Synopses & Reviews
andlt;bandgt;From the award-winning author of andlt;iandgt;The Masterandlt;/iandgt;, a hauntingly compelling noveland#8212;by far Tand#243;iband#237;nand#8217;s most accessible bookand#8212;set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s about a young woman torn between her family in Ireland and the american who wins her heart.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, Eilis cannot find a proper job in the miserable Irish economy. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;When an Irish priest from Brooklyn visits the household and offers to sponsor Eilis in Americaand#8212;to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"and#8212;she realizes she must go, leaving her fragile mother and sister behind. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and studies accounting at Brooklyn College, and, when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian, slowly wins her over with persistent 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. Eilis is in love. But just as she begins to consider what this means, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her new life. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;With the emotional resonance of Alice McDermottand#8217;s andlt;iandgt;At Weddings and Wakesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Brooklyn andlt;/iandgt;is by far Tand#243;iband#237;nand#8217;s most inviting, engaging novel.andnbsp;
Review
"[A]n aching lyricism reminiscent of the mature Henry James...[H]ighly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"A fine and touching novel, persuasive proof of Tóibín's ever-increasing skills and range." Kirkus Reviews
Review
Colm Tóibín...is an expert, patient fisherman of submerged emotions...[He] quietly, modestly shows how place can assert itself, enfolding the visitor, staking its claim." New York Times
Review
"So many dramas turn on a word misunderstood, taken out of context, or meant for other ears — spoken in anger or illness or inebriation; faultily reported, maliciously omitted, or lost in translation — that a stoic silence might reasonably seem one's best, or only, defense. But silence can be just as treacherous, Colm Toibin suggests in
Brooklyn, a novel peppered with conversations like this:
"It's so good to see you," she said quietly to Patty.
"I think I know what you mean," Patty replied.
Benjamin Moser, Harper's Magazine (read the entire )
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of The Master, a hauntingly compelling novel--by far Toibin's most accessible book--set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s about a young woman torn between her family in Ireland and the american who wins her heart.
Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, Eilis cannot find a proper job in the miserable Irish economy.
When an Irish priest from Brooklyn visits the household and offers to sponsor Eilis in America--to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"--she realizes she must go, leaving her fragile mother and sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and studies accounting at Brooklyn College, and, when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian, slowly wins her over with persistent 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. Eilis is in love. But just as she begins to consider what this means, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her new life.
With the emotional resonance of Alice McDermott's At Weddings and Wakes, Brooklyn is by far Toibin's most inviting, engaging novel.
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of The Master comes a moving historical novel set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, concerning a young woman torn between her family and her past in Ireland and the American who wins her heart.
Synopsis
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 offers 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.
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of The Master, a hauntingly compelling novel—by far TÓibÍn’s most accessible book—set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s about a young woman torn between her family in Ireland and the american who wins her heart.Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, Eilis cannot find a proper job in the miserable Irish economy.
When an Irish priest from Brooklyn visits the household and offers to sponsor Eilis in America—to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"—she realizes she must go, leaving her fragile mother and sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and studies accounting at Brooklyn College, and, when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian, slowly wins her over with persistent 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. Eilis is in love. But just as she begins to consider what this means, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her new life.
With the emotional resonance of Alice McDermott’s At Weddings and Wakes, Brooklyn is by far TÓibÍn’s most inviting, engaging novel.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;Colm Tand#243;iband#237;n andlt;/bandgt;is the author of six novels including andlt;iandgt;The Blackwater Lightship andlt;/iandgt;and andlt;iandgt;The Masterandlt;/iandgt;, both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and the winner of a andlt;iandgt;Los Angeles Times andlt;/iandgt;Book Prize. His nonfiction includes andlt;iandgt;The Sign of the Times andlt;/iandgt;and andlt;iandgt;Love in a Dark Timeandlt;/iandgt;. He writes frequently for such publications as andlt;iandgt;The London Review of Books andlt;/iandgt;and andlt;iandgt;The New York Review of Booksandlt;/iandgt;. He was a fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at New York Public Library, and has taught at Stanford, Princeton, and American universities, as well as the New School, in the United States. His books have been translated into eighteen languages.