Brooklyn

"Brooklyn" by Colm Tóibin is a very interesting tale of a young girl  called Eilis struggling to find a job in Ireland. When the opportunity to move to Brooklyn arises Eilis grabs it she soon adapts herself to the hustle and bustle of the States."Brooklyn" is  very true to life and has a very believable story-line.The characters develop well during the story.

      Eilis Lacey is a young woman who is unable to find work in Ireland during the 1950s. Her older sister Rose organises a meeting with a  priest called Father Flood who just came back from New York, he tells Eilis of the wonderful opportunities awaiting her in New York.  Because of this she moves  and lives in Brooklyn and takes up a job in a department store while taking night classes for a bookkeeping course. Working in a boring job and living in a boarding house run by the strict Ms Kehoe, makes her life seem very mundane and Eilis begins to doubt her initial decision. Letters from Rose and her Mother make her feel homesick, but she soon settles down.

     Eilis meets an Italian plumber named Tony and they soon fall in love with each other. Months later Tony proposes to Eilis and she accepts. Eilis receives terrible news from Father Flood that her sister Rose has died. When she returns to Ireland she is reunited with her friends and family. She meets the man she was once interested in before she left, Jim and starts a brief relationship with him. Eilis's mother is desperate for her to stay in Ireland and marry Jim so she has to break the news to her mother that she is engaged to Tony. Eilis realises that she still loves Tony and returns back to America.

I really enjoyed reading "Brooklyn" and I rate it 8/10.