This is Happiness by Niall Williams

 I heard about this author on an Instagram post about someone's favorite authors. I read reviews and decided it was worth a try. I'm so glad I did! It's set in Ireland and is told from the point of view of an old man looking back on his youth. He philosophizes almost endlessley, but it's all interesting and poetic and full of love and grace for those hardy people in his grandparents' village of Faha. 

This young man stays with his grandparents during the time the vi8llage is getting electricity for the first time. The people are reluctant to trust the whole endeavor, and it's interesting to read about why. Noel's grandparents are great characters who live a hard life, and they have the lone telephone in the village. When they take in a boarder, this man exerts a great influence on Noel.

As their relationship develops, it's lovely to watch the resraint with which each treats the other. Also the restraint between Noel and his grandparents, who want Noel to return to church. I couldn't tell if Noel ended up being a believer or not; his objections and observations about the local parish and its leaders are both ironic and admiring. I loved the descriptions of the people and their feelings. 

However, the story unfolded very slowly and sometimes I wished the author would just get on with the plot and not share quite so many observations...But maybe that's my impatience? Some of the parts I underlined are just fantastic. For example, when speaking about a girl he admired, he wrote:

"As will be clear, I was an amateur in this, and to me fell the amateur's lot making every available mistake. I suppose I knew that the word most associated wtih romantics is hopeless, and that the end for the ardent is disillusion, but what I was feeling I couldn't deny or banish. I said her name, and, like the first man to eat the egg of a bird, felt a little ascension, and like him wouldn't have been surprised to find feathers at my back."

Isn't that amazing prose? He describes those gushing powerful first love feelings so eloquently and powerfully that sometimes I was left breathless. The other thing that is wonderful about this story is the way the older Noel describes and inhabits the younger one with so much love and compassion. And a little wry humor. It's very sweet.

There is also a strong theme about the onslaught of technology and all of it's inherent changes both good and bad. It's fascinating to read this, know what happens when electricty comes, and now know that a similar revolution is happening as we live in the internet world. Many similar challenges.

This was a wonderful book. Sometimes a bit ponderous, but overall wonderful. There were parts where it just took my breath away. I think I'll keep this one to try again in a few months.