Nora Webster
A Novel
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3.8 • 140 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From one of contemporary literature’s bestselling, critically acclaimed, and beloved authors: a “luminous” novel (Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Book Review) about a fiercely compelling young widow navigating grief, fear, and longing, and finding her own voice—“heartrendingly transcendent” (The New York Times).
At forty, Nora Webster is newly widowed, left with four children and not nearly enough money. Maurice, the love of her life, had once saved her from a stifling existence—but now he's gone, and Nora fears she may be pulled back into a world she fought hard to leave behind. In a small Irish town where privacy is a luxury, Nora tries to keep her sorrow private—even as her young sons silently mourn the father they barely understand is missing.
As she wrestles with fear, anger, and identity, Nora reveals a complex interior life—wounded and secretive, yet capable of astonishing empathy and strength. When she rediscovers her passion for singing, Nora begins a quiet transformation, finding solace, connection, and a sense of self that she had long buried.
Shortlisted for the 2016 Audie Award for Literary Fiction and celebrated as “a perfect work of fiction” (Los Angeles Times), Nora Webster is a powerful and intimate look at grief, motherhood, and female independence. For fans of Brooklyn, The Testament of Mary, and Vinegar Hill, this novel is a deeply moving addition to the best of Irish literary fiction and an unforgettable story for book clubs and lovers of emotionally resonant stories.
“Miraculous…Tóibín portrays Nora with tremendous sympathy and understanding” (The Washington Post). Nora Webster is a masterpiece of quiet power, perfect for fans of character-driven fiction and literary explorations of personal transformation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
T ib n's 10th novel offers a compelling portrait of an Irish woman for whom fate has prescribed loneliness. Widowed at 40, with four children and shaky finances, Nora rejects condolences and pity. She is so intent on making her children's lives normal that she ignores their need to mourn as well. In the wake of her husband's terminal illness, she instills fear and bewilderment in her two younger boys; they have nightmares, and one begins to stutter. The two girls, away at school, are resentful as well. Nora is sometimes obtuse about the choices she makes. She is short-tempered and sharp-tongued, and she makes significant mistakes but her frailties make her an appealing character. Catholicism is woven into the setting of 1970s Enniscorthy. The Church is represented by a mean, small-minded teacher in the Christian Brothers monastery school and by a saintly nun who acts as guardian angel for the family. Several years pass, in which Nora gradually finds an unexpected fulfillment in a talent she had never acknowledged. T ib n (Brooklyn) never employs dramatic fireworks to add an artificial boost to the narrative. No new suitor magically appears to fall in love with Nora. Instead, she remains a brave woman learning how to find a meaningful life as she goes on alone.
