House of Names

Review

Part of Toibin's success comes down to the power of his writing: an almost unfaultable combination of artful restraint and wonderfully observed detail . . . Unforgettable (Mary Beard New York Times)

A giant amongst storytellers, Toibin has thrown down the gauntlet with his latest novel . . . And it is a masterpiece (Edith Hall Daily Telegraph)

A gorgeous stylist, Tóibín captures the subtle flutterings of consciousness better than any writer alive . . . Never before has Tóibín demonstrated such range, not just in tone but in action. He creates the arresting, hushed scenes for which he's so well known just as effectively as he whips up murders that compete, pint for spilled pint, with those immortal Greek playwrights (Washington Post)

This is a novel about the way the members of a family keep secrets from one another, tell lies and make mistakes.. . (Literary Review)

In a novel describing one of the Western world's oldest legends, in which the gods are conspicuous by their absence, Tóibín achieves a paradoxical richness of characterisation and a humanisation of the mythological, marking House Of Names as the superbly realised work of an author at the top of his game. (Daily Express)

A spellbinding adaptation of the Clytemnestra myth, House of Names considers the Mycenaen queen in all her guises: grieving mother, seductress, ruthless leader - and victim of the ultimate betrayal. (Vogue)

A haunting story, largely because Tóibín tells it in spare, resonant prose... (Lucy Hughes-Hallett New Statesman)

A Greek House of Cards... Just like Heaney at the end of his Mycenae lookout, Toibin's novel augurs an era of renewal that comes directly from the cessation of hostilities. (Fiona Macintosh Irish Times)

The book's mastery of pacing and tone affirm the writer as one of our finest at work today. (John Boland Irish Independent)

A daring, and triumphant return, to the Oresteia... bleakly beautiful twilight of the Gods. (Boyd Tonkin The Arts Desk)

About the Author

Colm Tóibín was born in Enniscorthy in 1955. He is the author of nine novels including The Master, Brooklyn, The Testament of Mary and Nora Webster. His work has been shortlisted for the Booker three times, has won the Costa Novel Award and the Impac Award. His most recent novel is House of Names. He has also published two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction. He lives in Dublin.