Only Say the Word, by Niall Williams

The frame narrative of this intriguing and sad novel is a writer, “Jim Foley”, who has “…written all these pages to face something in [himself]… To face the fear of losing you, of losing my life, that lay within me through autumn and winter. It is what writers do, imagine and feel the pain of others…here then, in these pages is mine…Here is the truth told in a story.” The story that he tells is of his wife who had died, which led to him being unable to write any more. Williams is an expert in precisely and honestly expressing the most human, most complex emotions. Even when writing about the most horrible occurrences, the most destructive cruelty, he never over-dramatizes. (Continue reading…)