Shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Set in Ireland in the 1990s, Colm Tóibín's The Blackwater Lightship tells the story of the Devereux family, and reveals the intense connection between grandmother, mother and daughter.

Helen’s beloved brother Declan is dying. Now, she must join her mother and grandmother in a crumbling old house by the sea, three generations calling an uneasy truce after years of strife, to be by his side.

Together with Declan’s friends, who know more about him than any family, they must all deal with the past and come to terms with each other.

'It is in his emotional choreography that Tóibín shows himself to be an exceptional writer' – The Sunday Telegraph

'The most astonishing piece of writing, lyrical in its emotion and spare in its construction . . . Tóibín has crafted an unmissable read' – The Sunday Herald

Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.

Read Long Island, the Sunday Times bestselling sequel to Colm Tóibín's beloved Brooklyn.

Prizes

Short-listed for Man Booker Prize 1999 (UK)

This is the most astonishing piece of writing, lyrical in its emotion and spare in its construction . . . Tóibín has crafted an unmissable read. * Sunday Herald *
It is in his emotional choreography that Tóibín shows himself to be an exceptional writer. Helen is estranged from both her mother and grandmother . . . Tóibín helps them make peace – and he does it beautifully. * Sunday Telegraph *
He writes in spare, powerful prose and he is truly perceptive about family relationships which, at times, makes reading his stories incredibly painful. But this is a beautiful novel. * Belfast News *
We shall be reading and living with The Blackwater Lightship in twenty years. * Independent on Sunday *

Colm Tóibín was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of numerous novels, including The Master, Brooklyn, and The Magician, and two collections of stories. He has been three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2021, he was awarded the David Cohen Prize for Literature. Tóibín was appointed the Laureate for Irish Fiction 2022-2024.