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Niall Williams

Goodreads Author

Born

Dublin, Ireland

Website

https://www.niallwilliams.com

Genre

Fiction

Influences

Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, WBYeats, Se ...more

Member Since

March 2014

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Niall Williams studied English and French Literature at University College Dublin and graduated with a MA in Modern American Literature. He moved to New York in 1980 where he married Christine Breen. His first job in New York was opening boxes of books in Fox and Sutherland's Bookshop in Mount Kisco. He later worked as a copywriter for Avon Books in New York City before leaving America with Chris in 1985 to attempt to make a life as a writer in Ireland. They moved on April 1st to the cottage in west Clare that Chris's grandfather had left eighty years before to find his life in America.

His first four books were co-written with Chris and tell of their life together in Co Clare.

In 1991 Niall's first play THE MURPHY INITIATIVE was staged at Th ...more

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Combine Editions
Niall Williams’s books

Average rating: 4.16 · 60,955 ratings · 9,583 reviews · 34 distinct works • Similar authors

	This Is Happiness 4.23 avg rating — 27,711 ratings — published 2019 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Time of the Child 4.24 avg rating — 12,736 ratings — published 2024 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	History of the Rain 4.03 avg rating — 8,201 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Four Letters of Love 4.01 avg rating — 5,455 ratings — published 1997 — 76 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	As It Is in Heaven 4.03 avg rating — 1,871 ratings — published 1999 — 42 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare by Niall Williams (Goodreads Author), Christine Breen (Goodreads Author) 4.08 avg rating — 1,278 ratings — published 1987 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fall of Light 4.08 avg rating — 1,144 ratings — published 2001 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In Kiltumper: A Year in an Irish Garden by Niall Williams (Goodreads Author), Christine Breen (Goodreads Author) 4.28 avg rating — 471 ratings — published 2021 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Only Say the Word 4.02 avg rating — 421 ratings — published 2005 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boy in the World 3.94 avg rating — 377 ratings — published 2007 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Niall Williams is currently reading

Old Filth (Old Filth, #1)

by Jane Gardam

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Mar 12, 2014 08:48AM

Quotes by Niall Williams (?)

“We tell stories. We tell stories to pass the time, to leave the world for a while, or go more deeply into it. We tell stories to heal the pain of living.”
― Niall Williams, History of the Rain

41 likes

“It was a condensed explanation, but I came to understand him to mean you could stop at, not all, but most of the moments of your life, stop for one heartbeat and, no matter what the state of your head or heart, say This is happiness, because of the simple truth that you were alive to say it.”
― Niall Williams, This Is Happiness

tags: happiness, perspective

38 likes

“We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling.”
― Niall Williams, History of the Rain

tags: inspirational, remember, stories

29 likes

See all Niall Williams's quotes »

Polls

What will be our open pick book for March?

If you ain't gonna read it, don't vote for it!

Euphoria by Lily King

9 votes, 39.1%

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel

4 votes, 17.4%

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

4 votes, 17.4%

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

4 votes, 17.4%

History of the Rain by Niall Williams

2 votes, 8.7%

23 total votes

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