This Is Happiness

Shortlisted for Best Novel in the Irish Book Awards

Longlisted for the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

From the acclaimed author of Man Booker-longlisted History of the Rain
'I love this book so passionately' Ann Patchett
'Lyrical, tender and sumptuously perceptive' Sunday Times

After dropping out of the seminary, seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe finds himself back in Faha, a small Irish parish where nothing ever changes, including the ever-falling rain.
But one morning the rain stops and news reaches the parish electricity is finally arriving. With it comes a lodger to Noel's home, Christy McMahon. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right then- something has changed.
As Noel navigates his coming-of-age, Christy's buried past gradually comes to light, casting a glow on a small world and making it new.
'If you're craving a novel of delicate wit laced with rare insight, this, truly, is happiness' Washington Post
'Written with a turn of phrase that makes the reader want to underline something on every page'
Financial Times
'What makes this so compelling and enjoyable is Williams's transparent love of his characters and delight in his setting' Observer