Book of the Week: LONG ISLAND by Colm Tóibín
In Long Island we meet Eilis twenty-five years on from Brooklyn. Upset with Tony and the surprising revelation of a new baby (not hers) , Eilis leaves America and returns to Ireland. In Enniscorthy little has changed, yet Eilis is perturbed; emotionally drawn to her past and what might be her future. Long Island propels you forward with ease, but under the seemingly benign runs a thread of tension. There’s the three-way complication of Eilis, her old friend Nancy and the love interst Jim. And then the problem of Tony and the children — can Eilis make a new life for herself in America? Long Island is not merely driven by its captivating plot, it is a commentary on expectation and illusion, where everyone has a private dream, but no one is honest with each other nor themselves. Colm Tóibín has a gift for capturing intimate relationships — their nuances, inconsistencies, and delusions. Brilliantly written with a deft touch, it is only at the end that the breath you have been holding will be exhaled, but only briefly.