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I’m baffled! Why would Mr. Toibin leave us hanging like this? All I can say is, He’d better be planning a third book in this Eilis Lacey series!

Without a doubt, Long Island is another Colm Toibin masterpiece! The characters he invented for this series are absolutely spectacular! What a bunch of very interesting characters they are!! Although�� (view spoiler)[if I had my way, I think I’d banish both Nancy Sheridan and Eilis�� mother to a small, isolated island—unreachable by any means and with no other human inhabitants. That way, the only gossiping they could do is with each other, or maybe the sea birds? But wait�� I think I should send Larry with them. Yes, just those three. That’d be best.🤭

I’ve been wondering how Eilis became the sensitive, highly intelligent person she appears to be? We know nothing whatsoever about her late father, so I can only assume he may have been a kind, gentle, soft-spoken sort of man—the kind Eilis would adore—because she certainly didn’t inherit any of her lovely traits from her mother!🙄

I’ve also been wondering why Eilis loves Jim. I think it's mostly “all in her head�� or due to the memories she built up about him. I mean, she saw and spoke to him so infrequently—and not AT ALL in the 20 plus years since she saw him last as a 20-year-old! So how could she “love�� him? She barely knew the guy!! Seriously, she knows very little about him (and IMO, she obviously failed to notice that nose ring he wore—you know, the one that everyone clipped a leash to so they could lead him around to make him do their bidding. Of course, Nancy did this most of all!) O.K., maybe I’m stretching it a bit, but you’ll recall that, until Colette suggested it, Jim admitted he’d never once considered Nancy as a romantic partner! Colette’s brief suggestion was all it took for him to suddenly get on board the Nancy train.

I think it’s a sure thing that Jim loves Eilis “only in his head�� because he appears to do ALL his living there! When a thought strikes him, he has to take a few moments to play it through in his head, right to the end, even including the smallest details. Then he’ll have it all planned out, until reality throws him a curveball, which will only make him start the process all over again—in his head—with the new details to factor in. It's the weirdest thing!! He seems completely incapable of making a decision or a move on his own! Nancy makes all the decisions and he just plays along, even if it's something he doesn’t necessarily want!! Is it because he’s conflict-averse? Or is he simply a very easy-going guy? He’s like no one I’ve ever known—in fiction or in reality! He’s such a pushover! I’d even go so far as to call him a “wuss��!! But, however you’d describe him, he seems hardly the kind of guy that Eilis would fall for!! Which leads me back to my theory�� she barely knows the guy!

And that’s why, in the end, it appears to me they will likely NOT end up together. (hide spoiler)] Whew!😮‍�� For me, that's a huge relief!!! But still, I wish Toibin would give us something—anything! And, please sir, don’t make us wait another 15 years to find out!!!🙏

Very highly recommended, with the caveat that Brooklyn is a must-read first!!

5 “Please, No more cliffhangers, Mr. Toibin!�� stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐��