Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,193 global ratings
5 star
67%
4 star
20%
3 star
9%
2 star
3%
1 star
2%
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review this product

Top reviews

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

rayofsunshine
5.0 out of 5 stars What a book
Reviewed in Australia on 19 July 2020
Verified Purchase
As soon as I’d finished this wonderful book I wanted to read it again. The words, the humour, this poetry of this book was beautiful.
Who cares that the story line is simple, innocent and non violent it portrays a wonderful picture of an Irish town I wanted to visit an see for myself.
Having read several Sebastian Barry, books Niall Williams is the nearest author I have come across who compares. I’ll have to read another to authenticate the comparison. I’m sure he will come up with the goods.
Read more
MCLS
4.0 out of 5 stars Glum with the odd highlight.
Reviewed in Australia on 14 March 2020
Verified Purchase
Well written. Descriptions of people and place were excellent. However it described lives that were stagnant , that didn’t move on. Even the main protagonist remained stuck in time too wary of moving out of the glumness. So I found the story glum with the odd highlight.
Read more
Michael Fleming
4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
Reviewed in Australia on 23 July 2020
Verified Purchase
Delightful story featuring Irish precipitation. Excellent narration.
Read more
See all reviews

Top reviews from other countries

Lilydotwin
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for every Irish exile.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2019
Verified Purchase
I loved it! The slow pace of the unfolding story reflects the pace of Irish village life at the time. The story is not the central theme of the novel however. It is like a long conversation round a fire, probably in just the glow of the flames, with each speaker contributing his reflections in turn. The writing is sublime. The humour is mischievous and twinkling, poking fun at the great institutions but never being hurtful or disrespectful. The poignancy of the later chapters was rendered beautifully. The characters are all people we could meet anywhere in Ireland at any time. Williams has caught their idioms and speech patterns exactly. I was a child in Ireland at the time of rural electrification and this novel brought back so many memories that I frequently had tears in my eyes. I lived in the town (with electricity) but I had cousins and friends living in the areas about to be electrified. I remember one child’s eyes rounded like saucers as he described “the kettle that boiled on the wire” and witnessed his first taste of ice-cream! This was a great read. Thank you, Niall Williams. O now!
Read more
Mr. A. Boddy
5.0 out of 5 stars The truth about young males and love
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 September 2020
Verified Purchase
The knowledge of small town Ireland in the 1950's is immense; and the detail of the writing, and the use of language and thought is incredibly real to life. The author's observation and the way he captures it on the page is excellent...at time very funny too.
However the real clincher for me is the description of young love/infatuation and its echo into long after. For me, it was (almost) too personal...as though he had seen how I was when I was first in love...that just saying her name out loud, that standing on her street, the sheer bliss of just seeing her for a second only. This is exquisite, I have never read anything of such true raw emotion. Layered onto this is his reflection as an old man, and the older man in the story. I have copied so many paragraphs from this novel into my notebook, and would have copied so many more if I had not needed to keep reading. This is worth far more than 5 stars!!!!
Read more
read til you drop
5.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2019
Verified Purchase
Funny and poetic. No one writes like Nial Williams. A joy to read!
Read more
Donny Rock
3.0 out of 5 stars A slow pace of life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2021
Verified Purchase
Here we have a novel based around the electrification of rural Clare. The aged narrator tells the story of his youthful experience, as his memory sees it. We meet loveable characters. We acquaint with local customs and traditions. We hear almost lyrical descriptions of the counrtryside. However the storyline is loose and, possibly too long. Perhaps he strives too much to use a complicated or less familiar word or phrase when a simpler one might do the job better.
Read more
M A Law
5.0 out of 5 stars A man of wonderful words and story telling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2020
Verified Purchase
AN absolutely delightful unputdownable book; Niall Williams at his wondrous best. Told with wit warmth and understanding and admiration for an Irish village community on the brink of joining the 20th century - connecting to "the electric" - great characters, humour and a masterpiece of story telling.
Read more
See all reviews