You could not make this novel any more Irish unless it came with a free pint of Guinness with a shamrock stuck in the top. It was even awarded the Irish Novel of the Year by the Kerry Group earlier this year, and they are only interested in books written by Irish authors so they know their subject.
It's beautifully written in that slow and moving lyrical style of classic Irish literature, so if you are looking for something to skim read on the plane you had better put this down and move on to a wodge from David Baldacci. The plot in this book will not be hurried, but I promise you it is worth hanging on in there as you will feel the cold and rain along with the community of Faha gathering around you.
Set in 1962 during the run-up to Christmas, it centres around Dr Jack Troy who is the much respected village doctor. Back in the early sixties there was only one doctor for each village, and they stayed in post long enough to see several generations and knew everything there was to know about their patients. The farming communities saw doctors, priests and school masters as pillars of their society and followed their instructions without question.
Dr Troy lives in a big old house opposite the church with his eldest daughter Ronnie who acts as his receptionist and housekeeper. Although the doctor may have expected his daughter to want to marry as her younger sister had already done, Ronnie is content with her life and takes pride in smoothing the way for her father by having everything he needs always ready to hand.
As Christmas approaches the village is preparing for the final fair of the year and this brings all the families down from the hills along with herds of their animals. The fair is where deals are done and a bit of money made to help with the cost of Christmas. At the end of this particular fair, when the stalls are all packing up and the night is falling, something happens that changes the Doctor's life forever and we see how events ripple out to affect everyone in the village.
This is one of those books that is a pleasure to read just for the use of language, and Naill Williams perfectly takes you back to a simpler time when people didn't expect much from life and were prepared to do hard physical work all day for very little reward. The cold and the wet of winter are accepted as how things are, and people only take much notice of the weather when there is an unexpected break in the clouds. This would make a very good read in the run up to Christmas because the end of the book brings a warm glow and reminds us that a community can cope with pretty much anything if they have support from one another.
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