July 3, 2013
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Brooklyn: A Novel iTunes Audio Price:? – Brooklyn Irish Girl 3 out of 5 stars
Currently
Brooklyn: A Novel
By Colm Toibin
see relatedI think it was a good thing that I listened to this instead of reading. If I hadn’t then I would never have finished it. I started reading this on St. Patty’s weekend in 2012, hoping for a quick Irish listen. But I didn’t finish this until the end of March 2012.
I gave it 3 stars for the nice immigration story of Eilis Lacey. I liked hearing about her new adventures and struggles of immigrating from Ireland to Brooklyn. The 1950′s description was good, but sometimes I felt it was during the 1940′s. Tóibin writes that part of the story nicely. But she was too naive and prejudice towards others. I come from an Irish family. The only thing they were prejudice at that time was when my great great grandmother almost married a non-catholic man. Her brother, a priest, had written to her that she shouldn’t marry him. Lucky for me she listened or I wouldn’t have been born. And the Irish were well aware of what happened during wars. I come from a long line of generations of men who served in the military. I am the first female to have been in the military in my family.
When the story shifted to Tony and Eilis’s relationship, I lost interest. I didn’t like Tony. He felt too much like a player to me. The Italian’s were too stereotypical for me. My dad’s mom (first generation Italian immigrant) isn’t like them. She never told me that I was too skinny and I need to eat some ‘scettie (spaghetti). She was prejudice towards other races though. And a Dodger fan blue and blue.
The audio was from iTunes. Kirsten Potter was the reader. I had to get over her annoying accents. And maybe it was the way she tried to talk like a man that made me dislike Tony. So the audio I give 2 stars
