Book #59: Brooklyn

Title: Brooklyn
Author: Colm Toibin

Eilis Lacey lets things happen to her. Living with her mother and sister in Ireland in the early 1950s, she takes a job she knows she's going to hate because someone offers it to her. When a priest offers to sponsor her and find her a job in Brooklyn, she leaves her home and travels to America, where she lives where he tells her to live, takes the job he finds for her, and enrolls in the night-classes he thinks will be suitable. She goes to a dance because her landlady asked her to, and meets a boy who pursues her. She follows along, unsure of exactly how she feels. There's a great scene in the novel when she mentions to her boss that Tony, her boyfriend, is planning to take her on a trip to Coney Island. The boss starts acting-- brings in a whole bunch of swimsuits for Eilis to try on, getting her a razor so she won't have any unsightly hair on the beach, and encouraging her to lose weight. As the boss tugs and pulls each swimsuit and gives her frank assessment, Eilis seems almost detached from the experience-- she can't even decide which suit she likes best.

Then Eilis's sister Rose, the glue who holds the family together, dies suddenly, and Eilis finds herself on her way back to Ireland, where she continues (maddeningly) to let other people tell her what to do. Until she doesn't.

Eilis is a memorable, fully-formed, and altogether frustrating character. And the slow pace and not-too-exciting love story are worth taking in, just because the end is so good. We finally get to see Eilis grow and make a choice for herself. What will that choice be?