Nancy’s Pick
January 2016
Brooklyn
Colm Tóibín
Brooklyn, by author Colm Tóibín, is a fictional novel set in the 1950’s in Brooklyn, New York. The main character is a young Irish girl, Eilis Lacey, who is newly arrived in America. Eilis, sponsored by a priest in New York, is to work in an upscale department store. She sadly leaves behind her mother and sister who hope that she will return to Ireland one day.
Her small village in Ireland is so different from the busy crowded NY city. The author writes about her adjustment to the occupants and the rules of a ladies only rooming house and her job requirements. Eilis encounters many ethnicities in her job, her daily life, and in her social activities. Toibin engages the reader to follow the life of a lonely young Eilis Lacey as she pursues opportunities at Brooklyn College and meets a young Italian boy from a poor caring family at an Irish dance. The author slowly and carefully writes about their courtship and a secret. Eilis has a call that her beloved sister died and she returns to Ireland to help her mother.
While back in Ireland the author details Eilis’s return and the possibilities of a permanent stay. The novel is a quick read and the reader cheers Eilis to make the right choice about returning to America. The novel is in the theaters and is a romantic themed movie. Brooklyn, the movie, captures the highlights of the book and the charm of Eilis. I suggest reading the book before seeing the film to enjoy Colm Toibin’s writing style and his ability to convey so many emotions.