From Brooklyn to Long Island: Colm Tóibín returns to his characters

Irish writer Colm Tóibín's new novel "Long Island" is a sequel to his internationally celebrated "Brooklyn," written 15 years after the original – a book, he admits, he never meant to write.

"Brooklyn" captured readers and film audiences alike. It tells the story of Eilis, a young Irish woman who leaves her small hometown, crossing the ocean in search of a better life.

Tóibín described his writing as chaotic but productive. He works in intense bursts rather than following a fixed routine, and, he said while visiting Shanghai that ideas often appear out of nowhere – sometimes when walking down the street.

This is his fifth visit to China. Shanghai was the first stop on his current tour, and the audience was eager to hear him speak about the process, the characters, and the unexpected turns that led to "Long Island."

Even for a writer who dislikes sequels, Tóibín showed the same quiet wit and honesty that make his work so compelling – a writer observing life, often as much in himself as in his characters.