Mothers and Sons

This beautifully written, intensely intimate collection explores a subject of nearly universal experience: the psychological push and pull between a mother and a son. Each story is centered on a transformative moment that alters the delicate balance of power in that relationship and changes the way mother and son perceive one another.
With exquisite grace and eloquence, Toibin writes of men and women bound by convention, by unspoken emotions, and by the stronghold of the past. Many are trapped in lives they would not choose again, if they ever chose at all. Through the unique lens of their complex mother-son relationship, surprising hidden facets of character are revealed.
Award-winning novelist Toibin brings to this stunning first collection of short works an acute understanding of human frailty and longing.