Posted by Imagine being in love with someone — thing young love — then having your heart broken only to have them reappear 20 years later?
Hey, Book Friends, it’s me. Marsha.
So I picked up Colm Toibin’s “Long Island,” an Oprah’s Book Club pick, and from the very first page, I knew this was a juicy read. If you ever read the book “Brooklyn,” know this is the sequel. I did not read the first book, but I didn’t feel left out or confused about the story or characters.
The story unfolds in Lindenhurst on Long Island, New York. We witness Eilis Fiorello (née Lacey) as a wife to Tony and mother to teens Rosella and Larry. Their seemingly peaceful life is disrupted when an Irishman appears at their doorstep. He reveals that his wife is expecting a baby, and Tony is the father. He threatens to leave the baby on their doorstep after its birth. Eilis, in a moment of shock and anger, declares that she will not allow the child in her home.
This sets off a series of actions, including Eilis flying to her homeland of Ireland to escape. She tells her inlaws that she will celebrate her mother’s eightieth birthday, but that’s just the excuse she gives.
Once in Ireland, Eilis reconnects with her mother, her brother Martin, and several other townspeople in the village of Enniscorthy, including her once best friend Nancy and former beau Jim. It’s been twenty years since she last saw Eilis, so Nancy is somewhat shocked but also a little apprehensive. In the years that passed, Nancy’s husband, George, died, and Nancy and Jim floated toward each other.
When Eilis arrives in Enniscorthy, Nancy is preparing for the wedding of one of her daughters. We learn that Nancy and Jim discuss marriage and decided to move forward with the idea after Miriam’s wedding.
But Jim never got over Eilis. The years in between dulled the fire but never went out completely. So, Jim sets out — in complete secret — to see if Eilis still feels the same.
The story doesn’t tell readers precisely what happens, and I think that’s for the best. Life isn’t as black and white; there’s more gray matter, so not seeing the “happily ever after” makes total sense.
Also, the flow reads like a novella. And even though, yes, I know, we should be on Eilis’s side (she is a wife who’s just learned of her husband’s infidelity), I’m not. Not at all. I think it’s the yo-yo treatment of Jim that keeps me back.
And also, the star of the book, in my opinion, is Nancy’s pettiness at the end. I’m not going to spoil it, but Nancy knocked it out of Petty Park with her move. Petty Friedan. Petty Betty. Petty and the Jets, really.
4 out of 5 stars
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