He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. In 2006 he was appointed to the Arts Council in Ireland. His daughter is led to her death, and Agamemnon leads his army into battle, where he is rewarded with glorious victory. Suspected Green Day side project releases 'Ivankkka... Iconic SF landmark lights up the Castro again. ", "Mesmerizing... [House of Names] balances the restraint of neoclassical art with the frenzy of a Pollock painting. Who would want to say such an artistic appropriation, especially one done so well, is off limits? Video here, pairing this with The Oresteia: This house used to be full of names…. ", "A haunting story, largely because Tóibín tells it in spare, resonant prose...", "In a novel describing one of the Western world's oldest legends, in which the gods are conspicuous by their absence, Tóibín achieves a paradoxical richness of characterisation and a humanisation of the mythological, marking House Of Names as the superbly realised work of an author at the top of his game. Like Madeline Miller’s beautiful novel “The Song of Achilles”, the character of Orestes allows Tóibín to highlight this character’s homosexuality (which is suggested in some versions of this myth, but which Tóibín makes overt). Her mouth was gagged to stop her cursing her father, her cowardly, two-tongued father. Agamemnon though hesitant to do so relents and Iphigenia is killed while Clytemnestra is locked in an underground pit to stop any attempts at in. Tóibín powerfully depicts the tragedy and isolation which results from this. The story is told by three of the names of this house of tragedy: Clytemnestra, her other daughter, Electra, and her son, Orestes. After reading The House of Names I stick to my choice. It is Orestes’s story, too: his capture by the forces of his mother’s lover Aegisthus, his escape and his exile. Colm Tóibín did a half-good with his: while in. To be honest, if it wasn't written by this author I probably would have passed on reading. Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. When he retur. On the day of his daughter's wedding, Agamemnon orders her sacrifice. Both Electra and Orestes, their youngest child and son, get mixed up in their mothers scheming as she allies herself with an old enemy of Agamemnon. When Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and Iphigenia arrive though they quickly find out that Iphigenia is actually there to be sacrificed to the gods to ensure victory. And then a chain-reaction of blame, revenge and guilt followed, and drove this house to ruin, giving Colm Tóibín (and few others before him) a perfect subject to explore. (Clytemnestra, p.6), Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. something I have been dramatizing in all my books: the same emotions, the same regrets, the same elemental feelings.” Agamemnon mostly comes across as a blandly driven man who “was an image of pure will.” The real conflict exists with his wife and children who are understandably overwrought by emotions because of the heinous actions of their family members. A big thank you to Colm Tóibín, Simon and Schuster, and Netgalley for this free copy in exchange for an unbiased review. Be the first to ask a question about House of Names. It reveals the horrors but doesn’t sensationalize them — which makes them even more horrific, as he meticulously reproduces the inexorable and inevitabilities of Greek tragedy. It is a work of great beauty, and daring, from one of the world's finest living writers. Colm Toibin’s collection of stories ‘The Empty Family’ will be published in the UK in … Totally gripping, loved ever minute of it... From the first page i was there watching the events unfold, Colm took me on a journey through this ancient story seeing it from each characters point of view and as myself watching in the shadows I didn't want the story to end .thank you Mr TOIBIN for your fabulous storytelling, 商品詳細ページを閲覧すると、ここに履歴が表示されます。チェックした商品詳細ページに簡単に戻る事が出来ます。, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. As his wife, Clytemnestra, seeks his death, his daughter, Electra, is the silent observer to the family's game of innocence while his son, Orestes, is sent into bewildering, frightening exile where survival is far from certain. Loneliness is collective; it is a city.”, Thoughts & book reviews from a passionate bibliophile, This blue eyed boy loved reading Maggie Nelson’s intense & engaging meditation on the colour blue:…, Kingdom Cons by Yuri Herrera (translated by Lisa Dillman), The Young Writer of the Year Award 2020 shortlist, Attrib and Other Stories by Eley Williams. . As his wife seeks his death, his daughter, Electra, is the silent observer to the family's game of innocence while his son, Orestes, is sent into bewildering, frightening exile where survival is far from certain. Orestes, returning to find his mother and Aegisthus ruling, denies the truth of the matter for as long as he can. Maybe that is the point. We also lose the sense of tragic inevitably, of a largely deterministic cosmos in which, when one domino goes down, the others must as well. However, I was enthralled reading “House of Names” for both it’s fiery action and sensitive take on a family ripped apart amidst their power struggle. His journalism from the 1980s was collected in ‘The Trial of the Generals’ (1990). By clicking 'Sign me up' I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the privacy policy and terms of use. Colm Tóibín is one of Ireland’s most beloved writers. Three times shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Tóibín lives in Dublin and New York. Strangely, his account is the only one which isn’t actually narrated in the first person. Out of their desolating loss, Electra and Orestes must find a way to right these wrongs of the past even if it means committing themselves to a terrible, barbarous act. "They cut her hair before they dragged her to the place of sacrifice. It's an ancient Greek story of palace intrigue, but it feels as fresh as newly spilled blood.” —Houston Chronicle Agreed, he very nicely uses the ancient Greek drama cycle around king Agamemnoon, with the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia, the revenge of his wife Clytemnestra, and then the counterrevenge by son Orestes. I can say that I surprised myself by how much I became engaged and enjoyed the telling of this story. You know what you want for them in this time of betrayal and cruelty. However, the power of Tóibín’s invention isn’t in plotting out this ancient story (whose details he seems to mostly stay faithful to) but in how he vividly imagines the points of view of these more marginalized figures of the myth and letting their voices color the well-worn tale. However, in recent years, he’s changed his tactic by harkening back to classic tales to expand our understanding of these old stories and imbue them with a modern sensibility. This powerful re-enactment of a number of Greek myths, chief among them based on Aeschylus's 'Oresteia', takes the reader into a strangely disconnected world where the stories that once shaped those myths have begun to lose their narrative thread. First, he gives us the remarkable first-person narration of Clytemnestra — a woman who meets her daughter’s death not with public anger but with private plotting, whose every action makes ready the way of vengeance. When Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and Iphigenia arrive though they quickly find out that Iphigenia is actually there to be sacrificed to the gods to ensure victory. But as a reader, it can be a bit sticky going to wade into this world of retellings, especially if one is a lover of the source material. Human agency and the power of the individual will seize control: the corpses pile up, dogs savage strangers and palaces are 'full of lingering echoes and whispering'. Surely the Greek myth of warrior-king Agamemnon and his downfall must be the story of the most dysfunctional family in history. Amazon配送商品ならHouse of Namesが通常配送無料。更にAmazonならポイント還元本が多数。Tóibín, Colm作品ほか、お急ぎ便対象商品は当日お届けも可能。 You hope they get it right, stick the landing, tell their own tale while reminding how much you loved (or hated, or were challenged by) the old one. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ulster and from University College Dublin. To be clear, Clytemnestra’s thoughts can be rage-filled. And it is the story of the vengeful Electra, who watches over her mother and Aegisthus with cold anger and slow calculation, until, on the return of her brother, she has the fates of both of them in her hands.