The Empty Family

{{Short description|2010 collection of short stories by Colm Tóibín}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox book  | name = The Empty Family | title_orig = | translator = | image = The empty family.jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = First edition cover | author = Colm Tóibín | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = Ireland | language = English | series = | subject =  | genre = Short Story Collection | publisher = Scribner | release_date = 1 October 2010 | english_release_date = | media_type = Print (hardcover) | pages = 288 pp (hardback) | isbn = 978-1-4391-3832-8 | preceded_by = Brooklyn | followed_by =  }} '''''The Empty Family''''' is a collection of short stories by Irish writer Colm Tóibín. It was published in the UK in October 2010 and was released in the US in January 2011.<ref name="colmtoibin.com1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.colmtoibin.com/content/empty-family-stories |title=The Empty Family Stories {{!}} Colm Tóibín Official Website |access-date=3 January 2012 |archive-date=1 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101001021/http://www.colmtoibin.com/content/empty-family-stories |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Reception== ''The Empty Family'' was shortlisted for the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.<ref>Cullen, Conor. [http://www.enniscorthyguardian.ie/news/tx00f3ibx00edn-in-line-for-major-prize-2819695.html "Tóibín in line for major prize"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004071532/http://www.enniscorthyguardian.ie/news/tx00f3ibx00edn-in-line-for-major-prize-2819695.html |date=4 October 2011 }}. ''Enniscorthy Guardian''. 12 July 2011.</ref><ref>Walsh, Caroline. [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/0709/1224300361201.html "Two Irish authors make awards shortlist"]. ''The Irish Times''. 9 July 2011.</ref><ref>Flood, Alison. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jul/12/irish-writers-frank-o-connor-shortlist "Strong showing for Irish writers on Frank O'Connor shortlist"]. ''The Guardian''. 9 July 2011.</ref>

Bryan Lynch wrote in the ''Irish Independent'' that the "stories are always intensely interesting and sometimes profoundly provocative", noting that the sexually frank depictions required great courage.<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/review-the-empty-family-by-colm-toibin-2352531.html Review: The Empty Family by Colm Toibin - Books, Entertainment - Independent.ie]</ref> Keith Miller in ''The Daily Telegraph'' described the book as an "exquisite and almost excruciating collection".<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7991818/The-Empty-Family-by-Colm-Toibin-review.html The Empty Family by Colm Tóibín: review - Telegraph]</ref> ''The Irish Times'' journalist Heather Ingman noted that most of Tóibín's familiar themes are present but with the addition of a "hard-won wisdom",<ref>[http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0925/1224279626788.html The Irish Times - Sat, Sep 25, 2010 - Colm Tóibín's hard-won wisdom]</ref> giving rich rewards to the reader. Many reviewers commented on the fact that Tóibín's prose has become ever more spare and refined, with Ingman inviting readers "to read slowly and savour the silences between the words".

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empty Family, The}} Category:2010 short story collections Category:Books by Colm Tóibín Category:LGBTQ short story collections Category:Lambda Literary Award–winning works Category:Irish short story collections