The Well of Saint Nobody - by Neil Jordan (Paperback)

About the Book

"William Barrow finds himself in lonely retirement in West Cork where his terrible skin disease has left him unable to play the piano. Tara is a piano teacher with barely enough pupils to pay the month's rent. Tara begins to housekeep for William, whom she has met before on three separate occasions and of which he is oblivious to this fact. A mysterious well in the back of the garden begins to heal William's hands and the past and the present collide in unexpected ways"--

Book Synopsis

He had met her three times and three times forgotten all about her...

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. All he can play, haltingly, is Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand.

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 eye: '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, to which he is oblivious. When William stumbles upon a well in the back garden, Tara finds herself longing for revenge. She spins tales of a mythical saint, of the healing powers of the water and of 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, and past and present collide in unexpected ways.

Gripping and lyrical, The Well of Saint Nobody is a story of love, secrets and the elusive possibility of second chances.

Review Quotes

"Gripping, eerie and poignant, a love story of music, storytelling and a secret past with a dark twist that brings redemption. Elegant and lyrical, this is a really beautiful novel." --Simon Sebag Montefiore

"In this subtle and affecting novel, where damaged people are linked by music, fractured memory and a kind of magic, Neil Jordan delivers the exactness of observation and economical punch which has always characterised his fiction." --Roy Foster

"Magical and compelling from beginning to end... a fairy tale for our times." --Patrick McCabe

"This is a marvellous novel - literally, for it is filled with marvels. Neil Jordan is best known these days as a film-maker, but as The Well of Saint Nobody vigorously attests, he has lost none of his skills, of his magical skills, as a novelist." --John Banville, The Observer

"The Well of Saint Nobody is a gentle, compassionate exploration of love and loneliness in later life." --Business Post

"[An] eloquent and moving story, tinged with nostalgia, the author confirms his status as a visionary of both page and screen. Highly recommended" --The Lady

"A virtuoso performance" --Saga magazine

"PRAISE FOR NEIL JORDAN:

'One of the most inventive artists of our day' John Banville.

'This strange relationship - of indenture, but also of mutual need - defines this thrillingly written, gripping tale that revisits many of Jordan's lifelong preoccupations with class, Irishness and sexuality to powerful moving effect' Observer.

'The historical research is evident [and] as with his previous novels, Jordan creates an evocative sense of time and place... Although the book is an odyssey, tracking thousands of miles across the globe, the pace is leisurely' The Times.

'Jordan is a writer of uncommon talent, particularly around pacing and visual description' Irish Times.

'An expertly spun ballad defined by themes of belonging, illusion and, fundamentally, fidelity'" --RTÉ Culture