Don't worry - I have not lost the ability to count. My last review said "Read in 2026 - 27", and this is #30 because #28 and 29 will be reviewed another day when I get round to writing them.
Niall Williams
My book-swapping friend A. lent me her copy of this wonderful book which I can highly recommend.
I'd never read anything by this author before and didn't know what to expect, and here is what I found:
A quiet book in spite of dramatic events happening, an ability to use language in a poetic way even to describe sad and dreadful things, and leaving me with a mix of sadness for what the characters went through and hope that there might be a brighter future ahead for some of them.
The story revolves around a young man who grows up under peculiar circumstances after his father stops going to work because "God told him" to go and paint. Go and paint he does, leaving his wife and boy for months on end struggling at home with no income.
The boy grows up and without wanting to tell you too much let me just say that eventually he goes on a quest to find one of his father's paintings which happens to have ended up in a village school on a tiny island off the coast.
The school master and his family welcome the stranger into their home, and this leads to consequences nobody could have foreseen, changing the lives of those involved forever.
There, I won't say anymore, because I'd like you to find out for yourselves what happened and how it all came about.
It was definitely one of the best reads this year.
If, like me, you know next to nothing about the author, his wikipedia entry is here.
This sounds an intriguing story. He adapted it for the film of the book.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was a film of the book! Hopefully I can find it somewhere on the internet or one of my streaming services.
DeleteI put this one on my ("perhaps") Audible wish-list for now...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found my review interesting enough to put the book on your "perhaps" wish list :-)
Delete