Colm Tóibín is one of the leading contemporary Irish authors. His output is varied, including novels, works of prose nonfiction, travelogues, and works of literary criticism. Tóibín's distinctive traits as a novelist include a spare style and compressed but powerful prose that owes as much to the American writer Raymond Carver as it does to any modern Irish writer. In his works Tóibín has tackled the problems that the modern Irish have had in dealing with the legacy of the troubled past of their country, examined the effects that repressive and illiberal states have on individuals, and addressed questions of sexuality and the impact of AIDS. Academic study of Tóibín's work is limited, but his novels are widely reviewed in newspapers as well as weekly and monthly periodicals. Tóibí...