“There’s a book inside you. There’s a library inside me.”
Confined to a bed in her attic with a blood disorder, 19-year-old Ruth Swain is surrounded by 3,958 volumes of classic literature. Young Ruth is looking for her father, Virgil, enfolded in the mystery of their Irish ancestors. Within her inherited library, Ruth tries to find her father, her family, herself.
With her poignant, spiky and clear voice, she swims through stories of her family with tremendous grace.
With History of the Rain, Niall Williams shows again how he can create music with words. It isn’t a book to read through in a rush. It’s meant to be savoured, to be read more than once to really bring out each of the references Ruth makes to the books in her massive collection. It’s a book that you will be annotating to keep track of thousands of references.
History of the Rain is littered with imagery from Ireland, its mysteries and miseries. It’s about people and their flaws, their craziness and their beauty. And it’s one of the most beautiful books you will read this year.
