Tóibín's return to Eilis Lacey about a quarter century later, once she's a well-settled Long Island homemaker, is less cinematically romantic than Brooklyn, but it still reflects that novel's characterization of Eilis as a thoughtful and ultimately hard-to-read character caught betwixt and between. Tóibín's spare dialogue and unsentimental rendering of Eilis' return to her hometown (as gossipy and judgy as the world she is running from) keeps the book from putting its thumb on the scale. As he builds toward a surprisingly dramatic conclusion, Tóibín leaves it to the reader how they will feel about the impossible choices three characters need to make.

Fans of Brooklyn, rejoice. Eilis Lacey is back, as are Tony and his family, Eilis's mother and brothers, Nancy, and Jim. Twenty years late, Eilis is still a bookkeeper and now a mother to two teenagers, living in a small neighborhood comprised of Tony's family. Our story kicks off with the news that Tony is expecting a child with another woman, and that woman's husband intends to drop the baby off on Eilis's doorstep once they're born. Based on the description of the book, I expected the baby to play more of a role in the book, but really, this plot point was the catalyst for change in Eilis's life. For the first time in twenty years, she plans a trip back home to Ireland, and her children come along to meet their Irish family. This is where the bulk of our story takes place.

OK first of all, let me just say that this sequel is not for Tony fans. We get very little of him, and he's obviously done something terrible to upend his family's life. I found it striking (but believable) how little everyone held Tony accountable for his actions. This really emphasizes the isolation of Ellis's life in Long Island.

I loved being back in Ireland with Eilis. Chapters are told in third person but through the lens of different characters, mostly Eilis, Jim, and Nancy. I really enjoyed this style of getting different perspectives. As always, Toibin's writing is gorgeous.

I won't say too much about the plot, except that much of the story happens internally for our main characters as they grapple with their problems without voicing much of what's going on. And we end on quite a cliffhanger. I'm okay with that cliffhanger, but I expect it will be polarizing. I've seen some speculation that this could be a trilogy, and I don't know if that's true, but I'd welcome the chance to spend time with Eilis again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fifteen years ago, Colm Toibin gifted his readers with Eilis Lacey’s stunning story in Brooklyn, subsequently adapted into a spectacular film starring Saoirse Ronan. Now the author returns to Eilis in Long Island, exploring what happened next to Eilis and, most importantly, her family. Toibin’s prose is meticulously crafted, each word carefully selected as he must have gone to battle with the blank page, because ultimately, that is what this book is about — battles. It is a battle of wills, a battle of the sexes, a battle between older and younger generations, a battle between cultures, a battle between tradition and becoming more modern . . . And in the background of all this is the aftermath of what happened in Vietnam. And in the not so distant future, 2018, there will be a new Ireland. Toibin hints at historical events taking place in order to set the story, but they do influence themes and provide the reader with a fuller understanding of what’s really taking place when it comes to the plot. Long Island improves upon Brooklyn when the writer opens up the story to follow not just Eilis, but also Jim and Nancy, her friends in Ireland first introduced in Brooklyn. There is a bigger world in this story, and Eilis, once again, is struggling to find her own place within it, just as she had done in Brooklyn. Her struggle will feel real and all-too familiar to many readers, almost tragic but intensely poetic. I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot because I do not want to risk spoiling anything for the reader. Rest assured, Toibin no longer needs to write about The Master (2004); he has become the Master with his latest.

A fantastic sequel. Eilis, Tony, and Jim are characters who have swirled around my head since I was a teenager, so I was deeply excited and nervous to return to them in this book. It did not disappoint. Tóibín's voice is poignant and as clear as ever, and the plot (with echoes of Edith Wharton...) is as tense as literary fiction gets. Eilis, her chronic indecision, and her strength continue to be some of the chewiest subjects in my literary life. I can't get this book out of my head! If anything in LONG ISLAND let me down, it's the ending. It just isn't one. Either this is the second book of a trilogy, or I've really gotten my feelings hurt.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this title. This is a sequel to the book Brooklyn. It continues the story of Eilis, an Irish immigrant to USA in the mid-20th century who marries into a big Italian family. The story picks up in the 1970s; some shocking news about her husband causes Eilis to return to Ireland for the first time in 20 years. Eilis arranges for her teenage children to meet her mid-trip, and meet their Irish grandmother for the first time. Eilis reconnects with her old friend, as well as Jim, with whom she had a brief romance when she returned to Ireland alone shortly after her marriage. Toibin's writing is lovely, but I felt annoyed with Eilis, and somewhat disliked her character in this sequel. I also thought the ending arrived rather abruptly; I would have like the conclusion to be more fleshed out. I'm hoping that this story will eventually be a trilogy to give the reader more closure on these characters. Still a SOLID 4 stars.

Before reading this I re-read Brooklyn and looked forward to seeing what has happened to Eilas 20 years later. Unfortunately, I was disappointed, especially at the ending. In the future, will we be seeing a continuation of her story? I love the author's writing but this one just seemed more of the same. Nevertheless, an interesting read.

Long Island is a follow-up to Colin Tobin’s beautiful novel Brooklyn. I loved visiting with Eilis and the other characters ,this is an emotional moving story that drew me right in and kept me involved.#netgalley #scribner

Written in Colm Toibin's masterful prose, this is a sequel which answers as many questions as it asks and leaves readers wanting more. It's the literary response to asking after an old friend or acquaintance.. "I wonder what ever happened to ..." This novel explores parent/child relationships and husband/wife relationships and relationship to place as it redefines home. The characters are strong and real, with cameos from other Toibin works.
I look forward to returning to this story again.

THank you for an advance copy of this book by an author I have enjoyed in the past. This is a follow up to Brooklyn, a book and movie I enjoyed in the past. We meet Ellis again 20 years later..she is married to Tony with kids and hasn't been back to Ireland in years and years. When she is faced with a large dilemma, she questions everything. This is a sweet, moving character driven story that wrapped up their story beautifully. Very well written.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Scribner for an advance copy of the new book featuring the continuing adventures of a young Irish woman, growing older, growing wiser, and facing new problems, while revisiting her past.

I know a lot of other people continue to think about stories long after the last page has been turned. One gets used to certain characters, and one likes to think what could be going on. Are they still solving mysteries, are they still creating great things, fighting wrongs, and doing rights. Are they happy. Writers though have lots of ideas, and when a story is done, some don't look back. Their tale has been told, I have fresh ideas and new characters that should be allowed their chance in the sun. Sometimes though a character might not go away, a new idea occurs and a story thought told, starts anew. Later, older, wiser, maybe not as happy. In Long Island Colm Tóibín returns to the life of Eilis Lacey, who we first met in Brooklyn. Twenty years have passed and Eilis has new problems, old or shall we say "Auld Sod", and decisions that could change everything that she knows.

Eilis Fiorello née Lacey, is living in a small cul-de-sac in Long Island, married to Tony, a plumber with two teens and surrounded by Tony's family. Eilis feels a little lonely, and a little lost, and even though Ireland is in her heart, it is not in her life something that she regrets. A visit tears a hole in a life, and suddenly going back home again seems the only place where she can think and come to terms with a future that is suddenly not what she expected.

Colm Tóibín is a gifted writer able to capture a multitude of voices and backgrounds, making each person clear, unique and distinctly their own. Eilis is a wonderful character and it is nice to catch up with her again, thought we wish things were not so bad for her. Eilis has aged, grown a little more skin over her heart, but is still the same character who in Brooklyn left all she knew for a better chance, and a better life. Tóibín stacks the deck against Eilis, and does not offer a magical solution to her problems, no magic wand to make everyone happy again. Tóibín knows this, knows the cost of betrayal and consequences for even the most distant of participants, and shows this, in many different ways. The Irish that Eilis return to are a Greek chorus in a way, offering suggestions, solutions and nonstarters equally, as people are apt to do. Tóibín captures the life of America, especially the almost sheltered life of Long Island in the seventies, and the even more sheltered life in Ireland, perfectly. Tóibín is a skilled writer, able to give descriptions and dialogue that stay with readers well after the last page is turned

A welcome return for fans of Brooklyn, with a character that one wouldn't mind seeing more of, especially in those missing twenty years. One needn't have read Brooklyn, but one should, as it is a very good book, for this is a pretty easy book to fall into. Recommended for fans of strong woman characters, Irish stories, and of course Colm Tóibín

*I was provided with an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
This is a sequel to Brooklyn and takes up where the previous novel left off. Tony and Eilis have been married for years and now have two children. After discovering that Tony has been having an affair and has impregnated his mistress, Eilis leaves for a visit home to Ireland where she hopes to determine how to manage her marriage.

Just as in Brooklyn, I was instantly taken in and loved the beginning of the book. But alas, also like Brooklyn, I got bored and couldn't wait for it to end after the first quarter. I see a pattern here.

With Long Island, Colm Toibin holds up a mirror to his hit novel Brooklyn and shows us the fallout that came from Eilis Lacey's long ago choices and the challenges she faces when she returns to Ireland for her mother's birthday in the wake of a family crisis at home. This book echoes with longing and beautifully illuminates the pain that comes from choosing and not choosing our fate.

I recently re-read Brooklyn and absolutely loved it. I was originally not sure it needed a sequel. However, I found this novel highly readable. I enjoyed spending time with Eilis again and some of the folks we got to know in Brooklyn. Toibin's writing is amazing as usual. Having read this really has me thinking about what (theoretically) happens to beloved characters after the novel (or movie or...) ends.

Wasn't entirely sure if this story needed to be continued, but I was excited when it was announced nonetheless.

Eilis, now two decades into her marriage with Tony and comfortably settled in a familial community with their two children, faces heartbreaking revelations about a child Tony has fathered. Struggling with confusion and unrest, she makes the decision to revisit her family in Ireland, marking her first return in two decades. At times, this felt rushed and maybe incomplete if you will which makes me wonder what was the end goal.

After following Eilis' journey, I have to say it was nice revisiting this story as I enjoyed "Brooklyn" immensely. If they ever decided to make another film to follow, I hope they follow the same casting.

Colm Toibin delivers emotionally complex stories about as well as anyone, and Long an island is no exception. This story starts out with a compelling dilemma: what does a woman do when forced to deal with the pending birth of a child her husband has fathered with another woman? The answer expands to affect lives both in Long Island and in Ireland. There are no easy answers, and to Toibin’s credit, he does not pretend there are. That this brings out the worst in all the adults involved, each purporting to love someone and yet acting in their own self-interest without much considering the effect of their actions on that person, is a tragedy at the core of this novel that has left me continuing to think about it long after the final page.

It was so nice to step back into Eilis’s life. This story takes place around 20 years after Eilis married Tony. We meet her children. Plus we are reintroduced to a lot of the same characters from the first book, finding what their lives are like. I especially loved Eilis’s trip to Ireland and the ending was brilliant. Wondering if we’ll meet up with Eilis again.

There was so much to like in this book. The descriptions of Enniscorthy were thoughtful. It clearly depicted the pull of home for the immigrant--how home will always be home even if you can't go home again. It was a book of regrets and of longing for what could never be. As always, I loved being part of Eilis's world. I especially loved seeing the development of her relationship with her mother. Colm Toibin is one of my favorite authors.

I was delighted to be back in this world, and I'm glad Toibin wrote a sequel to Brooklyn. At times slow moving, this novel is nonetheless a delight, and I love the prose. Readers looking for a fast-paced plot should look elsewhere, but LONG ISLAND is elegant and well-crafted with careful attention to the development of the realistic characters. I highly recommend it for fans of literary fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.

I loved being back with Eilis. She is such an amazing character. I hate what Tony has done and I think Eilis has every right to react the way she does.
I liked that we get another glimpse of Eilis in Ireland and her family. And that she gets to bring her kids there.
I think anyone who liked Brooklyn will enjoy this one as well.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 rounded up!
I really wanted to love this and I can’t quite figure why I didn’t. It felt v plot-forward, like once the plot was figured he went back and added character details. Felt a little rushed! I could have stayed with Tony and Francesca and those dynamics longer. And the ending! Ugh! The book just ends. In the middle of the story. Clearly there is more and clearly there was a decision to turn it into 2 books - but isn’t this part short? Why couldn’t it be a full novel instead of a Pqrt 1.