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line_aude's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
lbarsk's review against another edition
3.0
Aw man, I'm so conflicted about this book. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tóibín's prose, and the way he unfolds stories (even the smallest ones) is so rich and well-paced. So reading this collection was overall enjoyable! However, I can only give the book 3 stars because what I loved SO much about "Brooklyn"--his characterization, and the relationships between characters--is only present in some of the stories. "The New Spain," for example, I loved. "Two Women" and "One Minus One" were also excellent, and "The Colour of Shadows" was a punch to the gut. But the other few pieces in the book just didn't shine as brightly to me, and actually dampened the experience of those four stories. ARGH! I wanted to like it all so much!
marawii's review against another edition
1.0
One of the worst books I have ever read. The writer should have a warning on the cover about the book's content.
I will never read something written by him again.
I will never read something written by him again.
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed these stories. The writing was so simple and perfect. Great storytelling.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/day-517-the-empty-family/
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/day-517-the-empty-family/
rebl's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gorecki's review against another edition
3.0
Even though I have only read two books by Colm Tóibín so far, The Testament of Mary and The Empty Family, I do believe he is a very good storyteller and I am sure I will reach for more of his work very soon. The Empty Family was the first collection of his short stories I've read, and I am not sure if I have missed to notice and grasp something, or if his short stories simply do not resonate with me that well.
Some of the stories in this book left me wanting more, wanting to know what actually happened. I usually feel quite comfortable with open endings. I don't always need to know exactly how a story ends and why. But with the easy and "factual" flow of Tóibín's narration that often reminds me of a friend sitting across the table from me what they've heard of experienced, I sometimes felt like I'd want to ask "and what happened next?". Especially since some of the stories were written in the form of memories, or personal experiences, or diary entries, often without the typical plot development and culmunation point of a work of fiction, but concentrating on telling what had happened at one point of the narrator's life, without much conclusion or actual result in the end.
I mentioned "factual" writing, and by that I mean the descriptive style, which I find typical for Tóibín's writing - recollecting events, people, and places in his narration, as if he were standing there and observing them as he writes or describes exact memories and experiences. There is little space left for contemplation as you receive a thorough description of people's actions and thoughts. And this is why I, in my personal experience of reading this short-story collection, felt that after the many details and the thorough descriptions I'd still like to ask him "and why did he do that?" or "and where did this take them?" or "and how did it end?" - because the style of his narration wakes this feeling of having a conversation with him when he suddenly stops speaking. I felt the stories lack an actual ending and I would need to place so many questions and understand what happened next, but there is no one to ask.
Some of the stories in this book left me wanting more, wanting to know what actually happened. I usually feel quite comfortable with open endings. I don't always need to know exactly how a story ends and why. But with the easy and "factual" flow of Tóibín's narration that often reminds me of a friend sitting across the table from me what they've heard of experienced, I sometimes felt like I'd want to ask "and what happened next?". Especially since some of the stories were written in the form of memories, or personal experiences, or diary entries, often without the typical plot development and culmunation point of a work of fiction, but concentrating on telling what had happened at one point of the narrator's life, without much conclusion or actual result in the end.
I mentioned "factual" writing, and by that I mean the descriptive style, which I find typical for Tóibín's writing - recollecting events, people, and places in his narration, as if he were standing there and observing them as he writes or describes exact memories and experiences. There is little space left for contemplation as you receive a thorough description of people's actions and thoughts. And this is why I, in my personal experience of reading this short-story collection, felt that after the many details and the thorough descriptions I'd still like to ask him "and why did he do that?" or "and where did this take them?" or "and how did it end?" - because the style of his narration wakes this feeling of having a conversation with him when he suddenly stops speaking. I felt the stories lack an actual ending and I would need to place so many questions and understand what happened next, but there is no one to ask.