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This Is Happiness

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This Is Happiness

By: Niall Williams
Narrated by: Dermot Crowley
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About this listen

Change is coming to Faha, a small Irish parish unaltered in a 1,000 years.

For one thing, the rain is stopping. Nobody remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard is a condition of living. But now - just as Father Coffey proclaims the coming of the electricity - the rain clouds are lifting.

Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe is idling in the unexpected sunshine when Christy makes his first entrance into Faha, bringing secrets he needs to atone for. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right then: something has changed.

As the people of Faha anticipate the endlessly procrastinated advent of the electricity, and Noel navigates his own coming-of-age and his fallings in and out of love, Christy's past gradually comes to light, casting a new glow on a small world.

Harking back to a simpler time, This Is Happiness is a tender portrait of a community - its idiosyncrasies and traditions, its paradoxes and kindnesses, its failures and triumphs - and a coming-of-age tale like no other.

Luminous and lyrical, yet anchored by roots running deep into the earthy and everyday, it is about the power of stories: their invisible currents that run through all we do, writing and rewriting us, and the transforming light that they throw onto our world.

©2019 Niall Williams (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd
Coming of Age Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural Inspiring Feel-Good Heartfelt Funny Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking Witty

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All stars
Most relevant  
Relaxing . Beautifully read . Soft amusing story of very real life . I very much enjoyed it .

Brilliant

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The narration in a wonderful Kerry accent made this lovely story even more wonderful. A gentle story of love, friendship, family and the electricity coming to Ireland.

Wonderful

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Loved the narrator’s accent. The author got to the heart of the characters and showed their flaws and attributes in a way that was heartwarming. I’m from an Irish family and this reminded me of tales from elderly relatives and felt like a love letter to a more simpler time. The book made me smile and laugh and although sad parts it was a joy to listen to.

Heartwarming tale narrated in a beautiful Irish accent.

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I have smiled, grinned from ear to ear and cried in parts throughout the whole book. I have recommended this book countless times to everyone I know or meet. I sound like I’m recommending a new religion for Joy. In fact I’ve so far bought 3 copies to give as gifts and told the readers to read in an Irish accent. Dermot Crowley brought the book alive with his poetic and lyrical reading. Wonderful. Beautiful. Calming and full of love.

The most beautiful book I’ve ever listened to or read.

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This book is so beautifully written it will make your heart sing. Each expression, phrase and sentence is enriched with the most poetic English - it is breathtaking. Take your time and savour it line by line - no need to rush, after all you are in the West of Ireland.

My favourite book of all time!

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This book is pure heaven. I could not stop listening. The narrator is absolutely perfect for the book. The writing is lyrical and poignant profound and funny at times. The whole story went straight into my heart.

I’m so glad to have discovered this wonderful writer.

Such a beautiful book

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Niall Williams captures in words the most vivid images, making you feel as if you are with the characters in every scene, living their stories. Like the title, This is Happiness in so many ways.

a treat to listen to

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It’s the story but it’s the road we take with Niall Williams and his sentences that has one glowing and near tears in equal measure. A story that is of a time before but very relatable to the now and what it is to be human. Just fab.

The most perfect piece of writing……

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This is a novel brimming with love. Love of people, love of place, and love of a good story. It has a gentle pace and yet is quite profound in its consideration of the business of life and the business of death. It is also very funny in places! I absolutely loved it and Dermot Crowley’s narration was sublime.

Simply beautiful

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Absolutely adored this book. Evocative, thoughtful, emotional and just beautiful. All 6 people in my bookclub rated this as one of their favourite all time books. Thank you.

Outstanding

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