Brooklyn is a very quiet novel. There is no great conflict, no drama, no angst, no soul searching. And yet, against the odds, it is fascinating in its own unique way. The language accounts for much of the book's charm--it is straightforward and unadorned, yet has an honesty and a rhythm all its own.
Eilis Lacey is a very ordinary Irish girl: religious, obedient, kind, conscientious about her duties and obligations. It is the early 1950's, and job opportunities are very limited for a young Irish girl with no specific training. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers her the opportunity to go to America, she feels it is her duty to her family to go, even though she really does not want to.
In her new country Eilis suffers greatly from homesickness, but does her best as a shopgirl and even takes a course in bookkeeping to better her job chances. Just as she begins to feel at home in her new country, she meets a young man at a parish dance and cautiously finds herself falling in love, only to be called back to Ireland by a death in her family. Once there she again suffers a sense of displacement, no longer knowing where her true home lies.
The story is so simple; the characters are so ordinary; Eilis is so passive, letting others determine her future time after time. But it sounds so true, especially for a girl like Eilis in her time and place.
Recommended as good reading to calm your mind. If you crave excitement and/or challenge, pass this on by.
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