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Brooklyn (2009)

by Colm Tóibín(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1439138311 (ISBN13: 9781439138311)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Scribner

review 1: Colm Toibin is a genius, and Brooklyn is yet another shining example of his prose that is felt more than just read. The story is completely simplistic in plot, but Eilis Lacey's voice completely takes over the story and draws you in. What starts out as your typical Irish immigrant story becomes so much more as Eilis is forced to face decisions between the life that is familiar and comfortable and the life to which she has now committed herself. Toibin's prose is simple but profound, and towards the end of the narrative you feel the impact of each and every one of Eilis' decisions. This is truly one of the best immigrant stories I have ever read. It goes so much further than a young girl trying to forge a new life in America. When faced with tragedy, Eilis has to make heart... morebreaking choice after heartbreaking choice and the reader's emotions are dragged through the trenches with her. A must read for any person who appreciates a work of great fiction by one of this generation's most prolific writers.
review 2: The themes of unchosen emmigration and homesickness have been well described. The character of Eilis and her tendency to move through her life and following the paths laid out before her is shaped by her early life in a small, Irish town. She becomes who she is largely based on the expectations of her family and on what is spoken, and even more, unspoken, by those in her community. She implictly knows that in her small town, even after she departs, she is in part the Eilis shaped on the tongues and in the minds of her neighbours. Conform, obey, socialise and rise to the low expectations we have for one of your ilk is the pervasive message and Eilis follows her sister Rose's example well. The ending finally shows that she is willing, just maybe, to decide that she has a say in the outcome of her own life. Brooklyn is no small town and merit, opportunity and work may help Eilis live a life that is her own. It's no harm to have a nameless benefactor pay for your education though! less

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