Colm Tóibín is an Irish writer and three-time finalist of the prestigious Booker Prize. Currently, he is the Mellon Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and Chancellor of Liverpool University. In the summer of 2024, I read Brooklyn (2009) and the sequel, Long Island (2024).
Brooklyn is Tóibín’s most famous novel and traces the coming-of-age story of Eilis Lacey in the 1950s. Eilis, a young working-class woman, moves by herself from economically depressed Ireland to Brooklyn, New York, in search of a better life and career opportunities. As she begins to find success in the United States, tragedy draws her back to Ireland.
Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, and Domhnall Gleeson star in the wildly popular 2015 film. It scored 97% on Rotten Tomatoes!
The long-awaited sequel to Eilis’s story was published in 2024 and chosen as an Oprah Book Club pick. Long Island begins 20 years later in the spring of 1976. Now Eilis lives on a cul-de-sac surrounded by in-laws on Long Island. When a terrible secret is revealed, she escapes to her hometown in Ireland.
Here is my review of the Long Island audiobook on Goodreads: “I didn’t expect the ending. Dead stop in Walmart!”
Colm Tóibín says he has no plans to write a third book. However, he said the same about a sequel to Brooklyn. Let us hope fans do not have to wait another 15 years.
Look for books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.
