Metro Reco: Mothers and Sons

Mothers and Sons, a new collection of short stories by Colm Toibin, portrays pivotal moments in the lives of sons and mothers to contemplate courage, miscommunication, regret, grief, love and loss.

In “The Name of the Game”, a widow takes charge of her family’s future, keeping her son in the dark, after her husband dies leaving them in debt. A mother reluctantly recalls her promising career as a musician after her son discovers her former band’s old recordings in “Famous Blue Raincoat”. “Three Friends” is the story of a son who has just buried his mother and attends a rave where drugs and desire are an outlet for grief. In the powerful final story, “A Long Winter”, set in the Pyrenees, a son searches for his mother who has probably died trying to escape her domineering husband.

The stories are thoughtful and meditative; sensual and emotional. I plan to go back and reread a few.

Colm Toibin was born in Ireland and lives in Dublin.