Last Updated on February 19, 2021
Resident Janet Neer’s review of This Is Happiness by Niall Williams [New York: Bloomsbury, 2019] is scheduled to be shown on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 on TV 972 at 7 PM and directly after Charlestown Today which runs at 10 AM, Noon, 4 PM, 8 PM, and 10 PM.
This novel takes place in the Irish village of Faha in 1958, when electricity was brought to town. Narrated by Noel Crowe, a 78-year-old man, the story focuses on the year he was 17 and confronted by circumstances which led to his living with his grandparents in the village. Christy, a sixty-year-old boarder of his grandparents, is part of the crew constructing power lines in the area.
Having moved from the city of Dublin to Faha, Noel has adapted to the quaintness of the village and the perplexing characteristics of its inhabitants, noting that “eccentric was the norm.” He found his grandmother Doady and grandfather Ganga to be contrary and crafty. Yet he saw this as the place he learned how to live.
The impact of change and its meaning to the villagers are threads throughout the story. The predictable, constant rains have stopped for the longest time in Faha history, which causes great unease. Their resistance to electricity has placed them nearly last in the country to be wired. Noel notes, “The future of modernity was uncertain and people were consoled to backwardness.” Only the priest of St. Cecilia’s Church could convince his parishioners to allow progress.
Christy, the “electric man,” is a mysterious character, who has another reason for being in Faha. Noel gets few clues while the two men explore the area on bicycles and stop into pubs. Eventually the mystery is solved, revealing the poignancy and complexity of love and loss.
Noel reflects on the capricious nature of memory, as he tells his coming-of-age story. He observes that we see stories of our own construction with flawless clarity. His recalled relationships with the Troy sisters are especially amusing.
The story is the main character of this beautifully written novel. According to Noel, “Story was the stuff of life, and to realize you were inside one allowed you to sometimes surrender to the plot, to bear a little easier the griefs and sufferings and to enjoy more fully the twists that came along the way.”
This is Happiness was listed as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post. Niall Williams has written other novels and nonfiction, including History of the Rain, longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2014.
Janet Neer is a coordinator of the monthly book reviews with Ellyn Loy.
Special recognition goes to Jane Backstrom, who has decided to step down as coordinator after many years of recruiting and supporting wonderful reviews and reviewers!