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A review by gwendle_vs_literature
This Is Happiness by Niall Williams
4.75
From the very first sentence, and definitely through the second chapter, the author’s gift for prose that skip back and forth across the border with poetry pulled me in.
I thought that this book would be a five star up until the last fifty pages or so, but from that point half of the the plot lost me, and to me the story felt “padded” in a way that stretched out the end of the book in a way that detracted from it — although the actual end (the final sentence) was, in all its simplicity, perfect.
The writing, however, is lyrical and magical and captivating, so even as elements of the plot lost me, the writing itself propelled me onward. And other people in the book club I read this for enjoyed the elements that put me off, so it very well may be a five-star read for you. When I inevitably revisit it in the future I may very well bump the rating to 5.
I am definitely interested in exploring some of Niall Williams’ other novels, and highly recommend This is Happiness.
I thought that this book would be a five star up until the last fifty pages or so, but from that point half of the the plot lost me, and to me the story felt “padded” in a way that stretched out the end of the book in a way that detracted from it — although the actual end (the final sentence) was, in all its simplicity, perfect.
The writing, however, is lyrical and magical and captivating, so even as elements of the plot lost me, the writing itself propelled me onward. And other people in the book club I read this for enjoyed the elements that put me off, so it very well may be a five-star read for you. When I inevitably revisit it in the future I may very well bump the rating to 5.
I am definitely interested in exploring some of Niall Williams’ other novels, and highly recommend This is Happiness.