This Is Happiness

* Pre-Order Niall Williams' next story set in Faha O NOW! *
The November 2025 Late Show Book Club Pick!
"I am such a fan of Niall Williams." -Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake
A profound and enchanting novel set in the rural Irish village of Faha, from bestselling Time of the Child author Niall Williams, about the loves of our lives and the joys of reminiscing.
The rain is stopping. Nobody in the small, forgotten village of Faha remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard was a condition of living. Now--just as Father Coffey proclaims the coming of electricity--it is stopping. Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe is standing outside his grandparents' house shortly after the rain has stopped when he encounters Christy for the first time. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right then: something has changed.
This is the story of all that was to follow: Christy's long-lost love and why he had come to Faha, Noel's own experiences falling in and out of love, and the endlessly postponed arrival of electricity--a development that, once complete, would leave behind a world that had not changed for centuries.
Luminous and otherworldly, and yet anchored with deep-running roots into the earthy and the everyday, This Is Happiness is about stories as the very stuff of life: the ways they make the texture and matter of our world, and the ways they write and rewrite us.
Niall's other novels set in Faha include History of the Rain and Time of the Child, which are both available now!
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Community Reviews
The narrator was easy to listen to and I recommend an audio book as reading would be a chore. Set in Ireland "it's stopped raining" is the opening chapter, as you can gather a depressing place. this story is about the life and times of the people in the town of Faha especially Noel Crowe and Christy who wants to atone for his past wrongs.
Oh now! What a beautiful book. This could only be an Irish tale, so quirky and real. Superb characters and magnificent command of language, perhaps a little slow paced.
Loved this book. I felt like I was in a pub in Ireland listening to a storyteller!
This is a beautifully written book. Niall Williams has a way of reflecting on the meaning of life and love that had me pause, gasp, and reread. I would have given this a 10 save that I did find the narrative to drag places, but I think that may be the Irishness of it all, the pension for going slowly and taking time with mundane thoughts, places and activities. But that is the beauty of this novel: pausing in small moments and realizing “this is happiness.”
Language is luscious, but plot is a bit too slow for my current frame of mind. Really is a great read.
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