Nora Webster

{{short description|2014 novel by Colm Tóibín}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox book

| name = Nora Webster

| publisher = Scribner

| oclc =

| isbn = 9781439138335

| awards =

| pages =

| media_type = Print (hardcover, paperback)

| pub_date = October 7, 2014

| genre = Novel

| image = Nora Webster.jpg

| series =

| language = English

| country = Ireland

| cover_artist =

| author = Colm Tóibín

| caption =

| congress =

}}

Nora Webster is a historical novel by Colm Tóibín, published October 7, 2014 by Scribner. The story is set in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland, and in Brooklyn, New York in the middle of the 20th century.

Reception

Nora Webster is a New York Times best seller.{{Cite web|date=2014-08-07|title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/colm-toibin/nora-webster/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Kirkus Reviews}}

On The Omnivore, in an aggregation of British press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.0 out of 5.{{Cite web |title=Nora Webster by Colm Toibin|url=http://www.theomnivore.com/nora-webster-by-colm-toibin/ |access-date=17 February 2024 |website=The Omnivore}} On Bookmarks January/February 2015 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a {{rating|4|5}} (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a critical summary saying, "Nora Webster is a subtle meditation on grief, home, family, and memory by an internationally respected writer at the peak of his craft--a meditation in prose that is curiously flat and seemingly empty but that reflects, with perfect clarity, the fullness of life".{{Cite web |title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Nora+Webster.-a0434294564|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bookmarks}}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-04 |title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.bibliosurf.com/Nora-Webster.html|access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Bibliosurf |language=fr}}

The book received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Booklist,{{Cite web|last=Hooper|first=Brad|date=August 2014|title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Nora-Webster-Colm-Toibin/pid=6904393|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Booklist}} as well as positive reviews from Publishers Weekly{{Cite web|title=Fiction Book Review: Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín. Scribner, $27 (384p) ISBN 978-1-4391-3833-5|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4391-3833-5|access-date=2022-01-07|website=PublishersWeekly.com|language=en}} and Shelf Awareness.{{Cite web|last=Krocker McKeon|first=Cheryl|date=2014-10-21|title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=343|access-date=2022-01-07|website=Shelf Awareness}}

Kirkus called Nora Webster "[a] novel of mourning, healing and awakening," noting that "its plainspoken eloquence never succumbs to the sentimentality its heroine would reject."

The audiobook, narrated by Fiona Shaw, received positive reviews from Booklist{{Cite web|date=2015-04-01|title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Nora-Webster-/pid=7153161|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Booklist}} and Library Journal.{{Cite web|last=Knapp|first=Mary|date=2015-01-01|title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/nora-webster|access-date=2022-01-07|website=Library Journal}}

Kirkus Reviews named Nora Webster one of the best fiction novels of the year.

class="wikitable"

|+Awards for Nora Webster

!Year

!Award

!Result

!Ref.

rowspan="3" |2014

|Booklist Editors' Choice for Adult Fiction

|Selection

|{{Cite web|date=2015-01-01|title=Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2014|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice/pid=7273260|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Booklist}}

Costa Book Award for Novel

|Nominee

|{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Mark|date=2014-11-18|title=Costa 2014 book awards shortlist includes first novel by ex-Mormon|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/18/costa-2014-book-awards-shortlist-carys-bray-ali-smith-colm-toibin|access-date=2022-01-07|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

Eason Novel of the Year

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web|last=Sussler|first=Betsy|date=2014-11-03|title=Awards: Irish Book; Banff Mountain|url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2377|access-date=2022-01-07|website=Shelf Awareness}}

rowspan="3" |2015

|Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web|last=Ott|first=Bill|date=2015-04-06|title=Shortlist Announced for the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Fiction and Nonfiction|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=7486500|access-date=2022-01-07|website=Booklist}}{{Cite web|last=Morales|first=Macey|date=2015-04-08|title=ALA unveils shortlist for 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction|url=https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2015/04/ala-unveils-shortlist-2015-andrew-carnegie-medals-excellence-fiction-and|access-date=2022-01-07|website=American Library Association|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2015-05-27|title=BEA 2015: Shortlist for the Carnegie Medals|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bea/article/66862-bea-2015-shortlist-for-the-carnegie-medals.html|access-date=2022-01-07|website=PublishersWeekly.com|language=en}}

Folio Prize

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Mark|date=2015-03-23|title=Akhil Sharma wins Folio prize for fiction|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/23/akhil-sharma-wins-folio-prize-fiction-family-life|access-date=2022-01-07|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

Hawthornden Prize

|Winner

|{{Cite web|date=2015-07-23|title=Colm Tóibín scoops Hawthornden Literature Prize|url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2015/0723/716571-colm-toibin-wins-hawthornden-prize/|access-date=2022-01-07|website=RTE}}

2016

|Europese Literatuurprijs

|Nominee

|{{Cite web|title=Nora Webster|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21412360-nora-webster?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=WmGZzCOmTh&rank=1|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Goodreads}}

References