Recent Reviews
Time of the Child by Niall Williams
Tender and touching, Niall Williams’s Time of the Child is an inspired book for the holiday season. Like his extraordinary novel, This Is Happiness, this tale takes place in the fictitious village of Faha on the western coast of Ireland. Known for his gorgeous prose, Williams does not disappoint. He has written a heartwarming story about Faja’s transformation after an infant is left at the church.
Faha is a poor, rural and isolated community with an eclectic mix of personalities. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. The Catholic church is the beating heart of the village and the moral arbiter of human behavior. The story takes place during the Advent season of 1962. Jack Troy is a widower and village doctor. He lives with his spinster daughter Ronnie, who assists with his medical practice. When an abandoned baby is left in their care, their lives change dramatically. The intense love Jack and Ronnie feel for this infant them with a new sense of purpose. But they know that If the church authorities learn of the child, they will claim her. Jack and Ronnie wrestle with how to handle this situation with its moral and logistical complications.
William’s prose is dense and filled with profound insights into people’s limitations and strengths. Though the novel brims with the characters’ inner thoughts, I wish Williams had included more dialogue. Despite living in the same home, Jack Troy and his daughter Ronnie do not share their thoughts or feelings. It is as if there is a word limit in their home. And thus, they exist in the solitary musings of their own minds. But the miracle of this baby changes their dynamic for the better.
In these troubled times, reading about good but imperfect people is comforting. Williams has lifted up the lives of these villagers into a magical, almost mystical message about living and loving. Williams shows his readers the power of goodness and love in his beautiful novel Time of the Child. 4/5
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
In 2019, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan published their heartbreaking novel Mad Honey. My review will be short to avoid spoiling the plot. This story explores many social issues, including domestic abuse, trans relationships, injustice in the legal system, and suicide. And though these topics can seem overwhelming, the novel, at its core, is a tender coming-of-age story about two teenagers who fall in love. Picoult and Boylan’s thoughtful narrative offers insights, not judgment.
Olivia McAfee leaves her abusive marriage to a cardiac surgeon in Boston. She and her son Asher move to New Hampshire for a fresh start. Asher is a sophomore in high school who falls in love with Lily, the new girl in town. Lily and her mother, Ava, have also fled a toxic situation in California. Both Olivia and Ava are now single mothers wanting to protect their children from their painful pasts. Yet when Lily is found dead, Asher becomes the prime suspect. Despite their best efforts, the history and secrets of both families take center stage when Asher stands trial for Lily’s murder.
Writing a novel with another author must be complicated, and mostly Picoult and Boylan succeed. They have put their readers in the shoes of their characters and shared the character’s complex inner lives. And they have done so with compassion and understanding. Isn’t that one of the goals of a novel? Thanks to my DJKS book club for suggesting this book. 4/5
