A man with an Irish accent knocks on Eilis Fiorello’s door on Long Island and in that moment, everything changes.
Introduction to the author and book
Colm Tóibín was born in 1955 in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, in the southeast of Ireland. He is the second youngest of five children. His grandfather, Patrick Tobin, was a member of the IRA, as was his great-uncle Michael Tobin. Patrick Tobin took part in the 1916 Rebellion in Enniscorthy and was subsequently interned in Frongoch in Wales. Tóibín’s father, Michael, was a teacher who was involved in the Fianna Fáil party in Enniscorthy. He died when Colm was 12 years old.
Tóibín grew up in a home where there was, he said, “a great deal of silence.” Unable to read until the age of nine, he was overcome by a stammer. In 1972, aged 17, he read The Essential Hemingway, the copy of which he still professes to have. It gave him “an idea of character in fiction as something oddly mysterious, worthy of sympathy and admiration, but also elusive. And more than anything, the sheer pleasure of the sentences and their rhythms, and the amount of emotion living in what was not said, what was between the words and the sentences.”
Colm Tóibín graduated from University College Dublin in 1975 and lived in Barcelona from 1975 to 1978 where he wrote his first novel “The South” (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/Aer Lingus First Fiction Award). Since then he has held several academic posts, worked as a journalist, written many novels and non-fiction books and won at least fifteen awards. In 2012, his novel ‘The Testament of Mary’ was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. It opened as a play on Broadway a year later, with Fiona Shaw, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. ‘Brooklyn’, published in 2009, won the Costa Novel Award.
LONG ISLAND is described as “an astonishing sequel to ‘Brooklyn’ “.
‘BROOKLYN’ was described as “ … a quiet book (with one of the most unforgettable central characters in contemporary literature). The writing is open and clear but subtle, it does not overpower, allowing you to take in and get caught up in every detail”.
Book of the Year in The Times, Irish Times, The Guardian, New Statesman, The Independent, The Observer, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times.
The love story of the century:
Eilis and Tony have built a secure, happy life here since leaving Brooklyn – perhaps a little stifled by the in-laws so close, but twenty years married and with two children looking towards a good future. And yet this stranger will reveal something that will make Eilis question the life she has created. For the first time in years she suddenly feels very far from home and the revelation will see her turn towards Ireland once again.
Reviews:
Long Island is the best new novel I’ve read in years – Megan Nolan ― Telegraph
You don’t have to have read Brooklyn to enjoy the many pleasures of Long Island. It is a masterful novel, full of longing and regret. A tale of lovers reconnecting, of compromise, and the settling that can come later in life. Intensely moving and yet full of restraint, I was sad to turn the final page — Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain.
A brilliant novel . . . it is beautifully crafted and makes for a riveting, wonderful read — Elizabeth Strout ―Observer
Heartbreak, wistfulness, cracking dialogue. This is Tóibín at his best — Robbie Millen – The Times
Morally and pscyhologically meaty … Engrossing,truthful and humane, [Long Island] is a magnificent achievement – Johanna Thomas-Corr – The Times
A masterful and uproariously entertaining book, glittering with all of Tóibín s intelligence and humane wit, as compelling, passionate and quietly enigmatic as its unforgettable protagonist Eilis Lacey — Colin Barrett, author of ‘Wild Houses’
Tóibín is the consummate cartographer of the private self, summoning with restrained acuity (and a delicious streak of sly humour) the thoughts his characters struggle to find words for … [Long Island is] the work of a writer at the height of his considerable powers, a story of ordinary lives that contains multitudes – Clare Clark – Guardian
Tóibín has conducted an exhilarating masterclass in extract the maximum effect from the minimum of prose, with the leanest and cleanest narrative line … His gifts are so remarkable – Robert McCrum – Independent
Long Island often reads like a masterclass in everything Tóibín can do … [The] silences and absences at the core of this subtle, intelligent and moving book mean the reader has to do a certain amount of work – but it is very well rewarded – Guardian
A gorgeous slow burn of a story, suffused with a sense of longing and might-have-beens – Best historical fiction books of 2024 – The Independent
What do you think of this novel?
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Vicki James & Helen Sinclair
The next book for February 25 will be …
“Yellowface” by Rebecca F. Kuang (published 2023 – 336 pages. Amazon 4*)
The No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller
Amazon Book of the Year; Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year
A satirical novel about a white author who steals her Asian friend’s manuscipt and publishes it as her own. The story explores themes of racism, cultural appropriation, and the publishing industry.
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