Time of the Child

The story of Faha continues. I was honoured to have the opportunity to read this ARC. I loved this story and the characters we followed.

It put me in the holiday spirit even in the middle of June. I would love to see this story continue on. Niall Williams is a brilliant author.

The word love, said aloud, had the character of a swung thurible, the frankincense of it everywhere. from Time of the Child by Niall Williams

Days before Christmas, 1962, in a small Irish town, an infant is left behind on Fair Day when people fill the town with wares and animals for sale. The babe is discovered by a boy waiting in the dark for his father to leave the tavern. With the help of two men, they take the babe to the town doctor. The boy had seen death and knew the infant was dead. But Doctor Troy performed a miracle, breathing life into the infant. The doctor warned them to tell no one, and with his daughter Ronnie, keeps the infant alive through the night. The infant changes their lives in profound and joyful ways.

Spinster Ronnie has remained with her widowed father after her younger sister married and moved on with her life. She is content with her lot, loves the backwards town of Faha, the rain and the flooding river. But holding the babe fires a deep love she had never known. And it makes her father wonder if he did wrong, scaring off her suitors. He himself is heartbroken after the death of a women he loved in secret. Why does no one love my daughter, he wonders. He is determined that Ronnie keep the babe, which can only happen if she is married. He hatches a plan.

This is what happened in Faha over the Christmas of 1962, in what became known in the parish as the time of the child. from Time of the Child by Niall Williams

This is a lovely story, a Christmas miracle story. The narrative voice drew me in like a storyteller in a firelit room in December. Doctor Troy struggles with the big questions of human nature, the nature of God, and the power of human love.

The village and its inhabitants are beautifully described, the fair day’s sights and smells vivid, the variety of vendors and buyers who flood the streets and leave behind their detritus. It is a time of transition, some hovels still light by kerosene lanterns, televisions rare, doctors rarely called for but concerned neighbors suggest visits to the ailing.

All the complexities of living and dying are touched upon in this rich tale.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.