Long Island cover art

Long Island

Preview

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Long Island

By: Colm Tóibín
Narrated by: Jessie Buckley
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Read by Olivier Award winner and Oscar nominee, Jessie Buckley, and featuring an exclusive audio Q&A.

'Heartbreak, wistfulness, cracking dialogue . . . This is Tóibín at his best' - The Times
'A masterful novel full of longing and regret . . . Intensely moving and yet full of restraint' - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4


Long Island is Colm Tóibín’s masterpiece: an exquisite, exhilarating audiobook that asks whether it is possible to truly return to the past and renew the great love that seemed gone forever. The sequel to Colm Tóibín's prize-winning, bestselling novel Brooklyn.

A man with an Irish accent knocks on Eilis Fiorello’s door on Long Island and in that moment everything changes. Eilis and Tony have built a secure, happy life here since leaving Brooklyn - perhaps a little stifled by the in-laws so close, but twenty years married and with two children looking towards a good future.

And yet this stranger will reveal something that will make Eilis question the life she has created. For the first time in years she suddenly feels very far from home and the revelation will see her turn towards Ireland once again. Back to her mother. Back to the town and the people she had chosen to leave behind. Did she make the wrong choice marrying Tony all those years ago? Is it too late now to take a different path?

©2024 Colm Tóibín (P)2024 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
Best of 2024 City Life Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Urban Ireland Heartfelt Island

Critic reviews

Long Island is the best new novel I’ve read in years – and it’s as persuasive an argument in defence of the unique capability of the novel form as you could ever hope to find (Megan Nolan)
A brilliant novel . . . it is beautifully crafted and makes for a riveting, wonderful read (Elizabeth Strout)
Heartbreak, wistfulness, cracking dialogue . . . This is Tóibín at his best (Robbie Millen)
Morally and pscyhologically meaty . . . Engrossing, truthful and humane, [Long Island] is a magnificent achievement (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
A masterful and uproariously entertaining book, glittering with all of Toibin's intelligence and humane wit, as compelling, passionate and quietly enigmatic as its unforgettable protagonist Eilis Lacey (Colin Barrett, author of Wild Houses)

One of Buckley's narrating gifts is her ability to project Lacey's silences. She allows intimate conversations to unfold with quiet immediacy. The result is a performance that fits perfectly the humanity of Tóibín's cast. It is so winning and full of depth that the most evocative passages stand alone as their own moments. Listeners can't help but be drawn close. - AudioFile

What listeners say about Long Island

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    474
  • 4 Stars
    90
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    501
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    8
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    431
  • 4 Stars
    101
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    13

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb!

It transports you straight into Ireland in the 1970's... Great strong characters... loved every minute!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking

I thoroughly enjoyed Jessie Buckley’s narration of this deeply affecting story, she brought the characters to life so much so that I felt myself becoming totally engaged with them .Such a treat to listen to this absorbing and complex account of human relationships.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book

Beautiful love story with a twist. watched Brooklyn before I read it to familiarise myself with the characters. Need the next instalment now!.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poignant story of love and loss

Toibin returns to the characters of Brooklyn 20 years later with a beautifully told story of love and loss.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful storytelling

Loved catching up with what had happened since Eilish went back to America.
Colm is a magnificent storyteller and the dialogue is pitch perfect. A truly engrossing story.

Only complaints - the accent Jessie uses to narrate is completely wrong for Wexford and many of the place names are incorrect. Whilst I can overlook the accent, the place names really should have been easy to correct.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The dialogues are so well done !

Revisit Eilis Lacey back from Brooklyn - a birthday,a wedding, a new baby, an engagement and a couple of affairs keep you busy. Very enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book

Loved it all. Narrator was perfect and brought all the characters to life. Would highly recommend. 😊

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Touching, moving, exquisite

Colm Toibin is a master at portraying the emotions of those who struggle to express or realise them. The reading was superb. One of the best audio books I have listened to this year.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another great Colm Tóibín book except for accents & place name pronunciation

Yet again a great Colm Tóibín book, love how characters from previous books other then Brooklyn got mention, Nora Webster & residents from Cush. My only issue would be with audio reading, accents of a number of characters totally wrong, Enniscorthy people with Cork & Kerry accents, also a number of place names pronounced totally incorrectly

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Coming home

It was like going back to a small town in Ireland where I spent many school holidays back in the 70s. Twitching curtains, Everyone knew everything & Sunday mass……loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!