The Blackwater Lightship

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize. 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' - The Sunday Telegraph 'The most astonishing piece of writing, lyrical in its emotion and spare in its construction . . . Tóibín has crafted an unmissable read' - The Sunday Herald Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature. Read Long Island, the Sunday Times bestselling sequel to Colm Tóibín's beloved Brooklyn.

Colm Tóibín is the author of eleven novels, including The Master, Brooklyn and its sequel Long Island, and The Magician, and three 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.