A review by jfl
Mothers and Sons by Colm Tóibín

4.0

“Mothers and Sons” is the first of two collections of short stories that Colm Tóibín has published to date. In “Mothers and Sons” there are nine stories whose controlling themes are variations of the book’s title. Tóibín’s mothers scheme, die, defend, love, succeed, grieve, manipulate. His son’s grieve, threaten, hide, struggle, overcome. Tóibín’s writing is, as always, effortless and quietly evocative.