Colm Tóibín, «Long Island»

In the 1950s, a young Irishwoman crosses the Atlantic into exile, marries secretly, is brought home by a death in the family and has to make some tough decisions about love, before returning to her new life in the New World. Colm Tóibín's novel "Brooklyn" became a smash hit and was adapted for an Oscar-nominated film. The sequel, "Long Island", picks up over twenty years later. In 1976, Eilis Fiorello, née Lacey, lives with her husband Tony, two teenaged kids and Tony's extended family clan. When an Irishman knocks on their door and reveals a shocking piece of news, Eilis starts to question the life she has created. Returning to Ireland, she begins to wonder if she made the right choice, and if it is too late to take a different path. Colm Tóibín once more explores his key topics of emigration, loss and alternative lives in a moving and intense novel. At the beginning of the course, we shall watch the film version of "Brooklyn" before starting to discuss the sequel. Participants are requested to read parts of the text at home as preparation for the discussion in class. Level C1.