History of the Rain: A Novel
May 2014 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA
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4 reviews
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368
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About this ebook
"I am utterly obsessed with Niall Williams." -Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake
From the author of the November 2025 Late Show with Stephen Colbert Book Club Pick, This Is Happiness, this novel introduces readers to Niall Williams' enchanting Irish village of Faha in a profound, beautifully written book about family, legacy, and the incredible power of stories.
Longlisted for the Booker Prize.
We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling. That's how it seems to me, being alive for a little while, the teller and the told.
So says Ruthie Swain. The bedridden daughter of a dead poet, home from college after a collapse, she is trying to find her father through generations of family history in County Clare and through her own writing. Ruthie turns also to the books her father left behind, his library transposed to her bedroom and stacked on the floor.
In her attic room, with the rain rushing down the windows, Ruthie writes Ireland, with its weather, its rivers, its lilts, and its lows. The stories she uncovers and recounts bring back to life multiple generations buried in this soil--and they might just bring her back into the world again, too.
Niall's other novels set in Faha include This Is Happiness and Time of the Child, which are both available now!
From the author of the November 2025 Late Show with Stephen Colbert Book Club Pick, This Is Happiness, this novel introduces readers to Niall Williams' enchanting Irish village of Faha in a profound, beautifully written book about family, legacy, and the incredible power of stories.
Longlisted for the Booker Prize.
We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling. That's how it seems to me, being alive for a little while, the teller and the told.
So says Ruthie Swain. The bedridden daughter of a dead poet, home from college after a collapse, she is trying to find her father through generations of family history in County Clare and through her own writing. Ruthie turns also to the books her father left behind, his library transposed to her bedroom and stacked on the floor.
In her attic room, with the rain rushing down the windows, Ruthie writes Ireland, with its weather, its rivers, its lilts, and its lows. The stories she uncovers and recounts bring back to life multiple generations buried in this soil--and they might just bring her back into the world again, too.
Niall's other novels set in Faha include This Is Happiness and Time of the Child, which are both available now!
"I am utterly obsessed with Niall Williams." -Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake
From the author of the November 2025 Late Show with Stephen Colbert Book Club Pick, This Is Happiness, this novel introduces readers to Niall Williams' enchanting Irish village of Faha in a ...
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4 reviews
Sophia Baker
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July 4, 2026
Just felt led to say that Jesus loves you so much and is the only way to heaven believe and trust in him. I am 17 years old and i am saying this from the bottom of my heart believe he died on the cross for our sins believe the gospel. i hope yall are having a blessed day God bless🙏🙏🙏
About the author
Niall Williams is the author of ten novels, including History of the Rain, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, Four Letters of Love, which is now a major motion picture starring Helena Bonham-Carter, Pierce Brosnan and Gabriel Byrne, and the national bestseller This Is Happiness. His most recent novel Time of the Child was an instant national and international bestseller and was awarded the Kerry Group Novel of the Year Award. He lives in Kiltumper in County Clare, with his wife, Christine.
Niall Williams is the author of ten novels, including History of the Rain, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, Four Letters of Love, which is now a major motion picture starring Helena Bonham-Carter, Pierce Brosnan and Gabriel Byrne, and the national bestseller This Is Happiness. His most ...
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