Niall Williams

Nicholas si vede privato del padre all'eta di dodici anni, quando quest'ultimo lascia la famiglia per seguire una chiamata divina che lo spinge a dipingere. Dopo la morte della madre suicida, Nicholas decide di seguire il padre nei suoi pellegrinaggi e assiste alla sua morte e alla distruzione delle sue opere. Isabel, figlia di una coppia delusa dal declino del loro amore e dalla paralisi che ha reso il figlio, promettente talente nusicale, muto e disabile per sempre, incontra e si innamora di Peader, un uomo appassionato ma ordinario, artefice della sua rovina.

En esta intensa novela, Niall Williams transporta de nuevo al lector a la Irlanda de los acantilados y el mar embravecido, de una costa atlántica asediada por la bruma y por chaparrones casi bíblicos. Desde ese paisaje rural desahuciado, habitado por gentes sencillas y atormentadas, Jim Foley, narrador y protagonista, viaja con el lector a las calles del Nueva York de principios del siglo XXI para vivir una experiencia imborrable. Con una escritura lirica, construye un complejo edificio narrativo que evoluciona en dos planos: el de la vida real de los personajes y el de la novela que, a la vez, escribe el narrador y protagonista. Solo una palabra tuya es, ademas, la cronica emocionada de un viaje de ida y vuelta que se cierra con un inesperado final. Con esta obra, Williams confirma su condicion de escritor de los sentimientos mas hondos: nos habla del amor, de la muerte, de la memoria. Y lo hace con la mirada de la esperanza y del optimismo, de la apuesta por la vida. Y de la pasion por la literatura.

In the tradition of Jim Crace''s "Quarantine" and Anita Diamant''s "The Red Tent, John" is a stunning, lyrical reimagining of John the Apostle in the final years of his life, by the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of "Four Letters of Love."

We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling. In Faha, County Clare, everyone is a long story...Bedbound in her attic room beneath the falling rain, in the margin between this world and the next, Plain Ruth Swain is in search of her father. To find him, enfolded in the mystery of ancestors, Ruthie must first trace the jutting jaw lines, narrow faces and gleamy skin of the Swains from the restless Reverend Swain, her great-grandfather, to grandfather Abraham, to her father, Virgil - via pole-vaulting, leaping salmon, poetry and the three thousand, nine hundred and fifty eight books piled high beneath the two skylights in her room, beneath the rain. The stories - of her golden twin brother Aeney, their closeness even as he slips away; of their dogged pursuit of the Swains' Impossible Standard and forever falling just short; of the wild, rain-sodden history of fourteen acres of the worst farming land in Ireland - pour forth in Ruthie's still, small, strong, hopeful voice. A celebration of books, love and the healing power of the imagination, this is an exquisite, funny, moving novel in which every sentence sings.

Los paisajes agrestes y poéticos de la costa oeste de Irlanda, ese escenario tan poco habitual en nuestro panorama literario, empiezan a dibujar esta sugerente historia romántica, de un lirismo exaltado que el autor atempera con su fina ironia.Stephen Griffin, un profesor de historia de 32 años, despues de toda una serie de desgracias y calamidades que envuelven su existencia, parece haberse enamorado. A pesar de que su padre, enfermo de cancer, desee evitarle el sufrimiento que este estado emocional provoca en el ser humano, Stephen contrae matrimonio y se convierte en padre. El infortunio le espera de nuevo poco antes de un final inesperado.La escritura de Niall Williams es la escritura de la pasion lirica: el arrebato amoroso que une a sus personajes, en comunion con la naturaleza, rubrica como un relampago sus destinos y el texto.

Esta historia empieza en Irlanda, en los difíciles años de hambruna de mediados del siglo XIX. La familia Foley acaba de perder su hogar y, con él, a la hermosa Emer Foley, esposa de Francis y madre de Tomas, Finbar, Finan y del pequeño Teige. Como nada los retiene, emprenden viaje a traves de Irlanda, en busca de una tierra inhabitada, un nueve Eden. Pero Francis Foley es un hombre amargado, y su inflexible espiritu lleva consigo la destruccion. Inevitablemente, los cinco Foley se dispersan en busca de su destino.Una novela que atrapa desde el comienzo e invita a seguir a los Foley por el agridulce corazon de Irlanda y, ya lejos de sus costas, por Europa, America y Africa.

Love is not easy, especially if you find the woman of your dreams and then lose her - as Philip Griffin and his son Stephen each discover in turn. Stephen is just a boy when his mother and sister are killed in a car crash, and his father never recovers from the accident: he wasn't involved but is consumed by grief, his only desire to be reunited with his wife. Before that happens, though, Philip wants to ensure the happiness of his son, Stephen - now a grown man. '"As it is in Heaven", Niall Williams' tale of love and tragedy, will leave you in tears' - "Tatler". 'A bitter-sweet novel about passionate love giving way to commitment, grief to a sort of healing' - "Irish Times". 'A tender and sober novel with a faith in romance that is absolute' - " Daily Express". 'Delicious coincidence and tragedy, as extraordinary lives unravel and intertwine' - "Guardian".

Amor en cuatro letras (Four letters of love, 1997), cuyo título original alude a la vez a cuatro cartas de amor y a las cuatro letras de la palabra amor, es una asombrosa primera novela en curso de publicacion en una docena de paises, que narra la trayectoria de dos destinos que acaban por confluir en una historia amorosa en los parajes enigmaticos y tormentosos de sombria y violenta belleza poetica, de la costa irlandesa. De excepcional vigor narrativo y aliento lirico, la obra ha tenido excelente acogida por parte del publico y de la critica: Muy raras veces tenemos la suerte de leer una novela literaria que devoramos como si fuera un thriller...Una novela que alza el vuelo libremente por encima del curso ordinario de la narrativa comercial como un pajaro sobre la bandada El hecho de que este libro sea una primera novela convierte el logro de Niall Williams en extraordinario en grado sumo (Bel Mooney, The Times). En palabras de Paulo Coelho: Un libro maravilloso de realismo magico. Una historia acerca del amor

Quatre lettres damour est un récit qui ne craint pas de saventurer sur le terrain du merveilleux, qui nous dit lâme irlandaise, la magie daimer, lenfance perdue et le miracle dêtre vivant. Un récit o

Love is not easy, especially if you find the woman of your dreams and then lose her as Philip Griffin and his son Stephen each discover in turn. Stephen is just a boy when his mother and sister are killed in a car crash, and his father never recovers from the accident: he wasnt involved but is consumed by grief, his only desire to be reunited with his wife. Before that happens, though, Philip wants to ensure the happiness of his son, Stephen now a grown man. As it is in Heaven, Niall Williams tale of love and tragedy, will leave you in tears Tatler A bitter-sweet novel about passionate love giving way to commitment, grief to a sort of healing Irish Times A tender and sober novel with a faith in romance that is absolute Daily Express Delicious coincidence and tragedy, as extraordinary lives unravel and intertwine Guardian

In June, 2006, Picador launch Picador Shots, a new series of pocket-sized books priced at 1. The Shots aim to promote the short story as well as the work of some Picadors greatest authors. They will be contemporarily packaged but ultimately disposable books that are the ideal literary alternative to a magazine. The Unrequited by Niall Williams is to be one of the first.The Unrequited opens with the arrival in Oslo of Raphael Newell, a Dublin accountant. Someone who has always previously lived on the margins of life, Ray has come to Norway find the married woman he has fallen in love with. Rejuevnated and invigorated by the experience of being in love, Ray sees the world differently; everything and everyone around him is transformed, and he feels for the first time that he has really come alive. Recounting the couples first meeting alongside Rays Norwegian quest, The Unrequited is both love story and fable, both a story for our times and -- in the themes of love, life and loss it explores -- one that is timeless; a story for all ages, in all senses of the word.