T.J. Wallace

“There were times when, even in that sinking parish on the furthermost edge of nowhere, he had encountered patients of such fortitude in the face of suffering that he was forced to agree with the poet who said that, if seen, the human soul would cover the earth.”
― Niall Williams, Time of the Child

“What possessed you? was a question common in Faha. Asked of children by mothers, and of husbands by wives, it occurred with enough frequency to attest to two things: in the chronicle of human endeavor there was no end to unaccountable behavior, but also, you were not entirely the captain of your own fate, something could come over you.”
― Niall Williams, Time of the Child

“In Faha, comment and commentary too were close cousins, and because for the bit of news the payment was the bit of news back, it was hard to tell who was doing the telling and who the listening. All of which made for a weave of words and the invisible stitchwork by which the parish was held together.”
― Niall Williams, Time of the Child

“Men always want to keep things to themselves, Pearly Everlasting Haven! Don't think they don't. They don't want to tell you where to get a deal on cordwood or a five-pound hammer. They don't want you to know the secrets of roofing a shed. They'd rather watch you do it wrong so they can tell you how they knew you were doing it wrong all along," she said, rolling her eyes at the thought of it. "And don't you be falling for it, Pearly.”
― Tammy Armstrong, Pearly Everlasting