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Title details for A Guest at the Feast by Colm Toibin - Wait list

A Guest at the Feast

Essays

by Colm Toibin
Colm Toibin
Audiobook
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Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by LitHub and The Millions!

From one of the most engaging and brilliant writers of our time comes a "not to be missed" (LitHub) collection of eleven essays about growing up in Ireland during radical change; about cancer, priests, popes, homosexuality, and literature.
"IT ALL STARTED WITH MY BALLS." So begins Colm Tóibín's fabulously compelling essay, laced with humor, about his diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Tóibín survives, but he has entered, as he says, "the age of one ball." The second essay in this seductive collection is a memoir about growing up in the 1950s and '60s in the small town of Enniscorthy in County Wexford, the setting for many of Tóibín's novels and stories, including Brooklyn, The Blackwater Lightship, and Nora Webster. Tóibín describes his education by priests, several of whom were condemned years later for abuse. He writes about Irish history and literature, and about the long, tragic journey toward legal and social acceptance of homosexuality.

In Part Two, Tóibín profiles three complex and vexing popes—John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. And in Part Three, he writes about a trio of authors who reckon with religion in their fiction. The final essay, "Alone in Venice," is a gorgeous account of Tóibín's journey, at the height of the pandemic, to the beloved city where he has set some of his most dazzling scenes. The streets, canals, churches, and museums were empty. He had them to himself, an experience both haunting and exhilarating.

"A tantalizing glimpse into Tóibín's full fictional powers," (The Sunday Times, London) A Guest at the Feast is both an intimate encounter with a supremely creative artist and a glorious celebration of writing.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 17, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797153230
      • File size: 276164 KB
      • Duration: 09:35:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 24, 2022
      Novelist Tóibín (The Magician) gathers 11 essays that showcase his versatility in this erudite collection of previously published material. In “Cancer: My Part in Its Downfall,” Tóibín reflects on his testicular cancer and the trials of chemotherapy: “the effect of the drug darkened the mind and filled it with something hard and severe and relentless. It was like pain or a sort of anguish, but those words don’t really cover it.” “A Brush with the Law” recalls Tóibín’s earlier career as a magazine editor reporting on the Irish Supreme Court, while “The Paradoxical Pope” profiles John Paul II: “It is not simply the aura of his office that draws people to him but the mixture of his steely strength and his humanity. Also, he was once an actor, and knows about the theater.” In “The Ferns Report,” Tóibín poignantly examines an account of sexual abuse that occurred in the diocese where he grew up. The book closes with essays on literature, including pieces on novelists John McGahern and Marilynne Robinson. Of the latter, Tóibín writes, “With her wide reading and her well-stocked mind, Robinson is also deeply engaged with matters both philosophical and political”; this collection places him in that same class. Tóibín’s fans will relish these sharp reflections.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Colm T�ib�n's consummate narration of his new collection of essays charms and educates in equal measure. The 11 pieces, written between 1995 and 2022, explore topics ranging from Catholic popes and the author Marilyn Robinson to T�ib�n's homosexuality, treatment for testicular cancer, and childhood in Ireland. An award-winning journalist, novelist, and poet, T�ib�n is analytical, elegiac, and often very funny, with a great eye for the telling detail. His soft, slightly nasal tenor and gentle Irish intonation are interestingly mellifluous; "power" becomes "paar" and " "carefully" is "kerfully." He narrates deliberately, giving listeners time to absorb the writing. Occasionally, he lingers over words and phrases for maximum effect. It's a poet's approach, which works. The result is entrancing. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Irish novelist T�ib�n (The Magician) narrates this collection of 11 essays, imbuing each with expressive warmth and dry wit. These previously published essays dwell on everything from religion to cancer to literature; all are marked by T�ib�n's piercing observations and powerful prose. Listeners will be captivated from the beginning, where, in the opening essay, "Cancer: My Part in Its Downfall," T�ib�n details his grim battle with testicular cancer. With humor and courage, he describes how an unusual mixture of symptoms delayed his diagnosis, leading to a prolonged ordeal with chemotherapy. The book's middle section contains essays addressing religion and the Catholic Church. Here, T�ib�n details the role of faith and Christianity in Marilynne Robinson's writing and discusses his complicated feelings about the Pope. He is critical of the political and social stances of the Church in much of his writing. VERDICT This absorbing collection, so intimately told, is an excellent choice for any library seeking to expand on its religious and social commentary. T�ib�n's fans will want to dig in.--Susan Cox

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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