This is The Writer's Voice, new fiction from The New Yorker.

I'm Deborah Treasman, fiction editor at The New Yorker.

On this week's episode of The Writer's Voice, we'll hear Colm Toibine read his story,

Five Bridges from the March 10th, 2025 issue of the writer's voice will hear Colm Toibine read his story, Five Bridges,

from the March 10th, 2025 issue of the magazine.

Toibin, a winner of the Folio Prize and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, among others,

has published 11 novels, including Brooklyn, The Magician, and Long Island, which came out last year.

Now here's Colm Toide. Five Bridges.

She promised that the climbing would be easy.

Even for you, she said.

How long? An hour, or maybe two hours,

or maybe three. Give her take? Yes, that's right. Paula told her two weeks earlier on their

last outing to Point Ray's station that he was leaving, packing up. She would be able to come to

Ireland to visit him, he said now. They should start

making plans for that. I'll be at my folks' house, at least at the beginning, and they really would

love to meet you in person. It'll be great when you come. It's sad they never came here, Gerland

said. They could have visited any time they said they would. No money, I suppose, and too far.

They were still a mile or two from Stinson Beach. If he took the slow way back into the city,

they would be late. Yet to be careful to drop her off on time, she would grow nervous at the thought

of her mother waiting. Don't text to say you'll be late.

Just don't be late.

This which had appeared twice on Gerlien's phone a year earlier

...