"Stephen Griffin is a shy and lonely schoolteacher in the West of Ireland, and his father Philip is a tailor whose wife and daughter died tragically in a car crash fifteen years ago. While Stephen yearns for love and an escape from the monotony of the classroom, his father's only desire is to be reunited with his family in heaven. The appearance of Gabriella Castoldi, a spellbinding musician, turns Stephen's fairy tales into reality. Now both men have a purpose: Stephen's to secure Gabriella's love and Philip's to help him in his task by making the best suit of his career. Stephen's journey to love and happiness is the greatest and most courageous of his life, as he desperately follows Gabriella to Venice and back again to the West of Ireland." "As it is in Heaven is a life-affirming, sparkling tale of love and strength in the face of human tragedy. Filled with the coincidences and harsh vicissitudes of true life, it confirms Niall Williams as one of the outstanding storytellers of our day."--BOOK JACKET.