Time of the Child
Winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award
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4.3 • 48 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
**Winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award**
**Shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award**
**Shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize**
**The instant Irish Times Top Ten bestseller**
A heartbreaking and life-affirming novel about small towns and second chances - from the international bestselling author of Four Letters of Love
'I am utterly obsessed with Niall Williams' Ann Patchett
'A rich and gorgeous book' The Times, The 10 best historical fiction books of 2024
'Irresistible … A powerful pleasure' Karen Joy Fowler
'Deeply compassionate' Guardian
'Slow, rich, immaculate ... One of the most affecting books I've ever read' The Times
'A beautifully written novel about second chances and familial love' Observer
'A story brimming with kindness and courage' Mail on Sunday
'A warm and life-affirming story about ordinary people going to extraordinary lengths' Irish Times
'Line by line, it may be the most beautifully written novel I've read this year' Washington Post
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Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in the little town of Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from his community. A visit from the doctor is always a sign of bad things to come.
His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed her chance at real love – and passed up an offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.
But in the advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy's lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter's lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.
'My own life feels richer having read it' Mary Beth Keane
'A triumph ... There is so much to admire: the lyrical language, how landscape and destiny intertwine, the complex bonds of community' Ron Rash
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Travel to the enchanting Irish town of Faha in this tender and life-affirming novel of second chances. It’s the Advent season of 1962, and Dr. Jack Troy is a local physician burdened by the knowledge of what’s broken in his community. When a baby is discovered abandoned behind the church, Jack and his daughter Ronnie decide to care for the child, giving them a reason to confront the ghosts of their past and the choices that have defined their lives. Author Niall Williams paints the town of Faha with lyrical prose, capturing its quirky residents and quiet rhythms. As Jack wrestles with his regrets and hatches an audacious plan to right his wrongs, the story becomes a celebration of the power of redemption.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A Christmas miracle lies at the heart of this tender offering from Irish writer Williams (Four Letters of Love). In December 1962, 12-year-old Jude Quinlan and his father take their cows to the Christmas fair in Faha, a small town where "all commentators agreed: nothing happened here." The town's reputation begins to change after Jude, waiting for his father to emerge from the pub, finds a baby at the back wall of the church. Jude brings the baby to the local physician, Jack Troy, whose grown daughter, Ronnie, names her Noelle. The Troys hide the baby to prevent her from being taken away and placed in an orphanage. Jack, regretting that he disapproved of Ronnie's former suitor, Noel Crowe, who now lives in America, concocts a far-fetched plan to lure Noel back to Ireland, so he and Ronnie can get married and take the child to the U.S. to raise. Jack runs into a series of hurdles as he tries to bring off his plan while keeping the baby a secret from his neighbors. Williams works up to the miraculous event with steady pacing, breathing life into the characters and crafting a memorable sense of place. For those looking to get into the holiday spirit, this is just the ticket.
Customer Reviews
Life in Ireland
I wish I’d read this book before I went to Ireland and I think I would have understood more. The book seemed emotionally real and in many ways like life in any small community. But also had great plot twists.