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Long Island

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Long Island

By: Colm Tóibín
Narrated by: Jessie Buckley
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About this listen

Read by Olivier Award winner and Oscar nominee, Jessie Buckley, and featuring an exclusive audio Q&A.

'Heartbreak, wistfulness, cracking dialogue . . . This is Tóibín at his best' - The Times
'A masterful novel full of longing and regret . . . Intensely moving and yet full of restraint' - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4


Long Island is Colm Tóibín’s masterpiece: an exquisite, exhilarating audiobook that asks whether it is possible to truly return to the past and renew the great love that seemed gone forever. The sequel to Colm Tóibín's prize-winning, bestselling novel Brooklyn.

A man with an Irish accent knocks on Eilis Fiorello’s door on Long Island and in that moment everything changes. Eilis and Tony have built a secure, happy life here since leaving Brooklyn - perhaps a little stifled by the in-laws so close, but twenty years married and with two children looking towards a good future.

And yet this stranger will reveal something that will make Eilis question the life she has created. For the first time in years she suddenly feels very far from home and the revelation will see her turn towards Ireland once again. Back to her mother. Back to the town and the people she had chosen to leave behind.

Did she make the wrong choice marrying Tony all those years ago? Is it too late now to take a different path?

©2024 Colm Tóibín (P)2024 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
Best of 2024 City Life Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Urban World Literature Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Long Island is the best new novel I’ve read in years – and it’s as persuasive an argument in defence of the unique capability of the novel form as you could ever hope to find (Megan Nolan)
You don't have to have read Brooklyn to enjoy the many pleasures of Long Island. It is a masterful novel full of longing and regret. A tale of lovers reconnecting, of compromise, and the settling that can come later in life. Intensely moving and yet full of restraint, I was sad to turn the final page (Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain )
A brilliant novel . . . it is beautifully crafted and makes for a riveting, wonderful read (Elizabeth Strout)
Heartbreak, wistfulness, cracking dialogue . . . This is Tóibín at his best (Robbie Millen)
Morally and pscyhologically meaty . . . Engrossing, truthful and humane, [Long Island] is a magnificent achievement (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
His best yet . . . It reads like the tensest of stage plays, but with all the pleasures of interiority that the novel form allows. I haven't wanted to hug this many characters in a while (Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times and The Happy Couple )
A masterful and uproariously entertaining book, glittering with all of Toibin's intelligence and humane wit, as compelling, passionate and quietly enigmatic as its unforgettable protagonist Eilis Lacey (Colin Barrett, author of Wild Houses)
Tóibín is the consummate cartographer of the private self, summoning with restrained acuity (and a delicious streak of sly humour) the thoughts his characters struggle to find words for . . . [Long Island is] the work of a writer at the height of his considerable powers, a story of ordinary lives that contains multitudes. (Clare Clark)
Colm Tóibín's heartrending follow-up to his beloved 2009 novel, Brooklyn, is the rare instance in which a sequel is every bit as good as the original
Does a procession of brilliant vignettes a great novel make? There is more to Long Island than this, but at times, the whole package, so expertly put together, the prose so dazzlingly polished, feels like a studio-ready screenplay (Simon Schama)
In Long Island, Colm Tóibín has finally given us a follow-up to Brooklyn . . . I read it in one sitting, thrilled to be back with the characters that captivated me last time. (Bella Mackie)
All stars
Most relevant  
Loved catching up with what had happened since Eilish went back to America.
Colm is a magnificent storyteller and the dialogue is pitch perfect. A truly engrossing story.

Only complaints - the accent Jessie uses to narrate is completely wrong for Wexford and many of the place names are incorrect. Whilst I can overlook the accent, the place names really should have been easy to correct.

Beautiful storytelling

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I thoroughly enjoyed Jessie Buckley’s narration of this deeply affecting story, she brought the characters to life so much so that I felt myself becoming totally engaged with them .Such a treat to listen to this absorbing and complex account of human relationships.

Thought provoking

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Beautiful love story with a twist. watched Brooklyn before I read it to familiarise myself with the characters. Need the next instalment now!.

Brilliant book

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It transports you straight into Ireland in the 1970's... Great strong characters... loved every minute!

Superb!

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Toibin returns to the characters of Brooklyn 20 years later with a beautifully told story of love and loss.

Poignant story of love and loss

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Revisit Eilis Lacey back from Brooklyn - a birthday,a wedding, a new baby, an engagement and a couple of affairs keep you busy. Very enjoyable

The dialogues are so well done !

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Yet again a great Colm Tóibín book, love how characters from previous books other then Brooklyn got mention, Nora Webster & residents from Cush. My only issue would be with audio reading, accents of a number of characters totally wrong, Enniscorthy people with Cork & Kerry accents, also a number of place names pronounced totally incorrectly

Another great Colm Tóibín book except for accents & place name pronunciation

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Colm Toibin is a master at portraying the emotions of those who struggle to express or realise them. The reading was superb. One of the best audio books I have listened to this year.

Touching, moving, exquisite

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Loved it all. Narrator was perfect and brought all the characters to life. Would highly recommend. 😊

Wonderful book

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I enjoyed the story but felt the author had gone to great lengths to describe Enniscorthy to include street names and surrounding towns which was badly let down by incorrect pronunciation by narrator which for me spoilt it. I want sure about the ending but at least it leaves it open for a follow up

Incorrect narration

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