Two Novels by Irish Writers: Trevor and Toibin

Two Irish authors writing powerful and subtle novels and stories are William Trevor, now in his early 80s, and Colm Toibin, in his mid-50s. Both write deceptively simple novels and stories, and both draw readers into complex emotional territory. Here I write about each author's most recent novel.

William Trevor's "Love and Summer" (Viking, 2009) centers on the doomed, adulterous love story of the charming but unreliable photographer Florian and the gentle farm wife Ellie. The novel is set in a small Irish village, and there are several compelling characters. Despite an air of gloom and darkness, somehow a sense of generosity, optimism, and happiness cannot be completely repressed. The beauty of Trevor's writing seems to increase with each novel and story he has written over his long career.

Colm Toibin (author of the wonderful earlier novel "The Master," about the great writer Henry James) published the novel "Brooklyn" (Scribner) in 2009. It tells the story of Eilis Lacey, a young woman in another small Irish town, who is encouraged by her family to find a better life emigrating to Brooklyn, New York. She is content where she is, but moves to please her family. Her new life in the United States is hard and confusing at first, but gradually she creates a good life there, complete with satisfying work and a romance. A family event draws her back to Ireland, where she feels both connected and alienated. She is caught between two places, two cultures, two romances, and two lives.

Both novels are gorgeously written and a joy to read. Both provide a strong sense of place, and of how humans are tied to certain places. Both remind readers of the forces beyond our control that influence our lives. And both, despite the seemingly trapped nature of their characters' lives, offer glimpses of hope, possibility, and grace.