What I’m Reading Now: Long Island by Colm Toibin

I read Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn several years ago, and I also enjoyed that movie adaptation. Right now, I’m listening to the sequel, Long Island. This book follows Eilish and the events that occur after she and Tony have been married for twenty years. They are living in New York with their two children, and they live near Tony’s brothers and mother. The opening of the book really hooked me. A complete stranger with an aggressive posture shows up at Eilish’s door. The stranger sounds like an Irishman, and he says that Eilish’s husband has impregnated the Irishman’s wife. He goes on to say he refuses to raise the bastard and that he will deliver the baby to Eilish’s door once it is born. Eilish is shocked and hurt. She doesn’t want the baby, and she’s surprised and mortified to learn that her mother-in-law is considering adopting the baby.

This book reminds us that Eilish also had an affair in the previous book. We catch up to Eilish’s previous lover in here, and I like that I don’t know where exactly the author is going with these two storylines.

I’m only about six chapters along so far, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s a good premise for a book. I like the family dynamics in the story, and I have always loved domestic novels! I look forward to finishing this one.

Cover from Amazon.com

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