The first half of Time of the Child by Niall Williams moves ever so slowly, taking its time to build a solid framework for the captivating events of the second half. By the middle of this novel, we readers are intimately acquainted with the village of Faha, its topography, history, climate, culture, spiritual leanings, its people and the fascinating ways they are connected.

            Even though there’s not a lot of action for the first 130 pages, Williams builds narrative tension by making sure we readers care about the characters, both main and minor. He writes about the villagers with such humor and affection that as a reader I felt drawn in, eager to hear what life had in store for them.

Another way Williams bumps up narrative tension is to make liberal use of foreshadowing. The book starts out, “This is what happened in Faha over the Christmas of 1962, in what was known in the parish as the time of the child….To those who lived there, Faha was perhaps the last place on earth to expect a miracle.” Then, just in case the child slipped our minds, the beginning of chapter three starts, “Before dawn on the day Jude Quinlan would find the child, a rough hand shook him awake.” That line alone kept me reading through the next sixty or so pages until Jude finally discovers the infant.

Normally, I stay away for slow books and movies. It’s a flaw, I know. However, the writing in this book is so mesmerizingly gorgeous, I forgot about the plot. I loved the syntax, the clever humor, the descriptions of setting, and the sage observations about humanity and God. Regarding word choices, I saw words I hadn’t read since SAT prep years ago: lumpen, perspicacious, wodge, susurrus, and many more. The author’s writing is elegant without being pretentious. E.B. White would be proud.

There are many well-drawn characters in the book, but for me three stand out. Dr. Jack Troy is the physician who serves the villagers, people show up at his house at all hours with all sorts of ailments, some of which are pretty gross. If a patient is not mobile, he drives to their homes in the countryside, no small feat. His work is more of a mission than a business, with payment often being in the form of cabbages and piles of wood. Jack experiences two great losses, his wife and a woman he loved after his wife’s death. He emerges from these losses with his faith battered, doubting God’s love, and often, God’s existence. 

Jack’s daughter, Ronnie, is the only one of his three children who chose to remain in Faha. She is his faithful assistant in the clinic, but otherwise keeps to herself, conversations between them rarely straying beyond the superficial. Yet, we readers learner that she is a writer who thinks deep thoughts, not that anyone seems to care.

 All this changes quickly once twelve-year-old Jude Quinlan finds the infant. Jude lives in harsh circumstances and has endured terrible suffering, but his response is to behave tenderly toward others. Jude Quinlan is the heart of the story and is by far my favorite character.

The last half of the book is a page turner. I felt so invested in the characters that I couldn’t wait to see what happened. Williams did a great job of throwing curve balls into the plot. I found myself arguing with Williams over what I thought were some bad plot choices, but then as I read on, I realized that rascally author had tricked me.

 I wept through the last few pages of the book, all the way to the redemptive, but unexpected (by me) ending. It was wonderful. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

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