Brooklyn

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, read by Niamh Cusack.

It is Ireland in the early 1950s and for Eilis Lacey, as for so many young Irish girls, opportunities are scarce. So when her sister arranges for her to emigrate to New York, Eilis knows she must go, leaving behind her family and her home for the first time.

Arriving in a crowded lodging house in Brooklyn, Eilis can only be reminded of what she has sacrificed. She is far from home - and homesick. And just as she takes tentative steps towards friendship, and perhaps something more, Eilis receives news which sends her back to Ireland. There she will be confronted by a terrible dilemma - a devastating choice between duty and one great love.

Critics Review

  • With this elating and humane novel, Colm Tóibín has produced a masterwork

    Sunday Times
  • The most compelling and moving portrait of a young woman I have read in a long time

    Guardian, Books of the Year
  • A work of such skill, understatement and sly jewelled merriment could haunt your life

    TLS, Books of the Year
  • Suffused with humane depth, funny, affecting, deftly plotted … a novel of magnificent accomplishment

    Sunday Times, Novel of the Year
  • Brooklyn moved me more than any other book this year

    Observer, Books of the Year
  • A beautifully crafted work that transformed ordinary lives into something extraordinary

    Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.