Review: Brooklyn

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit this is one of the few times that I saw the movie before reading the book. In fact, I wasn't aware there was a book until I saw the movie. I LOVED the movie, and I LOVED the book. It's also one of the few times that the movie was as good as the book.

Eilis Lacey emigrates to the US in the early 1950's from her small village in Ireland where there is little work or opportunity. She has the help of Father Flood, a Catholic priest who has arranged for her to live in an Irish boarding house and had found her a job in a department store. He also arranges for her to go to night school where she studies bookkeeping and accounting. Eilis is at first extremely homesick but when she meets an Italian boy named Tony, she gradually adapts to American life. They begin to court, and he asks her to marry him. However, tragedy at home in Ireland strikes, and Eilis must make some difficult choices.

The writing is spare, but beautiful, and the author creates compelling characters. He also creates a definite atmosphere which mixes reality with compassion and charm. I applaud the screen adaptation of the book for capturing the same atmosphere.

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