When I came across this book on NetGalley, it reminded me that I had Niall Williams’ previous book, This Is Happiness, on my bookshelf still unread. As soon as I realised Time of the Child was set in the same small village of Faha, I picked up This Is Happiness. I loved it and so it was a joy to return to Faha in Time of the Child. (I think Time of the Child could be enjoyed without having read the earlier book.)

Some individuals from This Is Happiness return but I’ll admit I did miss its large cast of colourful characters since the focus of this book is very much on Doctor Jack Troy and his daughter Veronica, known to everyone as Ronnie.

Although Jack Troy may appear distant and someone who rarely shows emotion, inside we see a man struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife and another woman he cared about, and guilt that he may have stood in the way of his daughter’s happiness. Time after time, I found myself inwardly urging Jack to express his thoughts out loud and not keep them to himself, particularly when it came to his daughter. Tell her how much you appreciate her, tell her you’re sorry…

As we learn, Jack Troy does not have a heart of stone, as outward appearances would suggest, he has a heart as big as anyone. We see his compassion in the way he cares for the ailing Doady and her husband Ganga who grasps at any sign she might be improving despite there being none. (Both Doady and Ganga had starring roles in the previous book.) And we see it again in his tender dealings with Father Tom who is exhibiting signs of confusion.

The discovery of an abandoned baby gives Jack the opportunity to demonstrate his compassion once again. His dilemma is how to explain the presence of a baby in his household, a baby whom his daughter has grown to love. He cannot disappoint her again by allowing the baby to be taken into the care of the authorities. The solution: keep it a secret. The problem: Faha is not a place where it’s easy to keep a secret. In fact, it’s almost impossible. And actions can have unintended consequences.

A warm, wry humour runs through the book, such as the scene in which the curate, Father Coffey, has his first encounter with Napoleon brandy. And the author’s flair for the colourful is in evidence when describing the travelling traders who set up at Faha’s Christmas Fair.

‘There was Noone the knife-sharpener who looked like Douglas Fairbanks in The Corsican Brothers; McGreal, the pots-and-pans man, wire wool extra; a Dodd from the north who sold old brushes, and his own version of Chimno, Soot-Go he called it; Mrs Peggy who sold men’s underpants three-in-the-pack, and socks, five-in-the-pack, all grey, Good enough to wear to your own funeral, neither of which were bought by men, whose socks and underpants never surrendered, but by wives and mammies who had seen the toenail and blast damage.’

At the same time there are intensely moving moments, especially towards the end of the book. So as not to give anything away I’ll just say ‘Father Tom’, ‘crying baby’ and ‘Christmas box’.

Religion plays a strong part in the lives of Faha’s inhabitants and there are moments where the prose is psalm-like. ‘[He] drew back the curtain for the universal remedy of daylight, but the dark was still on the land and in the bare trees and on the river beyond, and dawn’s mercy unavailable.’

At its heart, the book is about a man trying to do his best and ‘the always inconvenient actuality of love’. Time of the Child is the perfect Christmas story, showing the best of human nature: generosity of spirit, a sense of community and being true to your values. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I think these are things to which we can all aspire.

'Time of the Child' is a stunning, moving novel about love and healing. Those who have read other novels by Niall Williams will be familiar with his lyrical style and beautifully plotted stories which are full of such insight and grace.

This novel is again set in the small town of Faha in County Clare, 'a place that had the air of last stop before eternity' and the same setting as 'History of the Rain' and 'This Is Happiness', but although it features some characters from 'This Is Happiness', it works as a standalone novel. The novel follows Faha's widowed doctor, Jack Troy, and his grown-up eldest daughter Ronnie who continues to live with him and keep house, even though her sisters wonder when she might escape. Their quiet and unexpressive relationship is transformed by the unexpected arrival of a baby girl who has been abandoned in the village: this baby offers both of them a second chance at love, but Jack also knows that once the baby is discovered, the authorities will not allow an unmarried woman to adopt it. Secretly, he hatches a desperate plan to stop his and Ronnie's hearts from breaking.

There is so much to admire in this novel - its plot is rich, compelling and unexpected, and the characters are fully realised, as is the texture of Irish small town life in the 1960s in which what is left unsaid counts for more than what is said. I find Williams one of the most interesting writers about religious faith, and as in other novels, we see this from the perspective of those who struggle believe but nonetheless encounter redemption and grace. Jack Tory is such a doubter but gives an impressive exposition of Christian teaching as he explains that 'My understanding is that He sees and knows, and foresaw and foreknew, all our errors, all our wrong turns and catastrophes, and still loved us.' The setting of this novel in the season Advent adds to the power of its miraculous conclusion, in which Jack discovers 'a spirit of generosity that in this world had not yet been vanquished.'

Above all, this is a magnificent story about love ('Love is dangerous', Jack observes at one point, 'because it brings us to our best selves, and because purity is a commodity that the world can only tolerate in thimbles') and about about life, particularly its beginnings and endings. As one character reflects, 'the purpose of ageing was to grow into your soul, the one you had been carrying all along', reflects one character', and it is Jack's discovery of his own soul that gives this novel such emotional power. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy to review!

Set in the fictional small Irish town of Faha in 1962, at a time when unmarried mothers were not acceptable and babies could be taken away by the state and church, this is the story of an abandoned baby, and how the community deals with the problem. The mystery is not about whose child it is, but about how this “Christmas miracle”, which we do not even get to until about half way through the novel, affects all those concerned. It’s a typical isolated Irish town. Electricity has only recently arrived, and is chronicled in an earlier book from Williams. Now the big news is of the arrival of the first television. We meet all the local characters, including the doctor and his unmarried daughter, whose lives are about to be upended. It’s a simple enough plot and narrated from the point of view of four main characters in four chapters. In the first we meet Doctor Troy, in the second 12-year-old Jude with his drunkard father, who finds the baby, in the third Ronnie, the doctor’s daughter, and in the fourth we go back to Doctor Troy. En route we get to know all the inhabitants of Faha, all of whom, although there might be stereotypes amongst their traits, are fully-rounded and complex characters. The struggle so expertly explored here is what is morally the right thing to do and what is expected by Church and State. It’s an absolutely charming story, told with empathy and grace, with humour and compassion for all concerned. Never sentimental, but certainly poignant and moving, Williams’ style is spare and perfectly paced. I loved this book from beginning to end, and yes, I had a tear in my eye by the end.

Christmas-set portrait of an Irish village

In a stroke of coincidence, this is the second book I've read this week set in the winter of 1962, when the snow came down and held Britain and the Republic of Ireland in its fierce, white grip. But before that winter hold down, a child was found in a remote Irish village, setting in train events that no villager could have foreseen.

In a gentle and humorous return to his invention of Faha, Williams brings past, present and future into collision, using the Christmas motif of a child at winter to make his characters question their motives, their actions and themselves. Dr Jack Troy and his devoted eldest daughter Ronnie are faced with their tiny patient who represents much more than just another stranger to be healed: redemption, love, family. But will taking in an abandoned child be too much for the static village to take?

Written like a story told by the winter's fire, this is a raconteur of a book, wistful, witty and painful at times. Williams does not shy from bursting the bubbles of his characters, and we are given riches, too many characters that are throwaway eccentrics, their stories hinted at but never resolved. It's a village after all, and there are more stories (two previous books) that illuminate a place at the cusp of modernity, where old stories still hold sway and old traditions stand cheek by jowl with the new.

Congratulations Niall Williams - you made me cry again.

This is my first visit to the fictional Faha. It won't be my last but now I've to travel backwards. I look forward to finding out more about the people and the place.

In Time of the Child we are treated to a simply beautiful Christmas story. At the end of the town's fair Jude Quinlan, waiting to bring his father home from the pub, walks around the town and comes across the body of a baby left behind. With help he brings the baby to Doctor Troy and his daughter Ronnie.

From this point on Doctor Troy begins to weave himself a story that would mean his spinster daughter would find the happiness he firmly believes he took away. But will the other villagers be amenable to his machinations.

Niall Williams talent lies in never rushing you through a story that you can immerse yourself in. I wanted so much more by the end even though I was desperate to know what happened. It's a rare storyteller who can move you to laughter and tears at the same time but Mr Williams manages it on more than one occasion.

I am looking forward to reading History of the Rain and This Is Happiness just to bring Faha to life in my mind again.

Beautiful. An absolute triumph of a book. Very highly recommended. I'd say this would make the perfect Christmas present but why wait?

Thankyou to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.
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Niall Williams is a master story-teller when it comes to slowly unfolding stories, and Time of the Child is no exception. The story is set in 1962, and the central characters are the local doctor, Jack Troy, and his daughter, Ronnie. The background is the rural Irish village of Faha and its congregation, seen mostly through the medical eyes of the doctor.

The relationship between the doctor and Ronnie is not ideal. She is the remaining daughter left to look after her widowed father and they both have difficulty with that relationship while trying to do their best. It’s complicated, even as the doctor tries to do what’s right, reflecting on past mistakes.

Otherwise, nothing really happens as the story slowly opens up evoking its portrait of the village and its characters until something does happen and then everything changes, still slowly of course! Is it a miracle? Probably not, but you decide!

History of the Rain, also by Niall Williams, was a fabulous book and this one runs it close. It’s an immensely satisfying read from a master storyteller.

Time of the Child
By Niall Williams

Set in the imagined, but completely credible village of Faha, where ground is more water than soil, where air is heavy with mizzle and the estuary is the backdrop to every scene, this is the unexpected nativity story I had no idea I was waiting for.

It is 1962, the townland is settling into life with the electrification they anticipated in the earlier "This Is Happiness", and as Christmas approaches, the fair brings a flurry of activity, cattle and pigs being readied for sale, Christmas boxes filled with cheer for valued customers, outfits final fitted and the ubiquitous coughs and colds. Then a baby is found, and its the age old problem of how to keep a secret when everyone knows your business.

If you have read This Is Happiness, this is a welcome return to a place almost forgotten by time, and a community that gets under your skin. Doctor Troy and his daughter Ronnie are the feature characters this time, with a side of Doady and Ganda, but if you haven't already read the first, don't worry, Williams provides enough backstory through reference rather than repetition. If you are familiar with his writing style, you will know that he rarely uses a simple sentence where a gazzillion idioms would offer a more precise image, and somehow, not a word is wasted. It's practically impossible to read his prose without a smile on your face.

Williams also has an unusual knack at pacing. His often circuitous narrative should feel slow, and yet it is strangely compelling and there is a constant undercurrent of urgency.

A beautifully crafted and heart warming story, that examines themes of humanity, community, class differences and the bravery of those who defy the system.

How I'd love to see this on the big screen. In the right hands it could be the next "It's A Wonderful Life".

Publication date: 24th October 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #bloomsburyuk for the ARC

This is a tale of a little village somewhere in Ireland. It's a tale of a small community where the center is a priest, Father Tom, whose health is rapidly declining, and doctor Jack Troy. There are other characters, too, such as the daughters of doctor Troy or the family of a boy called Jude. Through them, we see the winter of 1962 and what life was like back then. Everything changes once the baby is found. Isn't that a symbol?
The writing is lyrical: "Clouds the color of new welding appeared, heavily made, apprentice-work, in shapes unshapen like vapour". It`s rich and descriptive. "In the elbows of the road, they lost sight of their cattle, walking on the trail of tampered ditch grass and broken bramble, the spasmed dropping of fluid dungs that were the signature of an animals' day out. But they showed no panic."
Rich language and a slow story perfectly suit the wintertime within the story and it`s a perfect read for a cold and dark evening. If you`re a fan of such books this might be for you. If you prefer stories with more of a substance you might find yourself losing attention quite quickly and often.

Oh this book has my whole heart.
This is the most perfect Christmas/ winter read . One to savour on a dark evening, ideally in front of an open fire .

I love Niall Williams writing, his turn of phrase, lyrical descriptions and how vividly he can bring characters to life from the page. While this isn’t a sequel as such to This is Happiness, Time of the Child is once again set in the small rural town of Faha. It was lovely to return to this setting and be reintroduced to some of the characters but this is absolutely a standalone read . The book is set in early 1960s Ireland, in the run up to Christmas a baby is abandoned in this small village and left in the care of the village doctor and his daughter . I’m loathe to say more as this is a book one needs to experience knowing little of the story. It’s a really beautiful read, absolutely gut wrenchingly moving at times and brimming with love, community and heart. Williams writes human emotion with such precise accuracy. A moving, heartbreaking but ultimately comforting read, I loved it.
4.5 ✨✨✨✨

Time of the Child by Niall Williams is a beautifully written work of literary fiction that takes the reader on a journey to small town Ireland in 1962. Christmas is approaching and Dr Jack Troy is busy tending to his patients with the help of his daughter Ronnie. They have settled into a comfortable routine but the sudden arrival of an abandoned baby turns their world upside down, causing Dr Troy to regret how his past actions may have prevented his daughter from finding love and making Ronnie think about what she really wants from her future and the lengths she is willing to go to in order to get it.
This is a gentle, slow moving tale that immerses the reader in the lives of its characters, from the young boy Jude who lives on the edge of poverty on the family farm to the parish priest whose health is starting to decline to Ronnie who dreams of being a writer and never expected to fall in love with a baby. The complexities of community and societal expectations are cleverly explored and gently probed and as always when it comes to Niall Williams the writing is simply beautiful.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Like many Irish writers, Niall Williams has a gift for storytelling. He can make a character really stand out from a page and make the reader feel they know them. He is also able to express something profound in a short sentence. While this is a very positive and precious talent, it also meant I found this book so deeply moving and sad I had to skip bits in order just to use one or two tissues rather than a whole box.
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advance copy of this book

It’s wonderful to be back in the little Irish town of Faha again in the 1960s, where the people live a simple life, farming the poor boggy ground and the rain in all its forms hardly ever stops. It’s a community in thrall to the Catholic Church, but with its share of sinners, gamblers and drunkards as well as love and kindness.

It’s close to Christmas when young Jude Quinlan, the boy who miraculously survived his own babyhood, finds an abandoned baby. Finding it so still and cold, he takes the small body to Jack Troy, the town doctor. What later becomes known as ‘the time of the child’ will affect the whole town, but none more so than Jack and his oldest daughter Ronnie, a reader and writer, who has forsaken love and marriage to stay with the doctor and care for him and his practice.

Beautifully written with Niall Williams’ lyrical writing and richly rendered characters, this is a stirring and emotional tale as Dr Troy comes to reflects on life, death, love and family and learns how to truly be part of a community. Perfect for Christmas reading.

Although this was beautifully written (pictures painted in words), I found it a bit of a slow burner which didn't really live up to the synopsis. However, the real Christmas miracle of love, peace and understanding was explored as Jack and his daughter navigated their relationship, as a result of taking in the baby. Despite not being what I expected, it was enjoyable nonetheless!

If you read only one festive story, you should make it this one, by the sublime Irish writer, Niall Williams, who returns us to Faha, no matter if you have not read ‘This is Happiness'. He provides a wonderfully detailed historical picture of the essential people, complexities, and nature of a community that will worm its way into your heart and light it up. There is love in all its forms, even undeclared, unforseen, uncontained, conspiracies of the heart, a glimpse of proof that, despite the obstacles to it coming from the state and the institutional Catholic Church, there is a world where a spiritual humanity endures. It sparks and bubbles with the ability to overcome heartbreak, madness, and regrets, reaching and connecting with the stars, a comprehension of how miracles are willed into existence. Dr Jack Troy lives with his selfless eldest daughter, Ronnie, a reader and solitary writer, who facilitates his medical practice, his 2 other daughters having left.

It is fitting that it is young 12 year old Jude Quinlan, saved by the saints, who at a Christmas fair bargains with the fairies, and stumbles on a abandoned baby, bringing it to Jack, despite it appearing dead, there is no pulse. However, there is magic and prayers in the air, as the baby breathes, returned to life, her existence sworn to secrecy. Baby Noelle brings change, surprising joy, and delight, even to the worn out, laboured heart of Jack, as he exuberantly waltzs with her across the floor. Ronnie's bond with Noelle is everything, to all intents and purposes, she is the mother, in this echo of the Christmas story, as Jack comes up with fevered solutions to try and ensure they can remain together against all the odds.

There is something more than flesh and bone, profound, beyond explanation, our souls, the embrace of community, when all is thought lost, the emergence of a true Christianity, the time of the child, escaping the straitjackets of social and political norms and expectations of this historical period. Williams writes of tender intimacy, grace, a wounded holly tree, bone deep poverty, true and grim realities, and overpowering guilt. We have a Jack pushed to consider that God's first mistake was starting with man, where hospitality and the knowledge of what it costs to live are female attributes, and of stepping beyond judgements of right and wrong with the oldest alibi, family. Faha is a community where the most important things are never said and depth is more valued than surface, and no doubt this will resonate with many, a Jude trapped in the prison of all who have flawed fathers, unable to mend them, yet recognising they are the only ones they have.

An unforgettable, glorious, and spellbinding feast of a festive read that I recommend highly, deserving of far more than the 5 stars I am able to award it! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I am a massive Niall Williams fan and to be given the chance to read his latest book, The Time of the Child, was like manna from heaven to me. It was lovely to return to Faha and become reacquainted with many of the characters like Doady and and Ganga, but it is Dr Troy and his eldest daughter Ronnie who share the spotlight this time. Given the timing of the story and the power of the Catholic Church to enforce and expect conformity, when the Troys take in a foundling the outcome is sadly predictable. But the love that both Dr Troy and Ronnie feel for the baby leads them to take increasingly desperate steps first to hide and then to keep her. It is a gentle story told in Williams’ peerless Irish lilt. So many sentences have to be re-read so that one can appreciate the beautiful prose. Another Niall Williams book to savour and an ideal Christmas read. Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the eARC.

Life in this small Irish town in the middle of the twentieth century will be unbelievable to lots of readers, but yes life was really like that.
This is a slow burner, I guess that is inevitable in a town where hardly anything happens, and events unfold slowly.
The characters are suberb, the setting interesting.
The storyline develops slowly, and the reader is sent down a few dead ends before the story unfolds, and leaves the reader with a tear in their eyes.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read, and loved, several books by this author back in the 90's and early 2000's, and I was interested to see how I would fare with this most recent offering. The beginning almost defeated me. I couldn't seem to grasp the phrasing, or the characters, or the feel and flow for what was happening. I'm not sure why that was - it felt sometimes as if the sentences were sometimes jumbled, or the words were out of order. But it was a struggle. I persevered, because I kept thinking about how I had loved his early books, and I was sure there must be something more to come, and I'm really glad I did. Perhaps I started to hear the Irish lilt in the language, or perhaps I just became attuned, or it just got better? But suddenly I did find I was completely caught up in the story, and the lives of the characters. I started to remember that what I'd loved about Williams' books before was the intense emotional pull of the writing. And here, in this story, I was completely caught up in the doctor's life. The cast of characters is broad, and you get a feel for many of them, as they come and go in the story. There is the ever present sense of dread, hanging over everything, and the more you read, the more you know the people you're reading about, and the more emotional it gets.
So, a slow start I felt, but definitely worth it.

I loved this! A beautiful book. The depth that Williams gives the characters is just brilliant- you really feel like you get to know them. I loved the portrayal of rural west Ireland.

I never regret reading anything that Niall writes. The author of my favourite book, Four Letters of Love, is back with a heartfelt, invigorating novel about life in a small town. Every detail is handled beautifully, as he brings the world of Faha closer to the reader. Jack Troy is the local doctor, who, while part of the small community, feels at a distance, given his knowledge of the locals. Living with him is youngest daughter Ronnie, and he worries that she’s almost given up on enjoying life. Certainly, there is something missing from her existence. That said, both father and daughter are thrown when a baby is left in their care – suddenly they have someone else to care for and with that comes second chances and second opportunities for understanding. Every word is carefully placed and it’s a vivid picture that Niall paints.

A return to Faha, an almost sequel, a sequel of sorts, with the same love of olden Ireland found in This is Happiness. I defy you to read it and not be a little heartbroken by the end.