The Blackwater Lightship

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, from the author of Brooklyn and Long Island. Set in Ireland in the 1990s, Colm Tóibín's The Blackwater Lightship tells the story of the Devereux family, and reveals the intense connection between grandmother, mother and daughter. Helen's beloved brother Declan is dying. Now, she must join her mother and grandmother in a crumbling old house by the sea, three generations calling an uneasy truce after years of strife, to be by his side. Together with Declan's friends, who know more about him than any family, they must all deal with the past and come to terms with each other. 'It is in his emotional choreography that Tóibín shows himself to be an exceptional writer' - Sunday Telegraph

Colm Tóibín was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of numerous novels, including The Master, Brooklyn, and The Magician, and two collections of stories. He has been three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2021, he was awarded the David Cohen Prize for Literature. Tóibín was appointed the Laureate for Irish Fiction 2022-2024.