A Journey to Brooklyn via the mean streets of Enniscorthy

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

 

She would make them believe, if she could, that she was looking forward to America and leaving home for the first time. She promised herself that not for one moment would she give them the smallest hint of how she felt, and she would keep it from herself if she had to until she was away from them. 

This coming of age tale starts off in 1950’s Ireland where our main character, Eilis, is living with her sister, Rose, and their elderly mother. We follow Eilis as she emigrates to America and begins a new life in Brooklyn. The first half of this book sees Eilis navigating her way through homesickness, alienation, depression and loneliness as she tries to find her place in America. However just as Eilis is starting to settle into the American way of life a great tragedy strikes and she is left trying to decide between her new life or returning to the Irish town she left behind.

Straight off the bat let me point out that I usually steer clear of books like this. Behind the beard and tattoo’s lies a fragile emotional wreck still traumatised by the final 20 minutes of Toy Story 3. O.K so maybe I’m not that bad, but on the whole I am not a fan of investing heavily in characters, growing to love them before having my heart broken by what happens to them. I find it easier to read thrillers and crime novels where on the whole those who end up dead or hurt are characters I am not all that invested in.

I initially chose to read this book as it was set in Enniscorthy. A rather random reason perhaps, but as a child I used to visit relatives in Ireland most summers and have spent a lot of time in Enniscorthy and the surrounding Wexford area. I also had relatives who made the move from Ireland to America during the period which this book is set in so thought it could make for an interesting read. I convinced myself that I could read this without being too invested in the characters and instead I would just enjoy reading about a familiar place in a time before I knew it. I was wrong. Very wrong.

Throughout the first half I fell in love with so many of the characters despite my attempts to distance myself from them. Colm Toibin has created a very believable cast who reminded me of so many people from my own life. Far from your typical Irish caricatures, Toibin has created distinctly Irish characters in a far more subtle fashion, many of the different character traits reminded me of my Nan and her siblings.

Throughout this book there are very few major events. This is far from action packed and is very subtle throughout the majority of the story. The beauty lies in it’s making the everyday so intriguing. You want to read about these characters lives and you don’t want them to be thrown into dangerous situations or life changing dilemmas just for the sake of it. The slower pace allows you to grow very fond of these characters and so when tragedy finally strikes it definitely hits you hard. Having read the synopsis I was aware that there would be a tragedy at some point and I decided early on what I believed this would be. Yet again I was wrong. I was so convinced the tragedy was going to be something else that when it finally happened it totally shocked me. From this point on the book changes and whilst reading I wasn’t sure it was for the best. It is hard to really discuss my issues here without spoiling the book for those who are yet to read it. I think in the moment I really didn’t like the way some characters changed and where the story started going. However having finished the whole story and given it some thought I really did still enjoy this one despite the shift in the last part.

This is an excellent book which has instantly become one of my favourites and I am sure I will probably revisit it again in the future. It felt authentic both in setting and with characters which you genuinely end up caring for as though they are close friends. If you want non stop action or huge twists and turns then this probably isn’t for you but if you want to follow some great characters and immerse yourself in their world then this is definitely one I would recommend. In fact I am going to rate this one 5 out of 5! I really enjoyed it and I will now be reading Colm Toibin’s latest novel ’Nora Webster’ very soon.