Long Island

Part 1 of the novel is set in Long Island. Eilis Fiorello lives here with her husband, children, and in-laws. Some years prior to the narrative present, the Fiorello family and extended family built four houses in a cul-de-sac located in the Lindenhurst neighborhood. The houses are so close to one another that Eilis often feels trapped in this setting. She feels that she has no privacy and as if her in-laws are always observing and judging her behavior. After she learns about the baby, Eilis starts spending more time at the garage where she works in order to escape her home in Lindenhurst. When the baby situation intensifies, Eilis then leaves New York altogether, traveling back to Enniscorthy to escape her husband and in-laws. Throughout her time away, she often imagines herself back in her life in Lindenhurst. Sometimes she misses her home life here. At other...