Niall William’s latest novel, Time of the Child, is one of those books that transports you to another time and place in the company of characters you really care about.
The opening sentence sets the scene and the hook for the story: ‘This is what happened in Faha over the Christmas of 1962, in what became known in the parish as the time of the child.’
Williams names the event which triggers the ‘time of the child’ early in the book but delays revealing how it happened and its consequences until we come to know in detail the rhythms of village life and the nature of its inhabitants.
The central characters are Jack Troy, the silent and conscientious village doctor, and his adult daughter Ronnie who lives with her father and assists at his clinic. Following past tragic losses, Dr Troy dedicates himself to his patients. Like her father, Ronnie devotes herself to work at the clinic and remains silent about her feelings.
Before the child of the title enters the scene, Niall Williams treats us to an often humorous but always respectful account of the other inhabitants of Faha. The parish priest who loses the thread of his speech during Mass plays an important part in subsequent action as does the young man who finds the abandoned newborn at the back of the church yard on the evening of the Christmas Fair. You’ll have to read the novel yourself to discover what happened next.
In this novel, Niall Williams uses long sentences containing striking details or life observations in multiple phrases separated by commas. Unusual in modern fiction, this technique slows the reader to the evolving pace of the story and adds to the enjoyment of Williams’ observations. The other outstanding aspect of William’s writing is the way he reveals his characters’ emotions through moment-by-moment descriptions of their actions. The scene in which Ronnie and her father begin to take care of the child is beautifully written and particularly affecting.
If you are looking for an engrossing escape to a fictional world, this warm and sensitive novel will serve you well.
