Brooklyn (2009)

Eilis's move from early-1950s Ireland to New York is made real through a boarding house, shop work, classes and the effort of learning how to speak to people. Her growing attachment to Brooklyn does not dissolve what she owes or wants from home. Tóibín is especially good at choices that look smaller from outside. A quiet starting point for the emotional double life of migration, with no simple equation between arrival and belonging.