Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm Toibin's sixth novel, "Brooklyn," is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young woman crosses the ocean to make a new life for herself.Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn to sponsor Eilis in America -- to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland" -- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.By far Toibin's most instantly engaging and emotionally resonant novel, "Brooklyn" will make readers fall in love with his gorgeous writing and spellbinding characters.

二十世纪六十年代末，在爱尔兰东南部小镇恩尼斯科西，家庭妇女诺拉•韦伯斯特中年丧夫，要独自抚养四个孩子，手头拮据。 诺拉沉浸在失去挚爱的悲痛中，她期待能出现任何机会摆脱困境和烦恼，又害怕自己要回到结婚前的那种单调、压抑的工作生活中。另一方面，小镇居民的生活距离很近，似乎人人都知道彼此的秘密。敏感的诺拉变得自我、固执，有时会失去耐心，她要捍卫自己的家庭隐私，却也忽略了两个年幼的儿子失去父亲后的伤心和变化。 渐渐地，凭借歌唱天赋和友谊的力量，诺拉看见了新生活的一线希望。 托宾历时十年完成的这部最新小说，塑造了诺拉•韦伯斯特这个当代文学中令人难忘的女性形象。 —————————————————— 历时十年，爱尔兰文学大师托宾创作时间最长的长篇小说 托宾以母亲为原型，塑造了当代文学中最令人难忘的女性形象之一 入选奥巴马圣诞购书书目引起轰动 2015年英国霍桑顿文学奖获奖作品 荣膺《每日电讯报》、《星期天泰晤士报》、《旁观者》杂志、《金融时报》、《观察者报》年度选书 —————————————————— 主人公与读者的情感距离如此之远，使得诺拉•韦伯斯特有时几乎像是幽灵。但正是托宾极度的节制，把原本可能是常见的悲痛与生存的故事，提升到心灵探索的高度。其结果便是这部闪闪发光的、简约的小说，在书中的某些瞬间，日常生活近乎神秘。 ——珍妮弗•伊根，《纽约时报•书评周刊》 这部小说理当像诺拉倾听贝多芬音乐一样细读。它让你陷入沉思……我们与韦伯斯特一家的关联使我们想象他们在那里，生活着，渴望着，炉上的火劈啪作响。 ——《卫报》 托宾精确的散文和对情感细微之处的关注，都在这本书中得以最佳呈现。 ——《旁观者》