I already posted some of my thoughts under the original section because I wasn't sure of the protocol. Anyway, in reading the ending, it would be so easy to maybe come to the conclusion that she really only married Tony out of obligation or whatever and that Jim in Ireland was really the "one" for Eilis but I didn't really feel that way. Eilis and Tony had a long courtship. He was there for her and was not about to let her out of his life easily. Sort of like Jamie, he found a way to keep Eilis in his life through commitment. He seemed to know her enough to realize that if he didn't do something "grand", she would be swept up by her mother when she returned home. At least in this marriage commitment, she would have to at least return even if only to divorce or annul the marriage. It was a bit manipulative, but Eilis was a willing participant and I'm not big on the whole victim thing anyway.

Where was Jim all of these years? We learn that he was shy instead of arrogant and we learn that he had just had a bad breakup before meeting Eilis at the dance and that was the reason he treated her so badly. But then she returns, he has no obligations, Eilis is more self-assured and glamorous, and now Jim is interested. Without the commitment, I think that Eilis would have stayed. Jim would have been the one that would have made her mother proud and would have fit in better with her life.

But, I have to root for Tony who loved her when she wasn't glamorous and wasn't self-assured and was lonely and homesick. Eilis seemed to be the type who could love the one she's with, but I don't believe that she fared poorly with someone like Tony in her life.

I agree Pauline. It was clever of Tony to get Eilis to agree to a civil marriage. He knew that otherwise she would succumb to her old way of life in Ireland and take Rose's place as her mother's caretaker. I do believe he acted out of love and truly cared for Eilis, moreso than Jim, who all of a sudden noticed the new and improved Eilis. Tony was there for her when she alone and still adapting to her new life--prior to her cosmopolitan transformation. He was honest with her and loved her unconditionally. I felt that there was too much detail where it wasn't warranted, such as the transatlantic voyage, the bout with seasickness, and her classes, and less about Eilis and Tony's relationship.

I was disappointed that Eilis didn't tell her mother about her marriage right away and that she let Jim think that he had a chance with her when she had Tony, her husband, waiting for her in Brooklyn and planning for their new home on Long Island. I also found it odd that Eilis' mother was so cold with her daughter. She must have discovered the letters Eilis wrote to Rose among her daughter's belongings, either at the office or in her room, yet she never asked Eilis about her life in Brooklyn. Did they assume that if they did not talk about Brooklyn that Tony would just disappear? Was her mother so self-absorbed that she didn't care if her daughter was in love or if she had established roots in NY?

Then I also wonder, what would have happened if Mrs. Kelly hadn't cornered Eilis and implied that she knew about her marriage to Tony? Would Eilis just have left Tony and filed for a divorce without any explanation? I could imagine her leaving her job at Bartocci's, but didn't her relationship with Tony mean anything to her?

I hope she has a lovely life with Tony, and she will if she is able to appreciate the love he has to offer her and lets go of the past.

There was a little lesson in the end with Miss Kelly and Mrs. Kehoe's relationship and how Miss Kelly confronted Eilis with her American life and her behavior there. It's a small world, isn't it? Eilis learned that as far away as she is, her reputation reaches home in the most unexpected ways.

I did think it commendable that Eilis left for America but I did lose heart when she was thinking of divorcing Tony to possibly marry Jim. I felt awful for Tony. It's hard to know what kind of marriage they would have based on that revelation. Eilis' character was weak in that regard. The relationship with her mom was not a strong one either. She kept something so important from her mother. Why did she do that? Did she think she could divorce Tony and marry Jim? I felt that Eilis didn't really understand love and just fell into it. It was like Eilis' experiences were fantastical and not real.

I did enjoy the historical format to it--Eilis' experience of her voyage on the ship, living in a boarding house, going to the dances, attending school, references to the Holocaust, Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers, working in the shop and subtle racist issues, the economic situation in Ireland. There really were many issues going on, etc. There were also the issues of being isolated, far from home and alone--a stranger in a strange land.

I found the writing fine but not a style that I particularly enjoyed.

I wasn't too disappointed with the ending. I felt that the story would continue with all the plans that Tony and Eilis had made before she'd left for Ireland. Their marriage would be non descript... It would not be a great marriage. Eilis would go through the motions of being a wife and mother, with nothing really exciting to distinguish her or their marriage. Eilis would always wonder about her life had she remained in Ireland. Would she come to resent Tony? Herself? Tony would wonder what happened in Ireland. Father Flood would know and perhaps be disappointed with Eilis.

I agree that Tony wasn't going to make Eilis wildly excited, their marriage would be comfortable, maybe, but not overly passionate. Her real passion, the one that made her heart sing was left behind in Ireland, I don't think she would ever forget Jim, but chose head over heart. Eilis was a creature of her provincial upbringing, and would never lose the ability to put others before herself. I think she sacrificed her heart, by returning to Brooklyn.

What would you have done to improve the book...

I think I would have had Eilis stay in Ireland, and take over the hotel with Jim. Together, they would have become pillars of the community, and Eilis would have tried to put the life she had in Brooklyn behind her. Tony would have been heart broken but philosphical and would let Eilis go, but would love her forever.

Her relationship with Jim, though, didn't seem to have any depth. While we see her and Tony having dinner and talking about everything under the sun every day after work or school, she couldn't even tell Jim about Tony. Could they have ever built a life together with her telling Jim so late in the relationship? While Tony was focused and went after what he wanted, would Jim have pursued her once his image of her was tarnished. I didn't get the feeling that he would. Sorry.

I agree with you, Pauline. To me, Eilis' relationship with Jim was not real. She was living in a fairytale world in Ireland, while her real life (Tony) was waiting for her in NY. How could she start a serious relationship with Jim based on a big lie!?! She was Catholic for goodness sake -- the guilt alone of having slept with Tony and then lied about her marriage should have been enough to have her swimming all the way home to the US. Jim definitely would have bolted as soon as he learned about Tony. The fool should have asked Eilis to dance when he first had the chance.

I was merely playing Devil's advocate here....




I quite agree !!

It's strange isn't it - that just one wrong decision can alter lives forever. I do like Tony, he is probably Mr Right....and I'm hopeful that they would have had a contented, if rather passionless marriage.

I agree with Pauline and Lady Jayne's povs.
I felt that Tony made his move from the start. Tony fell in love with the girl who was awkward, the Eilis who was inexperienced. He helped form the new Eilis--creating, if you will some of the Eilis that Jim was attracted to.
Jim fell for, or seemed to fall for the girl that had acquired the city attitude. She fascinated him. Jim wanted her for the wrong reasons, imo.

I think Tony was true blue. He wanted her for the right reasons. I agree that there was depth to their relationship. When she was devastated with Rose's death, he was there for her.

I was disappointed in Eilis for thinking of not honoring her promise to Tony.

I don't think I would change the ending at all. I got the feeling that Rose would be happy in either place, once she'd made her choice. I personally think that Tony was the better choice, though. She would go back to Tony and eventually live in Long Island and live out her life as a bookkeeper until their children came along.

Eilis had to make things right. At the time, it was considered inappropriate to have premarital sex, especially for Italians. Tony would not have initiated anything if he had not been serious about their future together. Whether she understood the culture or not, she made a decision to belong to Tony when she went to bed with him. He was honorable. If he weren't he would have never proposed marriage to her.

I liked Tony.

I see what you're saying about alternate endings, Sass. I couldn't help but get the impression from the author that he was suggesting that she should have stayed and would have if no one had found out about their marriage. It also seemed that the author was saying that she was going back to someone she only felt obligated and that Jim was really the "one".

If I had to dream up an alternate ending, it would be that she isn't found out and tries to stay in Ireland. I would think that Tony is so single minded in his approach to life that he would hop on a ship and come and get her.

For those who enjoyed Brooklyn -you may want to check out Ellis Island by Kate kerrigan which has a similar theme, and has been compared with Brooklyn.

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