Book Review of 'Nora Webster' by Colm Tóibín

The cover of ‘Nora Webster’ is like an old photograph, salvaged from a box hidden somewhere in the attic: the woman, huddled in her forest green coat, stares out at sea. The title of the novel is simple- it is about a woman called Nora Webster. Like so many Irish modernist novels, nothing much happens in the book which some readers may find this dull and interesting.  There is no fast-moving-action-packed plot line so don’t read this novel if that’s what you’re looking for. What you will find is a story rich in details, colourful in characterization and golden in details of the innate, inner life.  

The novel is set in a little town called Enniscorthy, in the South-East of Ireland. Nora Webster has been recently widowed and must face the daunting task of bringing up her sons on her own, being strong for her two grown up daughters, dealing with criticism and advice from all those around her and being the sole breadwinner of the family. Nora faces the challenges any widow must face but she draws great strength from music and singing which enables her to move past her husband Maurice’s death, let go of her old life and allow her to start living again.

What I loved so much about ‘Nora Webster’ was the sheer ordinariness of the novel. Colm Tóibín’s glorifies the simplicity of life in a small Irish town and the novel reads almost like a memoir.  The passage which has stayed with me the most, is when Nora goes to her clean out their old seaside holiday home and comes to the realisation that that happiness is over - they would pass no more summers there:

 ‘She would not come here again. This is the last time she’d visit this house. What surprised her was the hardness of her resolve, how easy it seemed to turn her back on what she loved, leave this house on the lane to the cliff for others to know for others to come to in the summer and fill with different noises. She let herself feel how much she had lost, how much she would miss.’

What I did struggle with however was Nora herself and I was not completely sure whether or not I liked her. She seemed hardened and desensitised to all that was going around her and I often felt she was selfish. Her sisters, Catherine and Una didn’t seem to like her all that much either. The novel is set over a three year period so Nora wasn’t raw with grief and the novel is more the aftermath of tragedy but I would have liked to see a bit more emotion from the character. 

Whether I liked Nora Webster or not is not the issue for Colm Tóibín has painted a portrait so true to life that it reflects on all of humanity. Tóibín sheds light on the gift of music and the importance creativity has on the healing process which I find a such a beautiful and simple resolve to the novel.