From the Bookshelf of Bookmarks Subscribers …

At first, Brooklyn may seem like a weaving together of the traditional, even stereotypical, threads of an immigrant story, a 1950s love story, and a tale of a woman's struggle for independence. But, critics soon discovered, the novel is so much more. Perhaps Toibin's greatest feat is his sensitive, respectful portrayal of Eilisóan uncritical, unsophisticated, compliant, and perhaps, according to some reviewers, too na‘ve young woman. The author accomplishes "an almost impossible characterization

At first, Brooklyn may seem like a weaving together of the traditional, even stereotypical, threads of an immigrant story, a 1950s love story, and a tale of a woman's struggle for independence. But, critics soon discovered, the novel is so much more. Perhaps Toibin's greatest feat is his sensitive, respectful portrayal of Eilisóan uncritical, unsophisticated, compliant, and perhaps, according to some reviewers, too na‘ve young woman. The author accomplishes "an almost impossible characterization: the heroine as doormat," praised the Christian Science Monitor. Toibin's prose, as usual, sparkles with clarity and insight. As he unburies powerful emotions about love, freedom, authenticity, and duty, as well as resolving Eilis's dilemma of the heart, he elevates his sixth novel far above its peers.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.