About the Book
William Barrow finds himself in lonely retirement in West Cork. Once an internationally renowned pianist, a terrible skin disease has attacked his hands and made it impossible for him to perform.
Tara is a piano teacher with barely enough pupils to pay the month’s rent. In the local café, the elegant writing of a job advertisement catches her ‘WANTED. HOUSEKEEPER.’
She begins to work in William’s house, keeping to herself the knowledge that they have met three times before, encounters that have changed her life. He is oblivious to this, while she spins tales of the well discovered in his back garden and of a mythical saint, of the healing powers of the water and the moss that surrounds it. But as the moss begins to heal William’s troubled hands, the lines between legend and reality begin to blur, secrets resurface, and past and present collide in unexpected ways.
Format: eARC (352 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd August 2023 Genre: Contemporary Fiction
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My Review
I’m always a little wary of books that seem to include an element of magical realism but in this case I was pleasantly surprised – although others may be disappointed – that it features relatively little in the story, or none at all depending on how you feel about the seemingly healing powers of the moss that grows on the walls of the ancient well. For me, it was much more a story about relationships although, later in the book, it briefly takes a more dramatic turn.
There’s a strong theme of storytelling in the book. For example, Tara’s recounting of the legend of the well takes on a life of its own as people become enthralled by the story and invest in its seemingly preternatural powers. Tara herself is, in a way, yearning for discovery of her own story, hoping to provoke a memory that, for a long time, seems unlikely to happen. Storytelling often involves invention and that too features in the book. If this is all sounding rather cryptic then that’s because I don’t want to give too much away.
The Well of Saint Nobody is a gentle, touching story about healing: physical, mental and emotional. Whether there’s magic involved I leave up to you to decide.
I received a digital review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley.
In three words: Intimate, engrossing, moving
Try something similar: Only May by Carol Lovekin
About the Author
Neil Jordan is an Irish film director, screenwriter and author based in Dublin. His first book, Night in Tunisia, won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He is also a former winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Irish PEN Award, and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. Jordan’s films include Angel, the Academy Award-winning The Crying Game, Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy.
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