Book Discussion 1: (in-person) This is Happiness by Niall Williams
Details
Our December book is "This is Happiness" by Nial Williams.
Change is coming to Faha, a small Irish parish that hasn't changed in a thousand years.
For one thing, the rain is stopping. Nobody remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard is a condition of living. But now – just as Father Coffey proclaims the coming of the electricity – the rain clouds are lifting. Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe is idling in the unexpected sunshine when Christy makes his first entrance into Faha, bringing secrets he needs to atone for. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right then: something has changed.
As the people of Faha anticipate the endlessly procrastinated advent of the electricity, and Noel navigates his own coming-of-age and his fallings in and out of love, Christy's past gradually comes to light, casting a new glow on a small world.
Harking back to a simpler time, This Is Happiness is a tender portrait of a community – its idiosyncrasies and traditions, its paradoxes and kindnesses, its failures and triumphs – and a coming-of-age tale like no other. Luminous and lyrical, yet anchored by roots running deep into the earthy and everyday, it is about the power of stories: their invisible currents that run through all we do, writing and rewriting us, and the transforming light that they throw onto our world.
(Book Summary from Goodreads)
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Announcements: Please note that our Book Discussion 2 for this same book this month, which is virtual, will be held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, from 7:15 pm to 8:45 pm, as the following two Thursdays are holidays for some.
Announcements: Book Recommendations requested; Next month, look out for an email with the poll. Please search for: [WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com](mailto:WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com), as the emails from MeetUp may land in your SPAM or SOCIAL mailbox.
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Donations: If you would like to make a small contribution to support our costs, please email Michelle at ***Luvshell1@gmail.com*** for donation information.
We are all Volunteers: Note that no one makes a profit; donations are strictly used to cover our costs.
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Join us at this IN-PERSON event.
The restaurant details are typically located in the right-hand corner of your screen on this meetup event page.
If you can't attend, consider joining us to discuss the same book at the online meetup we call "Book Discussion 2". We also encourage you to join both Book Discussion 1 (in-person) & Book Discussion 2 (virtual) and treat yourself to the full experience of ideas and discussion. Details are in a separate meetup event.
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