When you start a review with “I like XYZ’s work” you know there’s a ‘but’ coming…
So. I like Colm Tóibín’s work, but Long Island was disappointing. Pretty much nothing happens, and what does is entirely predictable. And then when you get to the end you’re left hanging with three possible outcomes available to you. Sometimes this can work well, but in the case of Long Island it almost read as if Tóibín either hadn’t decided on which he preferred or couldn’t be bothered to write it out / work it out.
That’s massively unfair, I know, and yet this won’t stop me reading his work – I just won’t read anything else involving Eilis Lacey (should another volume appear).
Ian Gouge - Writer 