Minnie's Fiction Addiction

With Long Island, the long-awaited sequel to Brooklyn, now in my hands, I’m eager to dive back into Eilis Lacey’s world. But before I do, it only feels right to revisit and review the novel where her journey began.

👀 First impressions:
Brooklyn is a quiet, deliberate novel, one that doesn’t shout but lingers. From the very first pages, I was drawn into 1950s Enniscorthy, Ireland, and the stifling small-town atmosphere that pushes Eilis to emigrate. Colm Tóibín’s prose is restrained yet emotionally precise, and I had a strong feeling early on that this was a story that would stay with me.

✅ What I Liked:
Tóibín’s writing is elegant and unshowy, yet brimming with emotional depth. I loved how he captures Eilis’s journey with such empathy and realism: her loneliness, her quiet strength, her confusion and yearning. The world of Brooklyn, the boarding house, the department store, the dances, the emerging romance with Tony, felt rich and authentic. The pull of Ireland, and the conflicting sense of guilt and belonging, added even more layers of complexity.

❎ What I didn’t Like:
Truly nothing. The pacing, the prose, the characters, everything worked seamlessly for me.

📚 Why You Should Read This Book:
Because it’s an exquisitely told, deeply human story about leaving home, making difficult choices, and discovering who you are. If you’re drawn to quietly devastating literary fiction, this is essential reading.

💭 Final Thoughts:
A stunning novel that holds a mirror to the immigrant experience, showing the fragile yet unbreakable thread between past and present, old world and new. It’s a story that stayed with me long after I closed the final page.

🛍️ Where to buy
To buy your own copy click HERE

Final Rating ★★★★★ – A quiet masterpiece that resonates long after the final page, an easy 5-star read.