Maria’s Testament

Ireland, late 1960s. Nora Webster lives in a small town and has taken on the care of her four children following the death of her husband, whilst trying to rebuild her life. She is a woman who feels trapped by the daily grind and is looking for an opportunity to escape. Gradually, thanks to the outlet provided by music, Nora takes her first tentative steps towards a new beginning. Through the interplay of unwavering self-mastery and countless doubts, one of the most significant heroines in contemporary fiction emerges. Tenderness and humanity, the pain of loss, everyday life with its joys and sorrows, the things we say and the things we hide—all combine to create an unforgettable reading experience.

With tenderness and sorrow, with bitterness and rage, Maria gives her own account of the shocking event that proved decisive both for herself and for humanity. Aged, worn out and exiled, Maria disregards the human aspect. For her, what matters is that her child died in a cruel and inhuman manner for an indeterminate purpose, in an era of change and upheaval. As her life has begun to take on mythical dimensions, Maria decides to speak out. Through the heart-rending account of events, we see not only the tragic figure of the mother but also the figure of the woman who practises criticism and self-criticism with the same ethos and rigour. Maria’s Testament was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize and has been staged to great acclaim in London theatres.

In the early 1950s, in a small town in Ireland, Alice, a girl from a poor family, like most young people, struggles to find work. As soon as she is offered a position in the US, she realises she cannot refuse, and decides for the first time to leave her frail mother and sister behind. Her decision takes her to Brooklyn, where she patiently builds a new life full of dreams for her future. And whilst she tries to cope with the nostalgia she feels for everything she left behind, she will meet her first love and, with him, the promise of a better life. But her past will soon call her back, forcing her to choose between her homeland, her family and love. With restraint, skill and exceptional emotional insight, Colm Tóibín, one of the finest Irish writers of our time, has crafted a compelling story about destiny. Brooklyn won the 2009 Costa Book Award and was shortlisted for the 2011 IMPAC Dublin International Literary Award and the 2009 Goodreads Choice Award. It was also longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize.

They cut her hair before dragging her to the place of sacrifice. Her hands were tied tightly behind her back, my daughter’s, the skin on her wrists raw from the ropes, her ankles bound. They had gagged her mouth, so that she might not curse her father, her cowardly, two-faced father. On the day of his daughter’s wedding, Agamemnon demands her sacrifice. Only thus will he have the winds on his side to reach Troy. Iphigenia is ultimately sacrificed, Agamemnon leads his army into battle and is rewarded with a glorious victory. Years later, Agamemnon returns and his bloody choice sets the whole family on a path of deep-seated violence. Whilst his wife Clytemnestra fervently seeks his death as revenge, their daughter Electra acts as a silent observer of this unprecedented family drama. At the same time, their son Orestes is abducted and his survival is uncertain. In these inhuman circumstances, Electra and Orestes will in turn resort to equally inhuman acts, striving to right the wrongs of the past.

Following on from Henry James, Colm Tóibín chooses to sketch a portrait of the giant of world literature, Thomas Mann. With riveting intimacy and moving depth, Tóibín portrays Mann more as a father, husband and citizen than as a writer. This choice brings to light a host of fictional characters from both the Manns’ close family circle and the turmoil of a fascinating era. Exiles, escapes, scandals, abuses, suicides, two World Wars, and a Europe in its most difficult yet most creative hours. At the same time, like any great work, this literary immersion into the life and psyche of the ‘magician’ of literature also constitutes a magnificent portrayal of the turbulent 20th century. The masterful balance between the private and the universal reveals the author’s unparalleled artistry at every turn. [Read what Athina Dimitriadou wrote on our blog about the translation of the book.](https://ikarosbooks.gr/blog/athina-dimitriadou-metafrazontas-ton-mago-tou-colm-toibin)

Following the global bestseller Brooklyn, the multi-award-winning Colm Tóibín picks up the thread of the enigmatic Alice Lacey’s life twenty years later, creating a deeply emotional novel about hidden secrets and the power of love. Spring 1976. Now forty years old, Alice Lacey, married to Italian plumber Tony Fiorello and mother of two teenagers, lives on a cul-de-sac on Long Island next door to her husband’s two brothers and his parents. Her marriage feels more and more like a compromise, and she hasn’t been back to Ireland for two decades. One day, whilst Tony is away at work, an Irishman visits her and announces that his wife is expecting her husband’s child – a child he threatens to leave on her doorstep. Alice’s reactions to this shocking news – what she does and, above all, what she refuses to do – make Tobin’s novel truly gripping. Long Island is a story of unfulfilled desires, deafening silences, marital loneliness, but also of those literal and figurative returns without which we cannot move forward. [Read what Myrto Kalofolia wrote on our blog about the translation of the book.](https://ikarosbooks.gr/blog/mirto-kalofolia-metafrazontas-to-longk-ailant-tou-colm-toibin)