With a title like this, Tóibín’s work was always going to catch the eye. I have read almost all his fiction, and for an author who writes very much in a classic literary fashion, it is inevitably intriguing to learn his thoughts on other writers. New Ways To Kill is a collection of essays (many originally given in lecture format) that focus on the relationships between famous authors and their families. The most notable strands for me across the 15 essays were the necessity of family repudiation and the use of fiction as a form of sublimation of personal grief and sadness. Begin with the former: a happy childhood makes good citizens but rarely inspires great literature. No surprise then that authors frequently have to break away from, disappoint or actively betray their families to carve out an autonomous creative space. Others may use literature as a way to reinvent themselves. Tóibín also shows how authors often deploy the device of metaphorically ‘killing off’ mothers or replacing them with aunts (per Austen and James) to give their literary heroes the space to make mistakes and grow. In all the above, literature can serve as a vehicle for processing family trauma. Tennessee Williams represents an evident case study. New Ways To Kill may have been an even stronger work had Tóibín provided a few framing comments (such as the above). Instead, readers are plunged straight in. The collection lacks an introduction or consideration of an overall organising principle. Knowing the works of Williams, or authors such as Thomas Mann and Sebastian Barry meant that these sections were more interesting than those on, say, J M Synge or John Cheever. Nonetheless, for literary geeks, there is a lot to take away.
By Colm Tóibín