Time of the Child
A Novel
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- USD 19.99
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- USD 19.99
Descripción editorial
"The writing in this book is lyrical . . . a beautiful book that you will love." -Good Morning America's #1 Favorite Book of the Year
"I am utterly obsessed with Niall Williams." -Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake
"Made me laugh out loud and remember how to love." -Margaret Renkl, The New York Times
From the author of the November 2025 Late Show with Stephen Colbert Book Club Pick, This Is Happiness, a compassionate, life-affirming novel about the Christmas season that transforms the small Irish town of Faha.
Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at love – and passed up another 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.
Set over the course of one December in the same village as Williams' beloved This Is Happiness, Time of the Child is a tender return to Faha for readers who know its charms, and a heartwarming welcome to new readers entering for the very first time.
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.
