A review by keatonmcn
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín

5.0

I am truly, utterly, deeply shocked at the love and tenderness this novel made me feel. The casual gentleness of Toibin’s prose illuminates every aspect of the story. The characters have an almost frightening humanness to them, which makes the constant unraveling and re-tying of their histories and emotions all the more gutting. The confusing hurt that Helen, Lily, and Dora each feel is palpable.

I did not expect to be so taken with the book as I was. My mom teaches it (or has in the past) in some of her college-level English classes. We have different tastes so I wasn’t sure if it would resonate with me. But I ended up finishing the book, and over 200 pages of it, in one day.

This is the first time in quite a while I’ve read a book knowing I’ll read it again to find new meaning in it the second time.