Story of the Night

A New York Times Notable Book

The streets are empty at night, and people see nothing because they have trained themselves not to. It is Argentina in a time of the generals. Richard Garay lives alone with his mother, hiding his sexuality from her and from the world. Stifled by a job he despises, he is willing to take chances, both sexual and professional. The Falklands War enables him to disregard the Britishness he has inherited from his mother, and the arrival of two American diplomats offer him new hope and the prospect of making his fortune. Argentina is changing, and as his country slowly makes its peace with the outside world, Richard tentatively begins a love affair--but the Faustian bargain he has made with experience is gradually becoming a nightmare. Richard tells his picaresque story with a mixture of confessional guilt and awestruck wonder. The Story of the Night is a powerful, brave, and moving novel.

Hailed by the Irish Independent as "the best Irish writer of his generation," Colm Tóibín won the American Academy of Art and Letters E. M. Forster Prize in 1995. Toibin is also the author of three nonfiction books, including The Sign of the Cross: Travels in Catholic Europe. He lives in Dublin.

The streets are empty at night, and people see nothing because they have trained themselves not to. It is Argentina in a time of the generals. Richard Garay lives alone with his mother, hiding his sexuality from her and from the world. Stifled by a job he despises, he is willing to take chances, both sexual and professional. The Falklands War enables him to disregard the Britishness he has inherited from his mother, and the arrival of two American diplomats offer him new hope and the prospect of making his fortune.

Argentina is changing, and as his country slowly makes its peace with the outside world, Richard tentatively begins a love affairbut the Faustian bargain he has made with experience is gradually becoming a nightmare. Richard tells his picaresque story with a mixture of confessional guilt and awestruck wonder.

"A fine novel, remarkable for the purity of its ambitions."The Washington Post Book World

"An impressive, beautifully modulated, unexpectedly affecting book."Jeffrey Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides

"This is one of the most absorbing new novels I've read in quite some time."The Irish Times

"Tóibín's simple but eloquent telling of this personal story is sometimes explicit, often moving, and always vivid in its portrayal of Argentina and its people."Library Journal (starred review)

"Beginning the book is like sneaking into a diary; ending it is like losing a fascinating friend."Harpers Bazaar

"A smart literary novel that is also a satisfying page-tuner."Out

A New York Times Notable Book

The streets are empty at night, and people see nothing because they have trained themselves not to. It is Argentina in a time of the generals. Richard Garay lives alone with his mother, hiding his sexuality from her and from the world. Stifled by a job he despises, he is willing to take chances, both sexual and professional. The Falklands War enables him to disregard the Britishness he has inherited from his mother, and the arrival of two American diplomats offer him new hope and the prospect of making his fortune. Argentina is changing, and as his country slowly makes its peace with the outside world, Richard tentatively begins a love affair--but the Faustian bargain he has made with experience is gradually becoming a nightmare. Richard tells his picaresque story with a mixture of confessional guilt and awestruck wonder. The Story of the Night is a powerful, brave, and moving novel.

Hailed by the Irish Independent as "the best Irish writer of his generation," Colm Toibin won the American Academy of Art and Letters E. M. Foster Prize in 1995. Toibin is also the author of three nonfiction books, including The Sign of the Cross: Travels in Catholic Europe. He lives in Dublin.