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.
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. He is oblivious to this, while she spins tales of the well discovered in his back garden and of a mythical saint, of the healing powers of the water and 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, secrets resurface, and past and present collide in unexpected ways.
Praise for the author:
'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
