Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the ebook. This is a lovely sequel to Brooklyn. Eilis is now married in Long Island with two kids and living surrounded by her husband’s Italian family. Her husband is expecting a child through an affair and wants to raise the child. This sends Eilis back to Ireland for the first time in twenty years to her family and to an old love.

Colm Tóibín is one of the quietest authors I know. He does a fantastic job book after book with the details of daily life, the near-silent drama of mundanity. For the most part, I’ve loved his novels (there’s a reason my family calls what they consider “deathly slow” works “dad books/movies”), Brooklyn among them. So I was excited for its sequel Long Island, his most recent book. And while I enjoyed large parts of it and remain an admirer of Toiban’s craftsmanship on a sentence level, I have to confess even for me, this one was a little too slow and quiet. A few unavoidable spoilers for Brooklyn to follow.

In that first novel, the main character, Eilis, left her Irish hometown of Enniscorthy, and her hometown love Jim Farrel to emigrate to the States, though she did return after her sister’s death and had a brief affair with him despite married, before going back to her husband in the US. It’s now more than a decade later, Eilis and Tony have two teenage children, and the family lives in a cul-de-sac on Long Island with most of Tony’s big Italian family all owning houses right nearby, convenient for those every-Sunday dinners but more than a little smothering for Eilis. The precipitating event for the novel is the arrival of a strange man at the house one day while Eilis is alone. He tells her Tony has been sleeping with his wife, she’s now pregnant, and he will be dropping the baby off at their house when it is born.

Eilis swears “the baby will not pass the threshold” of her home, and when Tony’s family (particularly his mother) start making plans around her, including having her mother-in-law take the child in right across the street, Eilis decides to go back to Enniscorthy, ostensibly for her mother’s 80th birthday. Her children, Rosella and Larry, will follow short afterward and spend the summer in Ireland, where they’ve never been.

Meanwhile, back in her hometown, Jim Farrell has taken over his father’s pub and though still unmarried, has been in a secret relationship (to avoid the small-town gossip and judgement) with Nancy, Eilis’ old best friend and now a widow for the past five years. Eilis’ arrival, as one might predict, throws all three lives into a bit of a whirl and forces both a reexamination of past choices and a consideration of future ones.

Whereas Brooklyn was told from Eilis’ POV, Long Island gives us three closely held POVs: Eislis, Jim, and Nancy. It’s a good choice for several reasons. One is it allows us to the see the consequences of behaviors and actions on others, particularly in this type of setting where people tend to be uber-restrained rather than particularly expressive. Thus, a lot of those consequences are hidden inside and so we need their POV to see just how much Eilis’ earlier betrayal of Jim has affected him, or how much Nancy still sorrows over her husband despite her surface signs of “moving on” (her relationship with Jim, opening a chip shop, etc.). It also creates a powerful tension as all three are seeking happiness but it’s hard to see how that can happen without someone paying a great cost. Whether or how that resolves I won’t say, but it’s a ticking time bomb that drives much of this very interior plot.

In many ways this is a book full of lovely moments, lovely sentences, deep insights into characters. My only complaint writing-wise is that at times the character speech feels a little stilted (particularly with the teens, who I had a hard time envisioning speaking in the fashion they do) and not individually distinctive at other times. Plot-wise, as noted, the book felt a bit too slow even for this huge fan of quiet, character-driven stories. I was actually surprised to see it was only about 300 pages as it felt longer, which is rarely a good sign.

In the end, I’m happy I read Long Island as I enjoyed it far more than I didn’t, and I admired it nearly all the way through. But if you struggle with slow-moving, interior, character-focused novels with lots of introspection, you may have a hard time with this one. If you like Tóibín, you’ll most likely enjoy this one for the most part, though it may feel more “Tóibín -y” even for fans.
3.5/4

In this late-twentieth century historical fiction novel, readers visit a family on Long Island and explore the dynamics of Irish-American Eilis Lacey and her Italian-American husband Tony Fiorello in 1976. With two teenage children and a large extended family living nearby, their peaceful suburban working-class life turns upside down when a stranger comes to their home and tells Eilis that Tony has fathered a child with this stranger’s wife and they will not raise this child. Eilis must make some difficult decisions and what she ends up deciding will change their lives. With complex characters and challenging decisions in this late twentieth century historical fiction novel, Toibin brings aspects of immigrant life to the forefront of this novel. Eilis is a wonderful protagonist and narrator, and the moral complexity involved in this novel really adds to the readers’ investment in Eilis’s decision-making process. With many other characters in the margins, Eilis’s relationship with them, before and after her decision, are also complex and deeply human, adding to the narrative and character depth in this novel. With so many factors at play, Toibin’s latest novel is immersive, complex, and realistic, driven by his excellently crafted characters in a vivid Long Island setting.

Brooklyn is one of my favorite books and I really enjoyed rereading it before I read Long Island, since it has been a while. It struck me this time just how sad Brooklyn is and then Long Island really continued on with that. This book felt less hopeful to me and was sadder. I didn't enjoy it as much, but really enjoyed getting to get back to these characters and were they were.

I was excited to continue the story of Brooklyn. I loved having the opportunity to leap forward twenty years and visit Eilis and Tony as a married couple with children and living their lives just as they dreamed on Long Island. I struggled with the characters in this volume. People change over time, but Tony and his mother seemed like new characters versus people who simply changed with the years. It seemed that Eilis had not developed or grown and her lack of reaction to events made it difficult to empathize with her.

I read Brooklyn years ago and throughly enjoyed it. Was thrilled to receive an ARC from NetGalley for Long Island.
. This author is the master of tension filled storytelling. It is stressful but it keeps you going. Loved the continuation of Brooklyn. ..loved this book and would recommend it highly! Thanks NetGalley for the Arc.

I read Brooklyn years ago and I honestly don't remember some of the details but it wasn't too hard to get into Long Island. The pace on this book picks up from the very beginning when a stranger man knocks on Eilis' door and lets her know his wife is having a baby and Tony is the father. I admired how Eilis is firm on her decision to not take responsibility for her husband's transgession, even when his family take his side and decides to raise the baby. Wanting to get away from the situation, Eilis decides to go back home to Ireland after twenty years, where she encounters people she has not seen, including an old flame.

Most of Long Island takes place in Eilis' small hometown in Ireland, where everything seems pretty much the same and totally different at the same time. The second half is pure gossip and I couldn't read it fast enough, it ends with some cliffhangers that indicate there is definitely a third book coming. When that book comes out, I'm reading it. Overall great writing, this would make a good movie adaptation.

Colm Toibin is the master of tension-filled storytelling! Sometimes stressful, but boy oh boy, it keeps you going. This is a continuation of Brooklyn, about 20 years later. Hard to describe without spoilers, but definitely highly recommended!

A melancholy and quietly provocative story about the decisions we make when we are backed into a corner. Thank you to Netgalley for the early read, I loved Brooklyn and was thrilled to get to read this sequel. As it is numbered and the ending very open, I hope there is more of Eilis’s story to come

Having enjoyed Brooklyn, I greatly anticipated Colm Toibin’s newest novel, Long Island. In Long Island, the sage of Eilis Lacey continues. After immigrating to the US, Eilis meets and marries Tony Fiorello. On a trip back to Ireland for her sister’s funeral, she reconnects with an old boyfriend, Jim. While caring for Jim, she eventually returns to Tony. After many years of marriage and two children, a man comes to Elis’ door telling her that Tony has father a child with his wife. When the baby is born, the man intends to drop the baby off at her house. Eilis informs Tony that she will have nothing to do with this child and that the child is never to enter their home. However, Tony, his parents and brothers decided to keep the baby. This decision infuriates Eilis and causes her to question her marriage and her way of life. Is this all there is for Eilis? Eilis returns to Ireland for her mother’s birthday and again falls for Jim. Emotions run strong this time and a decision is made to be together. This begins a struggle for all involved. Should Eilis stay with Jim or go back to Tony. Should Jim follow Eilis to the US or marry Nancy, Eilis’ best friend. What does Tony and his family do about the decision to keep his child? All of these issues are excellently laid out in Toibin’s newest book. A truly engrossing read.

Brooklyn was one of my favorite books, I still remember listening to the audio and falling in love with this beautiful story. I was shocked to find out we would be getting a glimpse back into Ellis's life 20 years later.

My heart ached for Ellis. The circumstances of this book and the choices made by Tony infuriated me so badly! I just want Ellis to be happy. I do believe that this story is very realistic for the time it is set in. The fact that Tony's family would quickly forgive him and even side with him seemed spot on for this generation.

I was torn on the ending. I desperately wanted a resolution. Here's to hoping we get a third book.

Toibin has done it again. I loved reading Long Island, a follow-up to his prior Brooklyn. I loved the time period jump from the last book and his writing was excellent.

Long Island is the continuation of Colm Tobin's Brooklyn (2009) twenty years later. In Brooklyn we met Eilis and Tony and their unlikely romance after Eilis immigrates from Ireland. Now Eilish and Tony are married and living on the same cul-de-sac as Tony's parents and brothers on Long island. It is a bit stifling for Eilis who never truly acclimated. One day a man with an Irish accent shows up at their door and tells Eilis that his wife is having Tony's baby and he's dropping the baby off at their house. Eilis does not want to allow the baby in their house at all either. She decides to return to Ireland to celebrate her mother's 80th birthday. She has not seen her mother in twenty years. Once back in Enniscorthy, Ireland, Eilis finds that although not much has changed since she's been gone, she has changed. Her mother's home is the exact same and her mother does not necessarily like the changes that Eilis tries to make to make her mother's life easier. Being away from home, she begins to find herself again. She looks up her childhood friend, Nancy, who is widowed and running a chip shop in Enniscorthy. Eilis finds out that Jim is running his family's bar and hasn't left Enniscorthy. All of the characters have their own secrets. Many of the interactions are brilliantly written leaving unanswered questions as remarks and questions are not responded to. Long Island is a welcome return to the life of Eilis. Eilis found that although returning home may not always be the same as what's in your memories, it was a good thing for her to also to see how she has grown and changed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read the ARC of Long Island. I had enjoyed Brooklyn very much and I so enjoyed returning to the story of Eilis and Tony.

4.5⭐️

Long Island by Colm Tóibín continues with the story of Eilis Lacey, our protagonist from Brooklyn . Set twenty years after the events of the first novel, Eilis, now in her forties, is the wife of Italian plumber Tony Fiorelli, whom we met in the first book. Parents to two teenagers, daughter Rossella and sixteen-year-old son Larry they have settled in Long Island in a cul-de-sac with Tony’s parents and two of her husband’s three brothers and their families as neighbors. Despite being a close-knit family and Eilis sharing a good relationship with everybody, she is conscious of how different she is from her close-knit extended family. The differences become more pronounced when Tony’s actions push their marriage into a downward spiral, and she feels his family isn’t supportive of her or her wishes.

Eilis hasn’t been back to Ireland in twenty years, but feeling the need to distance herself from Tony and his family, decides to visit her mother who will soon turn eighty, with her children to join her later. As the narrative progresses, this time we follow Eilis as she revisits her hometown and those she had left behind when she chose to return to Tony all those years ago. Conflicted over her feelings for Tony, her responsibilities to children and the future she desires for herself, she is compelled to take stock of her life and reflect on her regrets and the consequences of her life choices. Unprepared for the onslaught of emotions and complexities that arise when confronted with her past, she finds herself once again at a crossroads in life.

Long Island by Colm Tóibín is an exquisitely penned novel that had me hooked until the very last page. The narrative is shared from the perspectives of Eilis and two other characters from her past in Ireland- her best friend Nancy and Jim Farrell with whom she once shared a romantic relationship, both of whom we had met in the previous book. Compared to the first book this is a more complex and layered novel and the author seamlessly weaves the three perspectives into an immersive, consistently paced narrative that revolves around love, family, secrets, choices and consequences. Not only do we get to follow Eilis’s journey but we are also provided insight into how her mother, brothers and friends have fared in the last twenty years and how her presence impacts them in the present day. The strength of this novel lies in its mature and realistic depiction of complex human emotions and relationships with minimal melodrama and concise yet elegant prose – be it the tensions between Eilis and Tony or Eilis and her mother, the complexities that arise between Nancy, Jim and Eilis or how Eilis’s children react to their troubled marriage. Though her children had never shown any interest in their Irish heritage, it was endearing to see them absorb as much as they could in the course of their visit and bond with their grandmother whom they were meeting for the first time and who welcomed them with open arms. I particularly liked how the author addresses the cracks in the relationship between Eilis and her mother. The Eilis we meet in this book is mature and complex. Though I could sympathize with her predicament with Tony and admired her inner strength and resolve, I couldn’t help but question some of her actions in the latter half of the story. The ending leaves us with more than a few unanswered questions and leaves me eager to explore Eilis's motivations further.

I would recommend reading the previous novel before picking up the sequel for a better understanding of Eilis’s journey and the events referenced in this novel.

To be honest, I did not think that Brooklyn needed a sequel, but the ending of Long Island has me eagerly awaiting the next chapter in Eilis’s life.

Many thanks to Scribner for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Set in Long Island and Ireland in the 1970s, this book is the sequel to Brooklyn. I haven’t read all of Brooklyn (as I was reading this I went and read sections of it) but I don’t think that’s required. This is a book about complicated relationships with a pervasive melancholy tone throughout that very much works. l did not grow up Irish or Italian but I have dearly loved people of whom Ellis and her family remind me. The strength of this book is definitely its characters, who immediately draw you in. But, even as someone who really enjoys unlikable characters, the actions of the three POV characters stretched me to my limits. However I also realize this story is not a mirror for me, but instead a window into an era and mindsets I’ll never be able to truly understand. There is no therapy speak or signs of modern millennial relationships to be found. And while this at times made the characters feel unreachable to me, the story also made me consider the “silent generation” and culture of the time differently and left a lasting impression. This is a solidly 4 star book for me, maybe even a bit more, but I can easily see how it would be 5 stars for many.

Toibin continues the story of Ellis and Tony from his wonderful book, Brooklyn. Sometimes the story stretched credibility a bit, but I couldn't put it down. And there were many surprises. I hope Toibin will write a third novel on the next chapter of Ellis's life. For fans of Brooklyn and family sagas and historical fiction.

I just told someone yesterday that I don’t care for romance writing, as it usually makes me roll my eyes. Only in the hands of a true master like Toibin can I appreciate writing about the complex psychosocial nature of human attraction and love. Another masterpiece.

Thank you to Colm Toibin, Scribner Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Long Island is a story of a woman originally from Ireland that marries an Italian American. They live on Long Island in a compound with his mother and brothers. This story is a continuation of the book Brooklyn but Long Island is a stand alone story. Having never read Brooklyn I was still able to follow the back story.
Eilis finds out that her husband has fathered another child and once that baby is born he plans to bring that child to the “compound” to be raised. Eilis is not happy about that; returns to Ireland to visit her mother and has her two teenage children join her there. While in Ireland, Eilis gets reacquainted with an old boyfriend. The story continues from there.
There are many complicated feelings and relationships in this story. Never sure what is going to happen. My one disappointment is that the story had an abrupt ending which was very unsatisfying. This may be due to the author writing a sequel.

This book has already been greeted enthusiastically by many. Among these readers is Oprah Winfrey who has made it her book club pick. It has been reviewed widely and anyone who read (or saw the movie) Brooklyn will want to spend time with this novel.

This is a story of Eilis twenty or so years after the events in Brooklyn. She has found herself a housewife (with occasional work), mother of two and is still married to Tony; his boisterous clan makes their presence in her life rather prominent.

The catalyst for what happens is that Tony has impregnated another woman. Needless to say Eilis is not pleased. One way that she copes is by going back to Ireland. Yes, she does again meet up with Jim while there.

What will happen to this family as they face a crisis? Eilis once left but returned to Tony. What will she do this time?

I found the writing in this book to be deceptively simple. There is much behind what each character says and does. It is a paean to well written prose.

Even if a reader has not yet enjoyed Brooklyn, they can still read this one. I recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for this title. All opinions are my own.

(Thanks to @simon.audio and @scribnerbooks #gifted.) At the end of last year I listened to 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘭𝘺𝘯 by Colm Tóibín. I had seen the movie years ago, but wanted the story to be fresh in my mind after hearing about the upcoming release of 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗. Having now listened to both, I think that was a very good call.⁣
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𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘭𝘺𝘯 told the story of Eilis Lacey as she immigrated to the United States in the early 50’s, made a life for herself there, fell in love, but never stopped longing for her home in Ireland. 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 picks up her story 20 years later, married to Tony, the man she first fell in love with. With two teenage children, her life has gone smoothly even if she doesn’t always love being surrounded by Tony’s large Italian family. Everything changes the day a man shows up at her door telling Eilis his wife is pregnant by Tony and that when the baby is born, it will be left on her doorstep. This might appear to be an idle threat, but Tony and his family believe it isn’t, and they don’t want to turn this child away. Eilis wants nothing to do with any of it.⁣
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As in 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘭𝘺𝘯, Eilis flees to Ireland to give herself distance as she attempts to make sense of her situation. This second story is tightly connected to the first. Being familiar with the first allowed me to see many parallels in the two stories. I actually wished there were fewer similarities between the two, hoping Eilis might have evolved just a little more. Still, I enjoyed both books very much. They’re a little different than what I normally read and I appreciated that breath of fresh air. I’m glad I did both on audio. The narrators were different and both excellent, but I particularly enjoyed Jessica Buckley in this one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️