This book is not what I thought it would be. I found myself confused about who I was supposed to root for. But it was an interesting read with it's fair share of twists and turns.

Thanks: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this unique story. It was beautifully written, a bit of a slow burner but a book that's definitely worth a read

William Barrow, an internationally acclaimed pianist, is forced to go into retirement when his hands are ruined due to an acute attack of psoriasis. He retreats to a house in rural West Cork, Ireland and advertises for a housekeeper. Tara is a middle-aged piano teacher who instantly recognises that she has met William before, on three occasions, the last resulting in a one-night stand. She applies for the position but William doesn’t recognise her. When they discover an old well in the garden, they become more closely drawn to each other and gradually the reader learns more about their pasts and watches as their relationship develops. The first half of the book worked for me. I was invested in what was happening and wanted to accompany them on their journey. But the second half of the book was a let-down, with the plot evolving into something of a soap opera and with some of the incidents stretching my credulity. It’s a well-written book, well-plotted although perhaps a little slow, but the conceit of the eponymous well didn’t work for me and the hint of melodrama that comes in towards the end negated the promise of the early chapters. I quite enjoyed it overall, and wanted to know how everything panned out, but was let down by the sentimental ending.

Well this was only the kind of book that made me wonder why I'd not read this author in about thirty years. His not exactly being prolific is, of course, a defence, but all the same. She is middle-aged, the inheritor of a cottage in Co Cork, Ireland. He is slightly older, an English ex-pianist, whose concert-giving days are over. She spots him – an event which is not returned – and finds that he has asked for domestic help in his old but newly-bought rectory. She is perfectly happy to stop teaching piano to greasy kids, and attend to him – him and his horrendously wrecked hands. For she and he have a past – three times they met, three times more maturely and more intimately, over her formative years, and yet three times he completely forgot her. As she wonders how much of her changed between each encounter, this one is sustained, especially as he practically stumbles on a way for her to pay attention to said hands – the hidden well of the title, which she immediately declares is health-giving. But his health and his hands are not what she is there for, as something must be avenged…

This is just a most readable book – a serious subject, played seriously, but done with a lightness and breeziness about the language that it all feels tight and relevant and engaging, however flashbacky and mystical it might end up getting. He is a narcissist, we're often told, and yet while his hands are crook our attitude to him is one of varying sympathy. She is not a showy character either, despite what we are told are fine legs under her omnipresent red jacket, and the fact she is still forming a new balance to her relationship with the builder she has just kicked out. Oh, and then, what's this? Part Two, with a huge rug-pulling shift? Oh, well, then – let's run with that.

This might not be one of the books I absolutely love unreservedly, but damn it, every time I see it in a bookshop I will want to pick it up in admiration, flick the pages, perhaps read the blurb and put it down happy, as if having met once more an old friend. Full of unshowy invention – much like the Satie Gnossienne #1 mentioned so often – this might be familiar and understandable (especially as it starts with concerns about effing covid face nappies) and yet it's really rich, adaptable, and open to personal interpretation. To repeat, I found depths in this that utterly contrasted with the ease of the page turning, and for that I was really appreciative of my time between these covers. It has to be four and a half stars, and might be more, so put it in your messages and get a copy.

Tara is working as a piano teacher in a small village in West Cork, when she starts a new job as a part-time housekeeper to William Barrow, an international pianist forced into retirement, following an illness which means he can no longer play. Tara and William – although he doesn’t remember – have history, and as the story progresses unexpected secrets and lies come to the surface with some surprising twists. A slow burn, but I love this authors writing and the unexpected turn that the novel takes its latter part. I’ll be looking for other novels by this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

EXCERPT: To see him again, in the small West Cork village, in the windy end of March, at a table outside the coffee shop, one crabbed hand bent around a herbal tea, was quite a shock. The other hand was removing an untidy face mask, to enable him to bring the cup to his lips. So she could see that profile again, above the untidy clump of the blue face covering, tucked like a scarf around his chin. The hair that tumbled down the creased forehead was grey now. She had heard someone had bought the old archbishop's house, a musician of some kind, and had a mental image of some long-haired rock and roll guitarist still clinging to the sartorial style of the late seventies, with a leather pea coat, stacked heels and a pair of dark glasses to disguise those eyes that nobody would have recognized anyway.
But nothing could have prepared her for the sight of him, wrapped in a scarf and parka, the cuffs of his trousers riding too high, revealing unmatched socks and a pair of trainers that any teenager (or pensioner) might wear, looking windswept, irritable and unmistakably old.

ABOUT ' THE WELL OF SAINT NOBODY': William Barrow finds himself in lonely retirement in West Cork. Once an internationally renowned pianist, a terrible skin disease has attacked his hands and made it impossible for him to perform.

Tara is a piano teacher with barely enough pupils to pay the month's rent. In the local café, the elegant writing of a job advertisement catches her 'WANTED. HOUSEKEEPER.'

She begins to work in William's house, keeping to herself the knowledge that they have met three times before, encounters that have changed her life. He is oblivious to this, while she spins tales of the well discovered in his back garden and of a mythical saint, of the healing powers of the water and the moss that surrounds it. But as the moss begins to heal William's troubled hands, the lines between legend and reality begin to blur, secrets resurface, and past and present collide in unexpected ways.

MY THOUGHTS: I was initially enchanted by the writing in The Well of Saint Nobody, by the element of one person knowing all about the other and the other knowing nothing, but the writing seemed to lose impetus and, although I didn't lose interest completely it certainly waned. When Part Two began, I felt as if I was reading a completely different book, although it soon became (sort of) clear what the connection was.

Tara is an enigmatic character. She still had me puzzled at the end of the book. William seems awfully immature in some ways, but quite fey in others. If anything, I like his character more than hers. He was kinder.

I didn't feel any inherent 'Irishness' in The Well of Saint Nobody. Often when I am reading Irish fiction, I can hear the characters clearly in my head. It didn't happen with this read.

There were several niggling things that just didn't make sense to me concerning Tara's treatment of Will's hands. The most glaringly irritating one was that his hands were miraculously clear the day after the application of the moss. This was doubly disappointing after I read about the author's background - I would have expected far more attention to detail.

Overall, an okay read, but there was definitely the potential for this to have been far better.

⭐⭐.5

#TheWellOfStNobody #NetGalley

I: #neilpatrickjordan @headofzeus

X: #neilpatrickjordan @ HoZ_Books

THE AUTHOR: Neil Jordan is an Irish novelist and film director.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Head of Zeus via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Well of Saint Nobody for review. all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Thought the premise of this sounded very sweet but I wasn’t really engaged by the editing style, unfortunately.

A well thought out plot which is slightly different. Full of secrets past and present mixed with myths and beliefs on the West Coast of Ireland. Past and present collide with an underlying love story. Fairly quick enjoyable read with well drawn characters.

The Well Od St Nobody is the tenth novel by award-winning Irish film director, screenwriter and author, Neil Jordan. Back in her West Cork hometown of Orran to fix up her late mother’s somewhat ruined cottage, piano teacher Tara Stafford immediately knows the ageing celebrity pianist sitting outside the caff, even if he doesn’t recognise her. Although he can no longer play due to the severe effects of psoriatic arthritis on his hands, William Barrow has lost none of his poise or grace, nor his excess of narcissism.

He's bought The Rectory, and puts up an ad for a housekeeper/cook. Her lessons with the village children don’t bring a lot in, so she answers the ad. They’ve met three times before, but he remains oblivious, “a narcissistic celebrity, who forgot most of those who crossed his path.”

When he stumbles upon the well in the back garden, she tells him about the legend: a girl with a blemish, healing moss, a saint... “it had leapt unbidden into the half-aware bits of her brain, like a frog from a rainy pond. Or the waters of a well, would you believe” and if she’s honest, she’ll admit there might be an element of revenge involved, revenge for what happened after their last encounter.

He should be sceptical, but goes along with it. Then, when the moss from the well begins to heal his hands, Tara half wonders if it might be real. And keeping her silence about their shared history gets harder with every encounter…

When a stranger turns up in the village, several things lead Tara to take him at face value. But what of “the dead one whose name he had taken, whose person he was wearing like a borrowed cloak”?

Jordan gives the reader a plot that initially seems fairly predictable, but soon takes an unexpected turn or two, giving the tale a darker hue. His characters are interesting, much more than one-dimensional, some parts are blackly funny, and he treats the reader to some gorgeous descriptive prose. Readers unfamiliar with Jordan’s work will definitely be seeking out his backlist after reading this wonderfully written novel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Head of Zeus.

Set in West Cork, Tara is living in a house left to her in her mothers will. She is a musician and now teaches children the piano. In a cafe, she is suprised by a man who has been part of her past, who is living in the old rectory . When he advertises for a housekeeper, she offers to fill the position and is in some ways upset that he does not recognize her. They discover an old well in the grounds which is also involved in the story .Tara has a big secret which relates to their past and which is revealed . This has repercussions on their lives.
I found the writing style easy to read, although told from multiple points of view, the plot could be followed and made sense. It is set during lockdown, so that adds an extra dimension to the first part of the book. The characters are interesting. The location is not really described in great detail, though you do get an impression of life in the area by the description of where events take place and reactions of others in the village . It might help to have some understanding of life in Ireland , the humour there and Irish mythology .
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I’m indebted to the publisher for inviting me to read this because it’s not a book I’d have chosen and that would have been my loss A very unusual read. Two people linked by their pasts, but when the result of that past i
presents itself it can either tear them apart or bring them together. All human emotion is here and you'll be invested in the characters and in this unusual tale from the beginning.

When William a former piano player who can’t play anymore because of his hands advertises for a housekeeper, Tara takes him up on the offer.

William doesn’t know that he and Tara have met 3 times before and each time was very important in her life.

It was quite slow to get going but was beautifully written.

A very different tale well told. Tara is a vey interesting character. It is hard to decide whether she is a good person or someone happy to do cruel and illegal things. Tara's treatment of William - deserved or not! - is suspect to say the least. Her plans seem to indicate she wants to fleece him and uses her ex-partner achieve this even more. Her invention of a myth both benefits William - and others - and show how belief in something affects so many. Does it show gullibility or what faith can achieve? William is too trusting or too gullible?
A little too neatly finished? Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Neil Jordan/Head of Zeus for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A story that seems a fairy tale, full of myths and dreams. A couple of well plotted and interesting characters, a tightly knitted plot.
I liked this story and liked the storytelling.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

An enjoyable tale that’s full to the brim with Irish folksy charm and more than a hint of myth (or is that blarney?) It’s refreshingly unconventional compared to much of the standard trope these days and I enjoyed its contemporary, cultural, and linguistic allusions. This was also the first novel I have read since the pandemic to have referenced face masks.

It did take a little while to get going and might have benefitted from being more clipped, less loquacious. That said, a pleasant weekend read.

My thanks as ever to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always a little wary of books that seem to include an element of magical realism but in this case I was pleasantly surprised – although others may be disappointed – that it features relatively little in the story, or none at all depending on how you feel about the seemingly healing powers of the moss that grows on the walls of the ancient well. For me, it was much more a story about relationships although, later in the book, it briefly takes a more dramatic turn.

There’s a strong theme of storytelling in the book. For example, Tara’s recounting of the legend of the well takes on a life of its own as people become enthralled by the story and invest in its seemingly preternatural powers. Tara herself is, in a way, yearning for discovery of her own story, hoping to provoke a memory that, for a long time, seems unlikely to happen. Storytelling often involves invention and that too features in the book. If this is all sounding rather cryptic then that’s because I don’t want to give too much away.

The Well of Saint Nobody is a gentle, touching story about healing: physical, mental and emotional. Whether there’s magic involved I leave up to you to decide.

What a lovely book. I live in the area where the story is set, so it spoke to me before I read it. A book of two very definite halves, two stories that blend seamlessly. Lives that are lived, not really paying attention to details of fellow travellers or places. Stories invented to keep reality at bay, if the day to day is dry and boring. Hopes for recognition .....not necessarily for actions but for just being yourself. Coincidences happen all the time but if they add up to some, then they must be of purpose. And the very best of all is that if you believe something, and can make others believe it too, it really can come true.

A beautifully written slow burner that was well worth the read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an arc of The Well of Saint Nobody.

Bridget knew him straight away! What was he doing in her village? She had met him three times before & remembered every detail. Did he remember her?
A story of some mythical tales, the healing powers of water & moss & unexpected happenings. I did enjoy this book, not what I expected at all but a great story.