How many of us know the specific loneliness of moving by oneself to New York, that seemingly impossible paradox of being surrounded by people, robbed of privacy, and yet going for hours without speaking to another human being? Toibin's work here, in the understated voice of Irish-born Eilis Lacey, proves that this psychological experience was much the same in the 1950s as it is now. The prose is deceptively simple, so deft that one can't pinpoint exactly where it happened in the text that you found yourself, mirroring Eilis, subtly transformed.
— Andi
“Eilis Lacey has come of age in the dark, impoverished Ireland of the 1950s. Trained as a bookkeeper but unable to find suitable work, she makes a new home in Brooklyn. Struggling to understand her new world and haunted by the old, she lives the classic immigrant story of loss and regret, hope and resilience. Brooklyn is a quiet tour de force.”
— Nan Hadden, Books Etc., Falmouth, ME
“One of the loveliest novels of 2009 now available in paperback: an Irish coming-of-age story that is both heartrending and full of hope. Toibin is a master.”
— Matthew Lage, Iowa Book L.L.C., Iowa City, IA
“Eilis Lacey has no apparent future in rural Ireland, and with the help of a priest makes her way to a Catholic enclave in Brooklyn. Uncanny in its evocation of a young woman coming of age, and of a city coming of age, Brooklyn is at once interior and ironic, distanced and involving. Toibin, who is masterful here in his depiction of Brooklyn and Ireland circa 1950, and of such issues as self determination, love of country, love of family, and, of course, sexual love. Perfect for book groups!”
— Betsy Burton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT