Skip to Main Content

The South

A Novel

See More Retailers

About The Book

A highly acclaimed novel from the author of Brooklyn and an “immensely gifted and accomplished writer” (The Washington Post), about an Irishwoman who creates a new life in post-war Spain.

In 1950, Katherine Proctor leaves Ireland for Barcelona, determined to escape her family and become a painter. There she meets Miguel, an anarchist veteran of the Spanish Civil War, and begins to build a life with him. But Katherine cannot escape her past, as Michael Graves, a fellow Irish émigré in Spain, forces her to reexamine all her relationships: to her lover, her art, and the homeland she only thought she knew.

The South is a novel of classic themes—of art and exile, and of the seemingly irreconcilable yearnings for love and freedom—to which Colm Tóibín brings a new, passionate sensitivity.

About The Author

Photograph by Reynaldo Rivera
Colm Toibin

Colm Tóibín is the author of eleven novels, including Long Island, an Oprah’s Book Club Pick; The Magician, winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize; The Master, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Brooklyn, winner of the Costa Book Award; and Nora Webster; as well as two story collections and several books of criticism. He is the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University and was named the 2022–2024 Laureate for Irish Fiction by the Arts Council of Ireland. He was shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize. He was also awarded the Bodley Medal, the Würth Prize for European Literature, and the Prix Femina spécial for his body of work.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (October 30, 2012)
  • Length: 240 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781476704494

Raves and Reviews

“Tóibín’s talent is amazing…a stunning novel.”—The Washington Post Book World

“A book of sustained lyrical beauty and power.”—Chicago Tribune

“A strong and moving work of fiction about the hard truths of changing one’s life. A grand achievement.”—Don DeLillo

“Tóibín’s first novel is a broad and beautifully worked canvas…an imaginative, deeply felt, and evocative tale.”—The Sunday Times

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Colm Toibin