireland in the early 1990s. Three women — Dora Devereux, her daughter Lily and her granddaughter Helen — have arrived, after years of strife, at an uneasy peace. For Helen's adored brother Declan is dying, and the three of them join him in the grandmother's crumbling old house by the sea with two of his friends. These six, from different generations and with different beliefs, are forced to listen to each other and come to terms with each other.
'I know of no novelist under fifty who is Tóibín's equal. And in this, his fourth book, his prose rises to heights of an extraordinary beauty'
Paul Binding, Independent on Sunday
'It is in his emotional choreography that Tóibin shows himself to be an exceptional writer. Helen is estranged from both her mother and grandmother . ... Tóibín helps them make peace — and he does it beautifully'
David Robson, Sunday Telegraph
'This is the most astonishing piece of writing, lyrical in its emotion and spare in its construction ... T6ibin has crafted an unmissable read'
Julia Neuberger, Glasgow Sunday Herald
'He writes in spare, powerful prose and he is truly perceptive about family relationships which, at times, makes reading his stories incredibly painful. But this is a beautiful novel'
Nuala McCann, Belfast News

About the author:
COLM TÓIBÍN was born in Ireland in 1955. His first novel, The South, won the Irish Times First Novel Award. The Heather Blazing won the Encore Award for best second novel. His third novel was The Story of the Night. The Blackwater Lightship was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize. He lives in Dublin.


Colm Tóibín at Wikipedia
Colm Tóibín Official Website

I love the way Colm Tóibín writes. The pace of the narration, his way with words, how he composes them into sentences, the storyline — I loved them all. I wasn't too fond of the characters, though, until I learned that each one of them had and had had their reasons to act the way they did or had acted. They kind of grew on me.
This is a story of three generation women who all have issues with each other. Helen is in her thirties, a school principal, married with Hugh and has two sons. And she hasn't been in touch with her mother, Lily, or grandmother, Dora, in almost ten years. She didn't invite them to her wedding and Lily hasn't even met Hugh or the boys. The three women are barely on speaking terms with each other. Helen doesn't see Declan, her brother, too often either, but at least they are speaking.
Helen gets to know that Declan is seriously ill. Declan gathers them all, Dora, Lily, Helen and his best friends Paul and Larry—his extended family, really—and himself in Dora's old house to spend some quality time together. It's time to speak out, time for revelations, and it's time to listen to each others and try to see things the way they see. So, it is time for reconciliation and forgiveness, time for this dysfunctional family to start healing.
The Blackwater Lightship is not a joyful, happy book—some might even call it grim or gloomy—but there is hope in the end. Funny (and maybe the best) thing is that I kind of reacted like I was a family member too. As I stated earlier, I did not like any of the three women in the beginning. But as the story went ahead, I started to see the past in their viewpoints and understood—just like Helen did, I think—that mostly there was just misinterpreted actions and words. There is some light in the end of the story.
I want to read more from Colm Tóibín! And I just learned that at least two of his novels—Brooklyn and Äitejä ja poikia, which should be coming out in April—have been translated into Finnish. And now they are also in my wishlist. :-)

I loved it. Hoping you do too. This book you picked up from Palkintokaappi, Finnish forum Trophy Cabinet.

Yesyesyes! Thank you!

I gave eight stars to this book as I gave to Nora Webster and Brooklyn, but they all might have scored 9 or 10 as well. I really like Tóibín. His stories are humane, his themes are recognizable, his characters are credible and his writing is clear. And yet the reader is left to think. An above reviewer speaks about "his emotional choreography". Perfectly defined!

-ruzena

Happy reading!

Thanks for the surprise, ruzena! This seems to be a Tóibín-summer for me as I just finished Nora Webster (loved it!) and bought House of Names, the newest book by this author, from Dublin a couple of weeks ago. I paid a couple of euros more to get a copy with his signature as I like his narrative style so much :) Can't wait to read this!

A brilliant story about a young man dying in AIDS and about his family in three generations solving the dots of their complicated relationships. The illness made the other family members to think about older times when their father had died, a wonderful description about how differently we remember the situations from our past.

Happy Birthday!

This looks so promising! I've read only one book by Tóibín previously, but it made such a great impact on me, so I'm really looking forward to reading this. Thank you so much!!!

Wow! There were so many layers in this story. The story grew so much bigger and better when it went ahead. Extremely moving.

When Helen is one morning alone by the sea, she has these thoughts: "Imaginings and resonances and pain and small longings and prejudices. They meant nothing against the resolut hardness of the sea." (p. 260) It made me to think of the nature inside ourselves and how we forget how powerful and important it is compared to all the small troubles and anxieties.

With this book I participate in Alejanda's Ukraine-challenge, because one theme of the story is friendship. <3Ukraina

Joensuun bc-tapaamisessa löysi uuden lukijan :) Hyviä lukuhetkiä!

At times a book just draws you closer, and that's what happened with this one. It just kept silently calling me to take it off the table. Perhaps it's one to be read by the sea?

Finished the book a little earlier, and I haven't been able to make my mind up on the ending. I actually liked Helen, and can understand her choices with her birth family. Did her mother just once again got to lay down what _she_ wanted? There could not be a truly happy ending in a book like this, and it left (at least) me with a mindgame "where could the story go from here". How long would Declan stay alive, would Lily actually meet her grandkids, would any of them stay in touch without Declan, and so on. Was there even any other possible ending to the story? It was what humans do best on an hour of need, rally around.
It didn't even bother me that mobile phones almost didn't exist (though in 1999 we Finns already sms'd till our fingers bled), it just made the pace slower and gave everyone space and time to evolve in the story. Time was a seventh character in a way, setting boundaries to scenes.

Always a pleasure to fulfill wishes! Hope you enjoy!

Kiitos toivekirjaylläristä ja miittiseurasta, pippis! Tämä kirja onkin kiertänyt ilahduttavan paljon.