Sample
  • Brooklyn

  • A Novel
  • By: Colm Toibin
  • Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
  • Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,234 ratings)

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Brooklyn

By: Colm Toibin
Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
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Publisher's summary

Colm Tóibín’s New York Times bestselling novel—also an acclaimed film starring Saoirse Ronan and Jim Broadbent nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture—is “a moving, deeply satisfying read” (Entertainment Weekly) about a young Irish immigrant in Brooklyn in the early 1950s.

“One of the most unforgettable characters in contemporary literature” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

Author “Colm Tóibín…is his generation’s most gifted writer of love’s complicated, contradictory power” (Los Angeles Times). “Written with mesmerizing power and skill” (The Boston Globe), Brooklyn is a “triumph…One of those magically quiet novels that sneak up on readers and capture their imaginations” (USA TODAY).

©2009 Colm Toibin (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

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What listeners say about Brooklyn

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

This is a very good story and was well written. I also really enjoyed the performance; Kirsten did a great job. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Easy listening.

Good story and very well narrated by Kirsten Potter. It was sad and happy at times, I enjoyed listening.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Notwithstanding its title, this story isn't really about Brooklyn. It also has too much detail about too little. For much of the book, you find yourself waiting for something to happen. At the end, when things finally do start to happen, the story becomes too drawn out, generating too much of a feeling of "Common on, let's get this over with."

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Melancholy story

I felt like this story never really got to a point. I expected more substance, but it was just about a girl who didn’t know what she wanted in life and let others guide her aimlessly.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not a Word Wasted

I listened to the audio book in two long sessions in the garden. Toibin's musical language seems always just enough. Never reaching wide of the moment described, yet always able to convey the confusinvg conflicted emotions with a bare, simple prose only a genius can control.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story, personal favorite

This is the first novel by Toibin that I have listened to, am now a huge fan!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Well written but I did not love the ending

Well written but I did not love the ending
The story and characters were well developed
Unfortunately the ending was not conclusive enough for me

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brooklyn

What a change of pace for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was surprised how abruptly it ended. Now I’m off to Long Island ….

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Home is where the heart is

It is said that home is where the heart is, but for those who have made a life far from where they were raised, the idea of "home" is not so clear. And this particularly may be the case when one has immigrated alone to another country, leaving behind family and friends--even when that new life is the source of opportunity and deep relationships.

This quietly bittersweet story revolves around a young Irish woman, Eilis, who leaves her rural Irish birthplace to come and work in post WWII Brooklyn. With help from others, she makes her way in this radically different world and is well on her way to successfully integrating herself into American society when the old country re-asserts its pull on her.

As some have noted, the ending did seem rather abrupt but I felt it appropriate. Islis had to make a difficult choice and we are left to contemplate how this choice works out for her. We are not given a pat answer as to whether her choice was "right" or "wrong" but are invited to participate in her dilemma and to continue to ponder her thoughts, feelings and actions long after the book is done.

Narration is excellent.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Ehh ok...

Sweet story of a young girl moving from Ireland to America. Nothing outstanding. Blah ending...

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