Author(s): Niall Williams

General Fiction

An exquisitely-crafted tale of love and loss from the author of Four Letters of Love and Only Say the Word.

Love is not easy, especially if you find the woman of your dreams and then lose her - as Philip Griffin and his son Stephen each discover in turn. Stephen is just a boy when his mother and sister are killed in a car crash, and his father never recovers from the accident: he wasn't involved but is subsequently consumed by grief. His faith in God, fate and the future devasted, Philip is unable to rebuild his life, and his only remaining desire is to be reunited with his wife. Before that can happen though, Philip has certain tasks to fulfill - one of which is to ensure his son's happiness. This may not be the easiest of tasks, however - for Stephen loves Gabriella, who is not sure she returns his love - but at least Philip has help, in the shape of (among others) Vivaldi, a fruit and veg seller named Nelly, and a blind man who once dreamed of building an opera house in West Clare.