Williams weaves another shining web of master craftsmanship

Niall Williams brings sunshine to parochial Ireland

FICTION: This Is Happiness, By Niall Williams, Bloomsbury, €21

There are some Irish names in the literary firmament who, in the tussle between hype and substance, triumph thanks to the former. Whether by dint of their own strenuous Twitter networking or pressing the right flesh in the right places, they are showered with superlatives, blurbed with breathless praise, and regarded as leading lights of the scene. Often, the writing barely lives up to ...