Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (ISBN:1439138311)

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		Brooklyn: A Novel
	
				(30 reviews)			
(260 Readers)

			Colm Toibin		
	
Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm Tóibín's sixth novel, Brooklyn, is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young...more
 Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm Tóibín's sixth novel, Brooklyn, is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young woman crosses the ocean to make a new life for herself.  Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn to sponsor Eilis in America -- to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland" -- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.   Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.   By far Tóibín's most instantly engaging and emotionally resonant novel, Brooklyn will make readers fall in love with his gorgeous writing and spellbinding characters.   less

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
It took a long time for this to get going but once it did...it was good.  I wish I knew more of how her story continues. (I don't want to give too much away.)

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Great for book Clubs. He writes very well

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
This is a wonderful story about a young girl who immigrates to America from Ireland, written with great feeling and understanding. There is an underlying tension within this book that I thought really reflected the feelings of an immigrant with a depth I have not encountered in any other immigrant story. I highly recommend this book and I will seek out others by this writer.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I felt that although it was a great read, I was frustrated by some of the things the main charachter just "let happen" to her and those around her. I would have liked the main charachter to be more spunky, maybe a little more before her time, a little stronger in self. But I was disappointed how the ending just dropped off. I would like to see what else happens to the young couple.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
A younger Irish sister is sent off to America, to earn money in an economy much more robust than Ireland's, to learn a trade--bookkeeping, to move from the country of the one true church to the Borough of Churches, guided by the sort of benevolent priest one doesn't find in the papers too much these days.  
    Ellis is as appealing as any unformed young woman would be and the...more
 A younger Irish sister is sent off to America, to earn money in an economy much more robust than Ireland's, to learn a trade--bookkeeping, to move from the country of the one true church to the Borough of Churches, guided by the sort of benevolent priest one doesn't find in the papers too much these days.  
    Ellis is as appealing as any unformed young woman would be and the forces that pull on her--family, would-be family, economic betterment, a respectabile home and position in one's hometown-- are so subtle that the reader feels just as buffeted, just as undecided, just as unsure as a third class voyager on an ocean liner during a stormy passage.  But decisions are what make up a life and we can only hope we're mature enough to make the right ones.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Emotions are not very well described and ruin the feel of the book.  Immigrant experience captured well.

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							Lorna
						
							few weeks ago						
I just finished this book.  I liked the book but I did not have much admiration for the main character.  She just seemed so ungrateful.  She has so many people helping her, paying for her education etc. and she seems to oblivious to it.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I loved the way the author wrote, very straightforward and simple - particularly when the characters are speaking to each other - if felt as if I was a fly on the wall.  I enjoyed the premise very much also.  What bothered me was how the main character Eilis seemed to just drift along and never make any decisions for herself! She was obviously a bright girl, but seemed to continually just do what...more
 I loved the way the author wrote, very straightforward and simple - particularly when the characters are speaking to each other - if felt as if I was a fly on the wall.  I enjoyed the premise very much also.  What bothered me was how the main character Eilis seemed to just drift along and never make any decisions for herself! She was obviously a bright girl, but seemed to continually just do what she was told!  She lacked passion - about anything.  But, I guess that is how some people are wired?  all in all a very enjoyable read, just did not go where I expected it to.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
This is a great novel that should touch a familiar chord in people that have been part of two different communities, in this case Enniscorthy, Ireland and Brooklyn, NY. Descriptions of Irish society in the fifties and transatlantic trips before airplanes are interesting. But the most admirable achievement of this book is portraying so nicely the alienation of finding yourself in a new land and...more
 This is a great novel that should touch a familiar chord in people that have been part of two different communities, in this case Enniscorthy, Ireland and Brooklyn, NY. Descriptions of Irish society in the fifties and transatlantic trips before airplanes are interesting. But the most admirable achievement of this book is portraying so nicely the alienation of finding yourself in a new land and the division of belonging to two very different places. Overall, a great book.   hide

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							Daniel
						
							few weeks ago						
A lot of reviewers compare Toibin to Henry James. But I liked it anyway! If James were empathetic, I guess.

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