Newmag Presents Colm Tóibín’s "Nora Webster" - One of Modern Irish Literature's Finest Works (Trailer)

"A truly perfect work of fiction" - that is how Los Angeles Times reviewer Darin Strauss described Colm Tóibín's Nora Webster. Publishers Weekly called it "a striking portrait of a brave woman."

An influential Irish novel, it took the author 13 years to write. Nora Webster is widowed at age 40 and left alone with four children, without sufficient means. Maurice, the great love of her life, had once saved Nora from a miserable existence.

Colm Tóibín speaks of the strange silence that settles over a home when you cannot talk about it every day. It was too sad, too heavy; the pain stays inside you.

"You live with it. In a small Irish town, Nora struggles against fear, anger, and an identity crisis, discovering a passion for singing. And so, a quiet transformation begins in her life."

Colm Tóibín: "This novel is not an attempt at revenge. I never thought of punishing or blaming my mother. I simply wanted to understand through my memories what was happening inside her."

A story of grief, motherhood, societal conventions, and a woman's independence, this novel is autobiographical; the author wrote about his family and his mother.

"During those years, I thought about the book almost every day. When you're a child, you see only your own pain. Years later, when you become a writer, you can try to see the same story through someone else's eyes- your mother's. I tried to understand what she was feeling."

Colm Tóibín was born in 1955 in Ireland. He is the author of 11 novels, and his works are renowned for their deep psychological layers, nuanced language, and accurate portrayals of human relationships.

Tóibín's books have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times. He has received the Costa Novel Award and the International Dublin Literary Award, and his works have been translated into dozens of languages.

The presentation of Nora Webster will take place at Yerevan BookFest 2026 on September 4, at 14:00, at the National Gallery.

During the festival days, Nora Webster will be available at a 30% discount.