Listen free for 30 days

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Only Say the Word cover art

Only Say the Word

Written by: Niall Williams
Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $17.46

Buy Now for $17.46

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Both a novel and a letter from a husband to his wife, Only Say the Word is a haunting, intimate testament to the enduring nature of love. Jim Foley loves his parents, his brother, his sister, Dickens, and God, although not necessarily in that order. Later, he loves Kate, enough to make her his wife; later still, he loves his children, Jack and Hannah.

This is Jim's story, from early days spent in County Clare to early adulthood in America, and back to Clare again. Tracing his journey from child to husband to father, from happy-ever-after to death-do-us-part, from beginnings to endings - and from there to starting afresh once more - it tells of the people and places in Jim's life, his hopes, fears, and fantasies, his ever-evolving relationships and the books that remain always constant.

Deeply-felt, beautifully-told, and written in Niall William's lyrical, lilting prose, Only Say the Word offers both acceptance of the past and hope for the future.
©2005 Niall Williams (P)2014 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd
Genre Fiction
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Only Say the Word

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.ca reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Hilary Kemsley

Only say the Word

Well-written but very sad and dreary. I stopped listening less than 1/2 way through.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!