The Heather Blazing

The Heather Blazing by Colm Toibin is a deeply emotional, deeply moving book. It's the story of Eamon Redmond, a complex man, grown on tender roots, influential friends, a keen intellect and a tangible distance between himself and those whom he loves. The book is set in three parts, each of which dips in and out of time. We are with Eamon as a child in the small Wexford seaside villages he forever regards as home. Coastal erosion changes them over time and provides, in itself, a metaphor of aging, both of the individual and the community. Eamon's schoolteacher father is a significant figure, both locally as a renowned teacher, and nationally as a result of what he accomplished in his youth in the furtherance of Irish independence and political development. Eamon's mother died when he was young, an act for which, perhaps, he could never forgive her. We also see Eamon as an adolescent, hormones abuzz, becoming aware of adulthood, a physical, intellectual and, for him, a political transformation. But it is also a time when his father's illness complicates his life. Throughout, we are never sure whether Eamon's perception of such difficulty remains primarily selfish, driven by self-interest. If we are honest, none of us knows how that equation works out. We are with Eamon when he meets Carmel, his future and only wife. They share a political commitment and a life together. And they have two children. Naimh becomes pregnant at a crucial time. Donal is successful in his own way, but perhaps inherited his father's distance in relationships. And then there's another time and another Eamon, the professional, the legal Eamon. At first he practices law, but later, at a relatively early age, he accepts a politically-driven appointment to the judiciary. He has powerful sponsors, but also toys a little with the idea that he is being kicked upstairs. The moment, however, is his, no matter how dubious the source of the patronage. And then there are the cases that he has to judge, cases that impact in their own way upon the substance of his own life, his own family, whatever that might be, however the entity might be defined. It remains a substance that is perceived mainly by others, it seems, as he enacts his training and judges other people's experience according to rules he has dutifully learned so that he might apply them dispassionately. So Colm Toibin mixes these time frames and circumstances in each of the book's three sections. We are also presented with some intellectual arguments arising from the substance of the judge's daily routine, issues with which he must grapple in his assessment of competing interests. Eventually he must address the dichotomy of terrorism versus political action, a definition that, years ago, might have left his own father on this side or that, if ever he had been identified. Eamon's friends, in hindsight, might not have been the most worthy or honest sponsors, and so, again only with hindsight, we might question his judgm

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

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.

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.

The story of Eamon Redmond evokes an intense poignancy of loneliness and illustrates how this loneliness empties into the lives of those closest to him. It is a profound portrayal of constraint and struggle within those limits.