In the fourth episode of the Irish Books Podcast, host Dr Chris Murray and guest Matthew Ryan delve into the highly anticipated sequel to Brooklyn: Colm Tóibín’s Long Island.
Returning to the character of Eilis Lacey a quarter of a century after the events of the first novel, Tóibín picks up the thread in 1976. The discussion explores how a successful immigrant life in America is suddenly dismantled by a domestic crisis that forces a return to Enniscorthy.
A Crisis on the Doorstep
The novel opens with a shocking confrontation: an Irishman arrives at Eilis’s home in a quiet Long Island cul-de-sac, claiming her husband, Tony, has made his wife pregnant and threatening to leave the baby on Eilis’s doorstep.
The Weight of Silence: Eilis is notably reticent about her unhappiness, a characteristic that defines the novel's tension.
The "Cul-de-Sac" Surveillance: Despite being thousands of miles from Ireland, Eilis is surrounded by her Italian-American in-laws, whose patriarchal structure offers little room for her own autonomy.
The Flight to Wexford: To gain space while the crisis unfolds, Eilis uses her mother’s 80th birthday as a reason to return to Ireland, hoping the situation will be resolved before she comes back.
The Myth of the Glamorous Return
When Eilis arrives in Enniscorthy, she is no longer the passive girl seen in ‘Brooklyn’. She carries the glamour of America - symbolised by her rented car and high-end handbags but this transformation makes her a threatening figure to the locals.
The Static Bachelor: Eilis reignites an affair with Jim Farrell, her love interest from the first novel. While Eilis has evolved, Jim has remained static in his family pub, seemingly unable to make his own choices.
Transatlantic Gossip: The podcast highlights how surveillance and gossip connect New York to Wexford. Nancy Sheridan, now a widow and business owner, becomes Eilis’s rival, whose social manoeuvring protects her own interests.
The Sea: A Space of Freedom and Reveal
A recurring motif in Tóibín’s work, the sea serves as a pivotal setting where everything hidden finally becomes visible.
Desire and Exposure: The hosts discuss a scene at the coast where Eilis and Jim are discovered by Nancy in a place where there is nowhere to hide.
The Shoreline of Possibility: The sea represents the open possibility of leaving, and the unstable nature of desire. As the discussion notes, there is a naked honesty to the sea because everything - and everyone - is visible.
Listen to the Full Discussion
Is Eilis a wrecking ball destroying local lives, or is she finally asserting the autonomy she lacked as a young migrant? Join Chris and Matt as they debate the agonising tension of Tóibín’s prose and whether a return home is ever truly possible.
Listen to Episode 4: Colm Tóibín’s 'Long Island' wherever you get your podcasts.
The Irish Books Podcast is proudly produced by East Coast Studio with support from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Embassy of Ireland Australia, and Monash University.
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