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Description
This was the night train to Barcelona, some hours before the dawn. This was 1950, late September. I had left my husband. I had left my home. Katherine Proctor has dared to leave her family in Ireland and reach out for a new life. Determined to become an artist, she flees to Spain, where she meets Miguel, a passionate man who has fought for his own freedoms. They retreat to the quiet intensity of the mountains and begin to build a life together. But as Miguel's past catches up with him, Katherine too is forced to re-examine her relationships: with her lover, her painting and the homeland she only thought she knew. . .The South is the book that introduced readers to the astonishing gifts of Colm Tóibín, winning the Irish Times First Fiction Award in 1991. Arrestingly visual and enduringly atmospheric, it is a classic novel of art, sacrifice, and courage.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
This is a truly beautiful story on so many levels. The writing is tight and exquisite. The characters are full-bodied with all of their mysteries and faults. The setting is varied and full, at the end of the book driving me to my own computer to have a look at pictures of many of the seaside venues
I was intrigued that this was the debut novel of Colm Tóibín and appreciated what a talent he has for writing about an individual's experience. I have read two other of his novels and plan to read more. It's an exhilarating experience to be under the influence of this author's words.
The South tells the story of Katherine, a young woman, who left her husband Tom and son Richard in Enniscorthy, Ireland, and came to live in Barcelona with a Miguel, a known rebel against the Franco rule. Miguel takes great interest in his fellow rebel Carlos Puig. Both Katherine and Miguel develop a deep friendship with Michael Graves, a man also from Enniscorthy. Katherine, Miguel and Michael Graves are artists who developed their painting skill in an art school in Barcelona under the guidance of Ramon Rogent.
Don't worry too much about the story itself. Just let Katherine's tale carry you along at will. Enjoy the ride!
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in Wexford, Ireland. Political (Catalonia under Franco in Spain) and religious controversy (the Church of Ireland versus Roman Catholicism) inserted themselves into this novel's pages but never completely took over the immediate story of the characters as they related to each other. I was intrigued that this was the debut novel of Colm Tóibín and appreciated what a talent he has for writing about an individual's experience. I have read two other of his novels and plan to read more. It's an exhilarating experience to be under the influence of this author's words.
The South tells the story of Katherine, a young woman, who left her husband Tom and son Richard in Enniscorthy, Ireland, and came to live in Barcelona with a Miguel, a known rebel against the Franco rule. Miguel takes great interest in his fellow rebel Carlos Puig. Both Katherine and Miguel develop a deep friendship with Michael Graves, a man also from Enniscorthy. Katherine, Miguel and Michael Graves are artists who developed their painting skill in an art school in Barcelona under the guidance of Ramon Rogent.
Don't worry too much about the story itself. Just let Katherine's tale carry you along at will. Enjoy the ride!
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
After a devastating fire, Katherine Proctor leaves behind her son and husband in a politically tumultuous Ireland, arriving in Barcelona. She becomes an artist and meets Miguel, a Spanish Civil War veteran. She also meets Michael Graves, an Irishman living in Spain. She loves Miguel and builds a
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life with him, eventually bearing his daughter. After tragedy strikes, she eventually returns to Ireland to face the past. I really did not like Katherine. She acted too irresponsible for me. In spite of my dislike of the main character, I appreciated Toibin's writing. He paints his own pictures with his style. Show Less
LibraryThing member Fence
Colm Tóibín has recently been in the news for his new book, The Master which tells the story of Henry James, and is supposedly very good. I haven’t read it, so I don’t know :) But the publicity did encourage me to pick this book up when I spotted it in the library
His first novel, it tells the
It is a wonderful read, a great exploration of memory and the impact of the past. Nothing is really resolved, or changed. There is no happy ever after, but it isn’t a depressing book. The language is great, especially many of the descriptions of the light. There are no real explanations offered, it is up to the reader to discover the links between the characters
His first novel, it tells the
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story of Katherine Procter who leaves her life in Ireland for Spain, leaving behind her husband and son as well as Enniscorthy. In Spain she finds romance, and a new life as an artist, but is constantly haunted by the past. Both her own history and that of Miguel’s experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The book starts off in 1950, a fact I really should have paid a little bit more attention to, otherwise I wouldn’t have been so surprised by certain things. But once I checked the date I was sorted.It is a wonderful read, a great exploration of memory and the impact of the past. Nothing is really resolved, or changed. There is no happy ever after, but it isn’t a depressing book. The language is great, especially many of the descriptions of the light. There are no real explanations offered, it is up to the reader to discover the links between the characters
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Awards
Irish Times Literature Prize (Winner — 1991)