Four Letters of Love [B0838]

1998 PB in nice clean condition. Niall Williams's internationally bestselling "delicate and graceful love story . . . a magical work of fiction" (NYTBR), now a major motion picture starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gabriel Byrne.

Nicholas Coughlan is twelve years old when his father, an Irish civil servant, announces that God has commanded him to become a painter. He abandons the family and a wife who is driven to despair. Years later, Nicholas's own civil-service career is disrupted by tragic news: his father has burned down the house, with all his paintings and himself in it.

Isabel Gore is the daughter of a poet. She's a passionate girl, but her brother is the real prodigy, a musician. And yet this family, too, is struck by tragedy: a seizure leaves the boy mute and unable to play. Years later, Isabel will continue to somehow blame herself, casting off her own chances for happiness. And then, the day after Isabel's wedding to man she doesn't love, Nicholas arrives on her western isle, seeking his father's last surviving painting. Suddenly the winds of fortune begin to shift, sweeping both these souls up with them. Nicholas and Isabel, it seems, were always meant to meet. But it will take a series of chance events-and perhaps, a proper miracle-to convince both to follow their hearts to where they're meant to be.

From very recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "A remarkably written love story set in beautiful Ireland. I was riveted to the pages until the very last page."; "Nothing like an Irishman to write a novel about heartbreak and loss. It must be all the rain. They never quite give up hope but in the midst of it all the pain is real. Many beautiful turns of phrase. Great insights into love and life. Williams turns a keen eye on the ordinary and finds the universal."; "I really love this book because the characters are ever evolving and the setting is fully developed. I felt like I was with them along their journeys. Niall Williams is now one of my favorite authors. The essence of Ireland is real, and you feel it on every page."