The Heather Blazing [Hardcover]

Colm Toibin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1993

A judge in Ireland's high court examines his relationships and his entirely rational existence and discovers how painfully disconnected he is from other human beings, in a novel by the author of The South. 10,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Irish novelist Toibin here follows up his Irish Times /Aer Lingus Irish Literature Award-winning first book, The South , with another extended study in paralysis--not the physical kind, but rather the willed emotional stasis that James Joyce, in a famous formulation, contended gripped the Irish soul. The hero here is Eamon Redmond, a High Court judge in Dublin who is readying for retirement. He and his wife, Carmel, are thinking of moving permanently to the south coast, near Enniscorthy, a place filled with childhood memories for them both. As they contemplate the joys of their autumn years, strains in their relations emerge: their unwed daughter announces she is pregnant; Eamon writes an unpopular opinion in a civil rights case; and Carmine accuses Eamon of always having been distant ("You sound bored. It is one of the things that you have learned to do over the years"). Toibin's acclaimed prose style--measured and restrained as a Victorian memoir yet poetic in precision--makes a character of the brooding, enigmatic Irish weather and gives voice to the darker side of the Irish character. As in Joyce's stories in Dubliners , the proceedings lead to an epiphany of sorts, as Eamon finds himself doting on his grandson at the shore. A small advance in the moral education of Eamon Redmond, yes; but under Toibin's generous, forgiving gaze, the moment rings profound.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Scholarly, aloof Eamon Redmond became a judge in Dublin's high court at a relatively young age after a lonely childhood. His meticulously constructed judgments adhere so strictly to the letter of the law that room for appeal is impossible. But what of compassion? Why do his wife and children turn their backs on his decisions? This novel is more a character study than the action-packed tale suggested by the title. The narrative leapfrogs from past to present as Redmond, the motherless boy, plods along with his father, listening to tales of earlier uprisings. His happiest times, as both man and boy, come when he is swimming or walking along the southern Irish coast. When his wife of many years dies and he is truly alone, solitude is no longer the prize he once sought. Toibin ( The South , LJ 7/91) has a subtle way of ensnaring the reader into Redmond's life. Recommended for serious fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/92.
- Marion Hanscom, Binghamton Univ. Lib., N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (February 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670847895
• ISBN-13: 978-0670847891
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,155,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Colm Toibin is the author of four previous novels, The South, The Heather Blazing, The Story of the Night, and The Blackwater Lightship, which was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize. He lives in Dublin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine, glimmering brilliance, September 1, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heather Blazing (Mass Market Paperback)

Kirkus Reviews blurb reprinted above is absolutely foolish. This is a magnificent novel, but one which, as Tobias Wolff has said, "repays attention", i.e., one must be willing to give oneself over to Toibin's deceptively simple prose. The cummulative affect of the chapters, as a picture of a life, is devastatingly poignant, but this poignance will only come through careful attention. A quiet masterpiece.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A Judge in Ireland", April 4, 2001

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heather Blazing (Mass Market Paperback)

I didn't really like Judge Eamon Redmond until I was almost through with this book. He certainly didn't show much emotion at all through most of the story. However, my whole attitude and judgement of him changed so much by the end of this engrossing story. When Eamon was very young he stood by silently and passively watching his father die (his mother was already dead), and then when he was older and a well-respected Judge, he watched as his wife Carmel die after having a stroke. Both of these dead's and there influence on Eamon's life are minutely detailed here. Eamon seems to be an intense and very lonely person. Yes, there is some attention given to his first girlfriend, and his children (who barely know their father) but the turning point, I think, is after Carmel dies. I think Eamon finally finds his heart, and the love he was too busy to recognize before. The ending is wonderful.

Colm Toibin has a way of beautifully describing family life and especially the landscape of Ireland. I learned a lot about Irish politics of that time, and how a judge makes his important decisions. A well-crafted novel from an author who has written many powerful books. I am always touched by his rich & moving novels.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Is The Compassion? It Lies Under The Exterior., August 16, 2004

By 

prisrob "pris," (New England USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Heather Blazing (Mass Market Paperback)

Colm Toibin has written a masterpiece of understated emotions, thought provoking prose and the chill of Ireland's coast in "The Heather Blazing." As Don Delillo says. "Colm Toibin never says too much and never lets us get too uncomfortable".

Eamon Redmond grew up in Dublin, the son of a school teacher and a Catholic Irish fighter. Eamon's mother died when he was a baby, and he grew up a lonely boy who learned not to ask anyone for anything. He had a comfortable existence. He was fed, clothed and educated well. He was an intelligent young man and learned to study at night while his father corrected papers. Eamon became involved in Fianna Fail, Ireland's Republican Party because of his father 's influence. His father was heavily involved and may have even murdered for the cause of Ireland. Eamon went to college, and then to law school and was promoted up into the Courts because of his support of Fianna Fail. As a young man he worked with a young people's group to further the cause of Fianna Fail. It was here that he met Carmel O'Brien. He fell in love with Carmel O'Brien, but she told him he was too withdrawn, too into himself. He never really understood what she was talking about. Or, he never really listened to what she was saying. Eventually, he won her over, they married and had two children.

Eamon was used to making difficult law decisions and became the top judge in his circuit. His decisions were often controversial, and his family differed in their opinion of the decisions he wrought. He preferred to be by himself and that was often apparent to his family. He could abide his wife's company, but just barely. It was not until she had a stroke that he realized how important she was to him. He cared for her until she had another stroke and died. He felt alone, all alone, He was unable to sleep in the bed they had slept in for years. He went to their summer home, and had to sleep in the car. He could not stand to be in the same room as they had been in together. He was unable to accept his loss. All this time he thought he had never asked for anything; now, he just wanted his wife back. He did all he could to avoid being in the home. He walked miles until he was exhausted. It was not until his daughter and her young son came to stay with him that he started to understand the meaning of family, of love, of sharing, of fun and of laughter. This is a book to be remembered. The more one thinks about this book, the stronger the impression it leaves. prisrob