History of the Rain

By: Niall Williams

Narrated by: Jennifer McGrath

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, Plain Ruth Swain is in search of her father. To find him 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 her father, Virgil - via pole-vaulting, leaping salmon, poetry and the 3,958 books piled high beneath the two skylights in her room.

©2014 Niall Williams (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Extremely moving, poignantly capturing Ruth's doomed childhood relationship with her twin brother. By the final chapter I was weeping." ( Sunday Times)

"A rambling, soft-hearted Irish family saga stuffed with eccentricity, literature, anecdotes, mythology, humour and heartbreak." ( Kirkus)

Lyrical wonderful book

This book is absolutely unsentimental but still moving and beautiful. The Irish rural characteristics both tragic and comic are given great treatment and yet it has a modern feel because it is set after the economic boom and bust that happened in Ireland. I highly recommend it

Brilliantly written, in all ways

Beautiful, lyrical, hauntingly sad, but also hopeful. I loved this book, all i want a book to be.

Ireland My Heart

I love hearing the heart of Ireland through the words of Niall Williams, read with an Irish accent.

The narrator, as Ruth in this novel, is mesmerizing. Outstanding.

As with all of Niall's books, paying attention is a must. Not the book for picking up and putting down over and over during vacation. It's like an American beer, it's best when chugged. This one stands out for me because it takes a subject that most folks have difficulty with - dying or having those we love die - and gives it an entirely and for me, different perspective. It's Grand tbh. The fact that Niall has been able to invent FaHa, Ireland and then pull so many great novels from this quaint, little tight knit, obscure, eclectic and eccentric parish/village/town is nothing short of extraordinary. As stated above, make sure you can stay the curse before you dive into this one (unlike say, 'Time of the Child', where you could pick up where you left off and feel fulfilled) and I promise you it's well worth it. Maybe it's my age, but I'm leaning towards not melancholy novels lately and it's very satisfying, just like this book.

Gorgeous prose and narration!

Some writers write books, good books, yet others love words, language, and stories and create beautiful prose that catches our hearts. Niall Williams is the latter. I've listened to two of his books now (The History of Rain and This is Happiness), and I've been left in awe of his storytelling and writing. The narration is gorgeous as well.
The History of Rain is kind of like an ode to literature, or rather literature is another character. Ruthie Swain tells the stories of her family whose grey clouds follow them through several generations.
To understand her father, Ruthie reads his over 3000 books and references them in her narration.
This story is about family, love, struggles, resilience, and self-worth.
Only two quotes out of many to share:

“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.”

“I love the feel of a book. I love the touch and smell and sound of the pages. I love the handling. A book is a sensual thing. You sit in a chair with it or like me you take it to bed and it's, well, enveloping. Weird I am, I know(...)You either get it or you don't.”