Super Short Summary

Set in 1990s Ireland, Colm Tóibín’s The Blackwater Lightship revolves around Helen O'Doherty as she joins her estranged family at her grandmother’s seaside home to support her dying brother, Declan, who suffers from AIDS. Over five days, longstanding grievances surface, allowing Helen, her mother Lily, her grandmother Dora, and Declan’s close friends to confront their pasts and reconcile their relationships. Topics of illness, death, and family estrangement are present.