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Quick answer: Good discussion questions for Long Island by Colm Tóibín focus on Eilis’s marriage and a shocking revelation, the sequel to Brooklyn, returning home to Ireland, old love with Jim Farrell, secrets, and the choices that shape a life. Below are 19 questions grouped by theme, plus a spoiler-free summary.
Quick facts
Author: Colm Tóibín
Published: 2024
Setting: Long Island, New York, and Enniscorthy, Ireland, 1976
Sequel to: Brooklyn (2009)
Content note: infidelity; mild
Long Island is Colm Tóibín’s sequel to his beloved novel Brooklyn, catching up with Eilis Lacey more than 20 years later. It was an Oprah’s Book Club pick, and it’s a quiet, emotionally precise novel where small choices carry enormous weight. Book clubs love debating its characters, especially its ending. You can enjoy it without reading Brooklyn first, though it adds depth. This guide includes a spoiler-free summary, characters and themes, and 19 discussion questions grouped by theme. The questions contain spoilers.
Table of Contents
Spoiler-Free Summary
It’s 1976. Eilis Fiorello, born Eilis Lacey in Ireland, has lived on Long Island for more than 20 years, married to Tony, an Italian American plumber, and raising their two teenage children close to Tony’s large, tight-knit family.
One day, a stranger knocks on her door with devastating news about her husband, and a threat about what he will do next. Eilis is stunned, and the family’s response makes her feel even more alone.
Eilis decides to return to her hometown of Enniscorthy for her mother’s 80th birthday, for the first time in decades. There, she reconnects with her old friend Nancy and with Jim Farrell, the man she left behind when she went back to America.
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Main Characters and Themes
| Character or Theme | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Eilis Lacey Fiorello | An Irish immigrant facing a crisis in her marriage |
| Tony Fiorello | Eilis’s Italian American husband |
| Rosella and Larry | Eilis and Tony’s teenage children |
| Francesca | Tony’s mother, the family matriarch |
| Jim Farrell | Eilis’s former love in Ireland |
| Nancy | Eilis’s old friend in Enniscorthy |
| Eilis’s mother | Whose birthday brings Eilis home |
| Home and exile | Belonging to two places and neither |
| Secrets | What characters hide and why |
| Choice | How small decisions change lives |
Discussion Questions (Contains Spoilers)
Eilis
- How has Eilis changed since Brooklyn, if you’ve read it?
- How does Eilis respond to the news about Tony, and what does it reveal about her?
- Why does Eilis feel like an outsider in Tony’s family?
- What does Eilis want from her trip to Ireland?
Tony and the Fiorellos
- How does Francesca handle the crisis? Was her plan fair to Eilis?
- Did you feel any sympathy for Tony?
- How do the children see their parents?
Ireland and Old Love
- How has Enniscorthy changed, and how has it stayed the same?
- What does Jim Farrell want from Eilis, and what does he fail to say?
- How does Nancy’s secret complicate everything?
- Were you rooting for Eilis and Jim?
Silence and Secrets
- Many characters avoid saying what they feel. How does Tóibín use silence?
- Which secret in the book had the biggest consequences?
- How does the novel show the cost of not speaking up?
The Ending and Big Picture
- How did you feel about the ending? Was it fair to each character?
- Some readers find the ending frustrating. Why might Tóibín have chosen it?
- What does the title, Long Island, suggest about Eilis’s life?
- Would you want another sequel?
- How does Long Island compare with Brooklyn?
Is Long Island a Good Book Club Pick?
Choose it if your group enjoys quiet, character-driven literary fiction where the drama is in what people don’t say. It’s about 290 pages and reads quickly. It’s a natural follow-up for groups who read Brooklyn or saw the 2015 film. Members who like big plots may find it slow, but the ending reliably sparks debate.
Book Club Ideas for Long Island
- Serve Irish and Italian dishes, like soda bread and lasagna, to honor both of Eilis’s worlds.
- Watch a clip from the Brooklyn film with Saoirse Ronan before discussing.
- Vote on the ending: would you have made the same choice as Eilis, Jim and Nancy?
- Share a story about returning to a hometown after years away.
- Map Eilis’s two worlds, Long Island and Enniscorthy, and talk about where you think she truly belongs.
Books Like Long Island
If your group loved it, try Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín for Eilis’s first story, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan for another quiet Irish masterpiece, or Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout for subtle, powerful character studies.
Check price of Brooklyn on Amazon
How to Structure Your Meeting
Open by asking whether people had read Brooklyn and how that shaped their reading. Then work through two or three questions from each theme above, saving the “big picture” questions for the end. If your group is large, split into pairs for one theme and report back.
A simple 90-minute plan:
- 0–15 minutes: food, catch-up and the opening question.
- 15–60 minutes: the discussion questions, theme by theme.
- 60–75 minutes: one of the book club ideas above, or a quick comparison with the adaptation if there is one.
- 75–90 minutes: everyone rates the book out of five in one sentence, then you pick next month’s read.
Related: the best literary fiction books for book clubs and the best book club books for women over 50.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Long Island by Colm Tóibín about?
More than 20 years after Brooklyn, Eilis Fiorello learns a shocking secret about her husband and returns to Ireland, where she reconnects with her old love, Jim Farrell.
Do you need to read Brooklyn before Long Island?
No, but it helps. Long Island is a sequel, and knowing Eilis’s earlier choices adds depth.
Is Long Island good for book clubs?
Yes. It’s short and subtle, and its ending sparks lively debate.
Is Long Island appropriate for all book clubs?
Yes. It deals with infidelity but has little graphic content.