Book Review: Time Of The Child by Niall Williams
About the book
Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in the little town of Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from his community. A visit from the doctor is always a sign of bad things to come.
His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow, and remains there, having missed her chance at real love – and passed up an offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.
But in the advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy’s lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter’s lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.
Why we love it
Set in December 1962, the novel takes place in Faha, an isolated fictional Irish village on the cusp of change: with electricity just recently installed, televisions still rare and a sense that Ireland is transitioning into a new more modern era.
The story is centred around the discovery of an abandoned baby outside the village chapel, just after market day, and is told from multiple perspectives - Jude Quinlan, the troubled young boy who finds the baby, Doctor Troy who takes on responsibilty for what happens next, and his adult daughter Ronnie who quickly grows to love the child.
There’s incredibly introspective feel to the book, with each chapter taking us deep into the thoughts and emotions of these three characters, both before and after the child’s arrival.
Niall Williams writes with so much rich, descriptive detail. His keen observations capture the complexities of village life, where relationships are shaped by tradition, family ties, social standing, and the roles each person occupies in the community. And while this might seem like a village where nothing much happens, beneath the surface are hidden undercurrents, with ripples of tension, long-held secrets and unspoken truths all drawn into the light by the baby’s arrival.
Ironically, the baby remains the one character we know nothing about, a complete blank slate within the village, and one whose entire future could depend on the decisions being made around it.
Time of the Child definitely isn’t a fast-paced novel with complex twists and turns - instead there’s a calmness to story-telling, the slow, steady rhythm that I just loved getting lost in. Thoroughly recommended!
