The Fall of Light — Niall Williams

This literary Irish family saga is "[a] magical tribute to human dignity, the bonds of kinship, and the unquenchable flame of hope" (BookPage).

Beginning in Ireland in the early years of the 19th century, the four Foley brothers flee across the country with their father and the large telescope he has stolen. Soon forced apart by the violence of the Irish wilderness, the potato famine, and the promise of America, the brothers find themselves scattered across the world. Their separate adventures unfold in passionate and vivid scenes with gypsies, horse races, sea voyages, and beautiful women.

An epic narrative on the meaning of love and home and family, The Fall of Light is a dazzling novel.

"An unabashed, grandly romantic (and romanticized) saga. . . . There is much to relish in Williams's lush and lilting prose." -- New York Times Book Review

"Williams is the truest heir to Yeats I've seen among contemporary Irish writers. He has the mythic gift and his star is rising." -- Philadelphia Inquirer

"An epic tale radiating with the majesty of myth, written in prose as precise and lyrical as poetry . . . a strange and wondrous odyssey." -- Los Angeles Times