Eilis meets and falls in love with a young Italian plumber named Tony Fiorello at local Friday night dances.

One day while Eilis is working she learns from Father Flood that her sister Rose has died in her sleep from a pre-existing heart condition.

Eventually a local busybody, Miss Kelly, tells Eilis she knows her secret because she heard through the grapevine that someone from New York had seen her at a wedding registry.

This is the turning point for Eilis and she immediately books her return passage, telling her mother the truth about her marriage and posting a farewell note to Jim as she leaves town by taxi for the docks.

"[8] Scribner for Bookreporter said, "In his quietly perceptive prose, Colm Tóibín effortlessly captures the duality that lies at the heart of Eilis Lacey’s story.

Brooklyn unassumingly offers both a classic saga of an immigrant coming to terms with life in her new land and an equally appealing story of one young woman’s grasp of a hard-won maturity.

"[9] Tóibín was commended on his description of the changes in American society during the 1950s, such as the department store's acceptance of "coloured" customers, Long Island's suburban boom, and the arrival of television.

[8][9] Many applauded Tóibín's measured prose and the calm tone of the novel, though Eilis has been described as being "so passive that you sometimes felt like giving her a good shaking.

It was directed by John Crowley, features a script written by Nick Hornby, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, and Emory Cohen.