Eilis Lacey is going to America. She's been placed in trustworthy hands on the advice of and with the blessings of other trustworthy hands. Eilis is a good Irish girl that arrives in Brooklyn and does her duty. She doesn't make waves and wants to work hard so as to show appreciation for what's been given to her. Some might find her character boring, but there would have to be a lot of internal struggle, strength and resolve to leave everything and everyone you know and love to begin a life in a foreign country and actually try your best; especially when it wasn't your decision to go in the first place. 
 For much of the story Eilis is told what to do. There is a large network of people keeping an eye on her (mostly for the good) and little if any decision making is left to her. This was a different kind of immigration story from what is commonly related. She had the support of her family, wasn't in dire need of leaving Ireland and had her way paved for her by people that cared about her, enabling her to hit the ground running when she arrived in Brooklyn rather than struggling to find work, accommodation and companionship. (view spoiler)[I was glad when she found success in her work, was able to go to school and found a lovely boyfriend who seemed almost too good to be true. When she returns home after the death of her sister I was shocked that she took up so quickly with Jim Farrell, a man with money and connections, but who had previously dismissed her and whom she had little in common with other than their small town. I have to imagine that this was her way of having an experience that wasn't negotiated or preordained for her by someone else; a sort of freedom. And though I thought Miss Kelly was cruel to taunt her with the knowledge that she knew she was married and possibly cheating on her husband, it turned out for the best because she was able to finally set a date for her return to Brooklyn. She would need to face up to the decisions she'd made and come to some kind of resolution if she was ever going to be able to live a fulfilled life. Her sudden departure from home and her cool goodbye with her mother were hard to read, but were inevitable after her revelation of her marraige to Miss Kelly and her own mother. (hide spoiler)] 
 I liked that Toibin kept a strict focus on Eilis's life. Any people, places and events were detailed only through Eilis's experience of them. This helped to lend gravity and a sense of immediacy to the events of her life. He also did a fantastic job with writing the females, which made up the majority of the characters. They were believable and various and did not feel cliched. The 50's time period and both Irish and American neighborhoods and customs were well represented and vibrant without overpowering Eilis's individual story. A good read.