Well of St Nobody

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.

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.

Summary

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.

Foreword

A haunting fairytale-like story of love, secrets and second chances, from award-winning film director and author Neil Jordan.

Additional text

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'

Report

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

Product details

• Authors: Neil Jordan
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 27.07.2023
• EAN: 9781804549810
• ISBN: 978-1-80454-981-0
• No. of pages: 352
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, County Cork