I still have not read Toibin’s The Master, his epic portraying Henry James, but after reading his new collection of short stories I have even more motivation to read more of this Irish master’s work. Each of these stories deals with (sometimes loosely) the relationship between a mother and her son(s). Each feels real and true and they are very classically told stories – nothing experimental really, just as if you were listening to him tell the story, as a master would.