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What are readers saying about Brooklyn: A Novel?
| Reviews of Brooklyn: A Novel - Page 1 of 2 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-03 02:54:13.
(Language: English)
 
Not quite as good as the Blackwater Lightship, but this is still a very believable touching tale. I cannot imagine how Colm knows the inexperienced female mind so well, but it is almost as if it was written by the lead character. It took a good 100 pages for me to get into this book, but once i did i was held right to the end, almost screaming at the book when i thought the plot was going to go the way i didnt want it to!
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Michael posted a review at 2010-11-27 02:18:36.
(Language: English)
 
Liked it very much - and not just because it was set in and around my old 'hood. Thought Eisil was a really interesting and sometimes surprisingly complex character. Recommended.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-11-15 06:53:28.
(Language: English)
Boring.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-24 06:23:18.
(Language: English)
I was enjoying this book until the romance stuff started. He wasn't convincing in the "woman's voice". kinda disappointed by that. otherwise, a good glimpse into the struggles of immigrants in a very different era.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-12 07:58:59.
(Language: English)
I loved the soft story told and enjoyed the daily details of life in Brooklyn in the early '50's and for Irish immigrants. The story speaks of innocence and how youth doesn't always get to make active decisions for themselves. I was saddened by the ending and felt Eilis didn't get the 3 things she wanted. If there is a sequel, she will have to reconcile with the decisions she wasn't able to be in control of.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-17 07:44:38.
(Language: English)
A quick, easy read. Not sure the main character is "likeable." I could've given this book more stars, but the ending (in my opinion) was just awful.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-03 05:20:58.
(Language: English)
For all the hype about this book, I felt I had to read it. I felt a bit let down as the characters all seemed a bit wooden. I was glad I have read it for a sense of the difference between Ireland and the US, especially for women in post WWII era. But a bit more character development would have been cool.
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Nuala posted a review at 2010-11-05 05:03:46.
(Language: English)
like a haiku version of a book - understated and simple, but entirely meaningful!
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Brett posted a review at 2010-10-27 08:50:31.
(Language: English)
poignant story of a young woman torn between her old life in Ireland and new life in Brooklyn. Set in the early 1950s.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-03-16 02:27:06.
(Language: English)
Loved it, really really loved it!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-17 04:40:21.
(Language: English)
This book was a very light read. I could put it down for days and not be too anxious to read it. Even though the book is titled Brooklyn, it really does not focus much on Brooklyn, but rather on the main character Eilis who came to the United States in the 1950s after growing up in Ireland. The beginning was really good about how she came over and the journey itself, especially then it took a few weeks to get to the U.S. and how she suffered on the boat ride. After that, the story line trended downwards in regards to its plot.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-09 01:36:25.
(Language: English)
I enjoyed this book simply because I could relate to it so well and it's such an authentic portrayal of moving to brooklyn from a far away country completely alone.the essence of life there, the feelings that come with having to go back home and of family echoed my own thoughts & feelings. even if it was set years ago the magical feeling of brooklyn is timeless and the author captured it all so perfectly. beautifully written. simple and honest.
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Christine posted a review at 2011-03-21 08:44:05.
(Language: English)
A simple, unfettered novel of Eilis Lacey, an Irish girl come to Brooklyn for a better life than what was offered to her in her small Irish town. Felt more like the story of someone's grandparents told over a friend's dinner table. Would certainly recommend the book for anyone looking for an entertaining, well-written read without any shocking dramatic elements that seem prevalent in so many other pieces of contemporary fiction.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-06-10 12:51:59.
(Language: English)
Predictable. Entertaining.
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Carol posted a review at 2010-10-16 06:19:14.
(Language: English)
This was a very well written, quick read. Entertaining, engaging and move-along story.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-01-25 07:25:56.
(Language: English)
Delightful story about becoming who you want to be, which isn't always necessarily what you are supposed to be or who others expect you to be.
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Jay posted a review at 2010-04-28 09:00:11.
(Language: English)
Given that this novel is in the voice of a young Irish woman involved in a somewhat common love story, it really felt like a Maeve Binchy book. I find the Binchy books that I've read to have more interesting plots and more interesting characters than this one, partly because Binchy writes more with a cast of characters. This book focuses on one character, and she doesn't make many big decisions - most events in the book just happen. The end is sudden and unfulfilling - I sense a sequel was being planned. I listened to this on audio, and the narrator's Irish voice was very comforting.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-01-15 11:39:25.
(Language: English)
The author revealed what a large part pure fate plays in all of our lives. An easy read.Would read more from this author.
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Sandy posted a review at 2010-06-27 03:24:20.
(Language: English)
I thought Toibin did a good job of describing Ireland and Brooklyn in the 1950's. However, the gratutitous lesbian experience was hokey. I can't decide if he meant for the protagonist to be very "human" or evil in her self-centeredness. I'm not sure why this book won an award either as other reviewers have said.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-06 04:16:48.
(Language: English)
Not a bad novel, but it didn't live up to my expectations. It presents an interesting period in social history - the time of mass Irish immigration into the US in the fifties, and it does have some interesting and loveable characters, but in the end the plot is slight and leaves you waiting for a dramatic twist which never happens.
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Deb posted a review at 2010-10-15 02:34:09.
(Language: English)
I loved the atmosphere, the prose and the story. I couldn't really get a handle on the character of Eilis. She seemed maddeningly passive to me. The secondary characters (Mrs. Kehoe and the girls in the boarding house, in particular) seemed much more colorful and alive.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-11-23 07:35:20.
(Language: English)
Ok story...quick read
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-11-07 04:10:29.
(Language: English)
Nicely written, didn't really find the story that interesting though, but a bit sad.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-13 05:42:21.
(Language: English)
I thought the characters were very one dimensional and I just didn't feel involved with their lives. The story line was mediocre--a series of events, most of which were pretty boring. I kept waiting for the story to actually start, but it never did. I usually stop reading a book if I'm not involved, but this one is for a book club, so I kept going. I would not recommend.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-16 08:55:13.
(Language: English)
Dozens of respected writers and critics wrote glowing reviews of this novel by Irish writer Colm Toibin. They often compare him to Henry James and declare the novel a masterpiece. Since I can’t see what they saw, it tells me that I have to become better trained in the art of reading fiction. The novel is a well-wrought story of a young Irish woman coming to America and “coming of age” in the 1950s. Working in a department store and taking night courses, she brushes up against racism, anti-Semitism, white ethnic conflict, and the precariousness of life as a woman in the 1950s. Eilis has to navigate the gentle, yet intense affections of an Italian boyfriend, the cattiness of fellow borders, and the call of her family and friends back in Ireland. This is mild drama about homesickness and love, and a painless glimpse of Irish culture. Most of the characters are women, and Toibin, according to Zoe Heller “writes about women more convincingly…than any other living male novelist.” Impressive.
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| Reviews of Brooklyn: A Novel - Page 1 of 2 |
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