Person
Every book Colm Toibin recommended on podcasts
Colm Toibin appears on literary podcasts such as The Book Review, where he establishes himself as a thoughtful and accomplished novelist deeply engaged with the classics of English and European literature. During his discussions, Toibin shares several lifelong literary favorites that he frequently returns to for comfort and inspiration. He highlights Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady and The Golden Bowl as enduring masterworks that have remained deeply meaningful to him since he first read them at the age of eighteen. In addition to James, Toibin includes Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park among his personal favorites, expressing a profound appreciation for Austen's craft and utilizing her characters to reflect on the art of storytelling and character creation. He also discusses Franz Kafka's The Trial, affirming his admiration for Kafka's unique contributions to fiction. Throughout the conversations, Toibin uses these classic texts not only as personal comforts but also as touchstones when discussing broader literary concepts, such as the inherent challenges and hesitations involved in writing sequels to beloved works of fiction.
Books recommended by Colm Toibin
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Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic 1813 comedy of manners that follows the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy as they navigate issues of class, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the British landed gentry.
Discussed“if it was a sequel to Pride and Prejudice where Mr Darcy turned out to be a complete monster”
Where to get it
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Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen is a classic nineteenth-century novel that explores morality, social standing, and domestic life within an English country estate.
Recommended“but I also love Mansfield Park”
Where to get it
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The Golden Bowl
The Golden Bowl by Henry James is a complex, late-period psychological novel that explores betrayal, marriage, and moral ambiguity among a small circle of wealthy Americans in Europe.
Discussed“so so I was looking at something like the golden Bow by Henry James for example in which there really are only four characters”
Where to get it
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The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James is a classic 1881 novel following the spirited young American heiress Isabel Archer as she navigates European society, independence, and a disastrous marriage.
Recommended“but there are books that haven't Chang for me such as po to Lady which I would have again read when I was 18 and I would have read regularly since”
Where to get it
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The Trial
The Trial by Franz Kafka is a classic twentieth-century existential novel about a man arrested and prosecuted by an inaccessible, ambiguous authority for an unspecified crime.
Recommended“and I certainly love the trial”
Where to get it
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The Age of Innocence
Discussed“so I was sort of working with that and working as well with you know ideas in Edith Warton say Age of Innocence in which an outside woman seems more glamorous”
Where to get it
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Ulysses
Ulysses by James Joyce is a monumental modernist novel that chronicles a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin, mirroring the structure of Homer's Odyssey.
Discussed“if it was a sequel to for example if there was a sequel to James Joyce's ulyses and was going to start another day nobody would it would ruin the first one”
Where to get it
Books Colm Toibin wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colm Toibin on His Sequel to 'Brooklyn' | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 12 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“in Nora Webster which is about really set it's the most Auto autobiographical novel of mine”
“well it's in the novel The Blackwater light ship where the guy says I haven't told my parents that I'm gay”