Brooklyn
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Product Description
Review
With this elating and humane novel, Colm Tóibín has produced a masterwork (Sunday Times )
The most compelling and moving portrait of a young woman I have read in a long time (Zoë Heller Guardian, Books of the Year )
A work of such skill, understatement and sly jewelled merriment could haunt your life (Ali Smith TLS, Books of the Year )
Suffused with humane depth, funny, affecting, deftly plotted ... a novel of magnificent accomplishment (Peter Kemp Sunday Times, Novel of the Year )
Brooklyn moved me more than any other book this year (Nicholas Hytner Observer, Books of the Year )
A beautifully crafted work that transformed ordinary lives into something extraordinary (Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year )
No book this year gave me greater pleasure (Nell Freudenberger Financial Times )
Not a sentence or a thought out of place. It takes over as his finest ficiton to date (Irish Times )
Remarkable freshness and immediacy ... with a lovely comedic lightness (Daily Mail )
A lovely, thoughtful book ... alive with authentic detail, moved along by the ripples of affection and doubt that shape any life: a novel that offers the reader serious pleasure (Daily Telegraph )
Tremendously moving and powerful (New Statesman )
The most compelling and moving portrait of a young woman I have read in a long time (Zoë Heller Guardian, Books of the Year )
A work of such skill, understatement and sly jewelled merriment could haunt your life (Ali Smith TLS, Books of the Year )
Suffused with humane depth, funny, affecting, deftly plotted ... a novel of magnificent accomplishment (Peter Kemp Sunday Times, Novel of the Year )
Brooklyn moved me more than any other book this year (Nicholas Hytner Observer, Books of the Year )
A beautifully crafted work that transformed ordinary lives into something extraordinary (Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year )
No book this year gave me greater pleasure (Nell Freudenberger Financial Times )
Not a sentence or a thought out of place. It takes over as his finest ficiton to date (Irish Times )
Remarkable freshness and immediacy ... with a lovely comedic lightness (Daily Mail )
A lovely, thoughtful book ... alive with authentic detail, moved along by the ripples of affection and doubt that shape any life: a novel that offers the reader serious pleasure (Daily Telegraph )
Tremendously moving and powerful (New Statesman )
Review
'It is impossible to read Toibin without being moved, touched and finally changed' Independent on Sunday 'Exquisitely crafted and profoundly moving' Independent on Mothers and Sons 'Unerring poignancy' Guardian on The Master 'Rises to heights of extraordinary beauty' Indepedent on Sunday on The Blackwater Lightship
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
116 of 124 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Evocative, sparse, yet deeply emotional, the books of Colm Toibin have become some of my favourites. He writes beautifully about landscape, about the weight of the past on the present, but most importantly about people and their feelings. He is particularly good at showing family relationships and how they work.
This new book was no disappointment. in the 1950s, Eilis Lacey moves from small-town Ireland to America to work in a department store. In Brooklyn, everything is different: you can even keep the heating on at night, she writes home, with excitement. Her culture shock on arrival is so beautifully written, you feel every moment of her disorientation and terrible homesickness.
But then just as she seems finally to be settling in America, she suddenly must return home, and the gap between her two lives is revealed. Anyone who has ever had an intense experience abroad, then returned home thinking 'it seems like a dream now' must identify with Eilis. It's so delicately done, but with enormous power.
I would love to know what others thought of the ending, as that was my only reservation, but I will not discuss it here as I hate plot spoilers. Please do read this book, it's quiet, old-fashioned and brilliant.
This new book was no disappointment. in the 1950s, Eilis Lacey moves from small-town Ireland to America to work in a department store. In Brooklyn, everything is different: you can even keep the heating on at night, she writes home, with excitement. Her culture shock on arrival is so beautifully written, you feel every moment of her disorientation and terrible homesickness.
But then just as she seems finally to be settling in America, she suddenly must return home, and the gap between her two lives is revealed. Anyone who has ever had an intense experience abroad, then returned home thinking 'it seems like a dream now' must identify with Eilis. It's so delicately done, but with enormous power.
I would love to know what others thought of the ending, as that was my only reservation, but I will not discuss it here as I hate plot spoilers. Please do read this book, it's quiet, old-fashioned and brilliant.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is my first book to read from Tobin. Slow to start off in the first few pages but then you are hooked! I couldn't put it down! I ended up staying up until 3.30am to finish it and when I did I was almost crying!!! I really want to know what happens to Eilis next!!!!
119 of 134 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book came to me highly recommended by a couple of people, so I was looking forward to reading it to see what all the fuss was about and I had not read anything by Colm Toibin before either so I was doubly curious.
I was not exactly disappointed by the book, indeed I enjoyed reading it very much, but I would say I was underwhelmed by it.
It is quite a simple and straight forward story about the experiences of a young woman who emigrates from Ireland in the 1950's to Brooklyn in New York. It is an experience shared by thousands, if not millions of Irish people over the years so there is a lot to relate to here for many people, including myself, especially for those from the generation of the main character Eilis. The story likewise is quite simply told, it is not showily overwritten but is instead rather understated and for me this was the major plus point of the book. I would imagine it captures very well and nostalgically the atmosphere of that time for people of a certain age, women especially. Toibin is quite skilled at drawing female characters, especially the girls that Eilis shares a boarding house with in Brooklyn, and when Eilis returns to Ireland after being in Brooklyn for a couple of years he captures very well the conflicting feelings inside of her at being home after being away, something many an emmigrant can sympathise with.
That said I do have to say this wasn't quite the 'outstanding' novel I was expecting. Very competent and controlled, yes, but it didn't blow me away like I was lead to believe. I actually found the character of Eilis quite irritating after a while. She seems to go through the whole novel in a very passive way, it's all 'Eilis thought this, but then thought this but then decided to see what happens' and she seems almost swept along by feelings she does not really give much thought to. of course this is most probably Toibin's deliberate characterisation but its hard to care for and respect a character that seems to have no mind of their own. I found myself waiting for something devastating and dramatic to happen that just didn't arrive, even though towards the end it felt like the narrative was winding up to this.
By the time I had finished reading this novel, I almost shrugged my shoulders as if to say 'Is that it?' It seems to me a lot of fuss over nothing that spectacular. An enjoyable, almost light read, but nothing spectacular. Many more people, I think, could write something as good if not a whole lot better based on their actual experiences of emmigration if only they kept it simple like Toibin. And the fact that this book is already being touted as a future Booker nominee can only lead me to speculate it is because it is written by a certain Colm Toibin, who is a well established figure in the literary world, and not on the actual merits of the novel itself.
I was not exactly disappointed by the book, indeed I enjoyed reading it very much, but I would say I was underwhelmed by it.
It is quite a simple and straight forward story about the experiences of a young woman who emigrates from Ireland in the 1950's to Brooklyn in New York. It is an experience shared by thousands, if not millions of Irish people over the years so there is a lot to relate to here for many people, including myself, especially for those from the generation of the main character Eilis. The story likewise is quite simply told, it is not showily overwritten but is instead rather understated and for me this was the major plus point of the book. I would imagine it captures very well and nostalgically the atmosphere of that time for people of a certain age, women especially. Toibin is quite skilled at drawing female characters, especially the girls that Eilis shares a boarding house with in Brooklyn, and when Eilis returns to Ireland after being in Brooklyn for a couple of years he captures very well the conflicting feelings inside of her at being home after being away, something many an emmigrant can sympathise with.
That said I do have to say this wasn't quite the 'outstanding' novel I was expecting. Very competent and controlled, yes, but it didn't blow me away like I was lead to believe. I actually found the character of Eilis quite irritating after a while. She seems to go through the whole novel in a very passive way, it's all 'Eilis thought this, but then thought this but then decided to see what happens' and she seems almost swept along by feelings she does not really give much thought to. of course this is most probably Toibin's deliberate characterisation but its hard to care for and respect a character that seems to have no mind of their own. I found myself waiting for something devastating and dramatic to happen that just didn't arrive, even though towards the end it felt like the narrative was winding up to this.
By the time I had finished reading this novel, I almost shrugged my shoulders as if to say 'Is that it?' It seems to me a lot of fuss over nothing that spectacular. An enjoyable, almost light read, but nothing spectacular. Many more people, I think, could write something as good if not a whole lot better based on their actual experiences of emmigration if only they kept it simple like Toibin. And the fact that this book is already being touted as a future Booker nominee can only lead me to speculate it is because it is written by a certain Colm Toibin, who is a well established figure in the literary world, and not on the actual merits of the novel itself.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
boring
this is a plodding story with a predictable end. I could not summon up any interest in the characters
and their doings.
and their doings.
Published 6 days ago by Candida
Powerful and subtle
Written from the point of view of Eilis, a young Irishwoman living in the 1950's, this book is a compelling read which I highly recommend. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Readwrite
'she saw all three of them...as figures whom she could only damage'
I really enjoyed this- it's really light reading, would be ideal to take on holiday. It's the tale of Eilis, an Irish girl in the 1950s, who is encouraged to move to the States... Read more
Published 2 months ago by sally tarbox
Brooklyn
This book was a truly enjoyable read and I wanted it to continue...It is a pleasure reading Colm Toibin. Highly recommend!
Published 4 months ago by brangwyn135
Oversold by critics and publishers
Please don't allow yourself to be misled by the effusive praise on the cover of this book - if this is 'a masterwork' and 'of devastating emotional power', where does that leave... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Alison McVey
mostly loved this book
I was surprised how lovely this book was, there is something really mournful about it, it's the sort of book you want to read while mildly ill in bed. Read more
Published 4 months ago by murmuration
Leaves you wondering!
We read this book as the last book of the year in our book club and it was the best one for producing honest, deep and conflicting views. Read more
Published 5 months ago by theworm
The Irish/American experience
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibin
Brooklyn tells the story of Eilis, the younger daughter of an Irish Catholic family, just leaving school. Read more
Brooklyn tells the story of Eilis, the younger daughter of an Irish Catholic family, just leaving school. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Minijax
Brooklyn
A well written nice light read about an Irish girl moving to America. There were many points when the story or the characters could have been developed more but disappointingly... Read more
Published 7 months ago by catbook
A gentle read
This was an easy read, it flowed along gently, yet it kept my interest. Although it never made five star rating for me, it was a comfortable four star and I even found myself... Read more
Published 8 months ago by DubaiReader
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