It seems to me that all novelists are explorers of unknown worlds. They map them as they go, the white pages showing the tracks of their discoveries, making actual the imagined or unknown. Sometime during the writing of the early pages of This is Happiness, I knew that I had found a world in the west Clare village of Faha. For some time, I had subscribed to the belief in the enormity of small places, the idea that wherever human beings are living the possibilities of story are not bound by the limits of space or number but are in fact endless.
With that novel, something occurred to me that hadn’t happened before. The longer I continued writing about Faha, the more I wanted to stay inside those pages.
― Niall Williams, Dubray Book Blog
What booksellers are saying about Time of the Child
- Such a decadent delicious tale set in Ireland. I devoured it in a day. Could not put this book down. Left me with a raw hangover in a world I didn’t want to leave. Many people will put their nose up at small-town life, but this book shows the power of belonging, accepting, and loving. A doctor who has been serving the community for years and his steady daughter Ronnie were brought a baby during Advent and they hide her without the townspeople suspecting. What rolls out is remarkable and so heartfelt. I can’t wait for others to chat about it. Going back to reading more of this genius’s books.
― Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina | BUY
- With a return to Faha, Niall Williams writes a charming Christmas story in a town turned upside down by an abandoned baby–which brings out the best in humanity.
― Cheryl Lindstrom, Fonts Books in McLeann, Virginia | BUY
- I so loved the small Irish town of Faha in Williams This is Happiness — all the characters and their messy, honest humanness and humor! It was great returning to this town full of heart and a perfect read for the holidays. You’ll laugh a lot; you’ll feel a lot of love.
― Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina | BUY
- Absolutely fabulous story! William’s writing is a literary art form that is astounding! Loved it! A must read!
― Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama | BUY
- Like Niall Williams’ earlier novel This is Happiness, Time of the Child is populated with real people we feel we know—fully developed characters for whom Williams’ empathy never wavers. There’s an animated plot that’s equal parts strange, warm, funny, and poignant, played out with sentences that beg to be underlined for their elegance, their humor, and their profound honesty. The story is set during Christmas, and I expect that I’ll be giving this jewel of a novel as a gift to everyone I know this year, as I did Small Things Like These, by Williams’ compatriot Claire Keegan in 2023.
― Clara Boza, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina | BUY
About Niall Williams
Niall Williams was born in Dublin. He is the author of nine novels, including History of the Rain, which was long listed for the Booker Prize and Four Letters of Love, which will soon be a major motion picture starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gabriel Byrne. His most recent novel, This Is Happiness was nominated for The Irish Books Award, The Walter Scott Prize, and was one of the Washington Post’s Books of the Year. He lives in Kiltumper in County Clare, Ireland.
