Overview

From best-selling author Joseph O'Connor comes a gripping and atmospheric World War II literary thriller set in occupied Rome. A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WALTER SCOTT PRIZE Inspired by the true story of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who, together with his accomplices, risked his life to smuggle thousands out of occupied Rome right under the nose of his Nazi nemesis, My Father's House is a ""potent blend of excitement, suspense and intrigue"" (The Washington Post). September 1943: German forces have Rome under their control. Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann rules over the Eternal City with vicious efficiency. Hunger is widespread. Rumors fester. The war's outcome is far from certain. Diplomats, refugees, Jews, and escaped Allied prisoners flee for protection into Vatican City, a neutral, independent state nestled in the city of Rome. A small band of unlikely friends led by a courageous Irish priest is drawn into deadly battle of wits as they attempt to aid those seeking refuge.Suspenseful and beautifully written, My Father's House tells an unforgettable story of love, faith, sacrifice, and courage.

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Reviews

"""A potent blend of excitement, suspense and intrigue... A gripping World War II-set drama featuring the unlikeliest of heroes, one whom the reader roots for every step of the way... hugely satisfying.""--Malcom Forbes, Washington Post ""My Father's House is primarily--and triumphantly--an intimate drama that illuminates both the fragility and the wonder of unlikely human connections forged in adversity and, in some cases, enduring for a lifetime.""--Anna Mundow, Wall Street Journal ""Sometimes a novel's setting looms so large it becomes a crucial element of the plot. That's certainly true of the dangerous streets of World War II Rome, which Joseph O'Connor explores in his historical thriller My Father's House.""--Alida Becker, The New York Times Book Review ★ ""O'Connor is a masterful storyteller, weaving a violent, terrifying, suspenseful, yet ultimately uplifting story of one man's courage and determination to fight back against Nazi brutality, whatever the risk. Superb!""--Booklist (Starred Review) ★ ""Riveting... A storytelling tour de force. This is top-drawer WWII fiction.""--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) ★ ""If the story were told in typical thriller style, emphasizing action over language, it would still be good, but O'Connor's phrasings are a special joy... A deeply emotional read.""--Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) ""A riveting tale about the power of community in the face of unfathomable evil... A seamless blend of fact and fiction by a master of the genre; a brisk, polyphonic narrative that brings the heroism of ordinary people thrillingly to life.""--Irish Times ""The diverse ventriloquism of O'Connor's novel evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality.""--Financial Times (UK) ""The novel's evocative scene-setting, its propulsive narration and its powerful depiction of bravery and unity in extremis, all make for an engrossing read.""--The Telegraph (UK) ""A spectacular, thrilling novel... the novel offers much more than tensely plotted thrills. O'Flaherty's deep and impressively detailed love of Rome is emphasised and handsomely conveyed by O'Connor... My Father's House celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie. It would require a present-day Puccini to do operatic justice to its tremendous tale.""--The Sunday Times (UK) ""This remains a tale worth re-telling, adorned as it is by the brilliance of O'Connor's impressionistic writing.""--The Times (UK), A Best New Thriller for January 2023 ""There have been many books written and films made about Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, the Kerry-born Vatican priest who rescued thousands of Jews and Allied Prisoners of War during the Second World War. But his latest incarnation, as the hero of this fast-moving novel by Joseph O'Connor, is surely the most memorable... A novel that triumphantly recreates the extraordinary human being that was Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and his colourful co-conspirators.""--Irish Examiner ""Superb.""--Irish Independent"

"""A potent blend of excitement, suspense and intrigue... A gripping World War II-set drama featuring the unlikeliest of heroes, one whom the reader roots for every step of the way... hugely satisfying.""--Malcom Forbes, Washington Post ""My Father's House is primarily--and triumphantly--an intimate drama that illuminates both the fragility and the wonder of unlikely human connections forged in adversity and, in some cases, enduring for a lifetime.""--Anna Mundow, Wall Street Journal ""[Rome] looms so large it becomes a crucial element of the plot.""--Alida Becker, The New York Times Book Review ★ ""O'Connor is a masterful storyteller, weaving a violent, terrifying, suspenseful, yet ultimately uplifting story of one man's courage and determination to fight back against Nazi brutality, whatever the risk. Superb!""--Booklist (Starred Review) ★ ""Riveting... A storytelling tour de force. This is top-drawer WWII fiction.""--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) ★ ""If the story were told in typical thriller style, emphasizing action over language, it would still be good, but O'Connor's phrasings are a special joy... A deeply emotional read.""--Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) ""A riveting tale about the power of community in the face of unfathomable evil... A seamless blend of fact and fiction by a master of the genre; a brisk, polyphonic narrative that brings the heroism of ordinary people thrillingly to life.""--Irish Times ""The diverse ventriloquism of O'Connor's novel evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality.""--Financial Times (UK) ""The novel's evocative scene-setting, its propulsive narration and its powerful depiction of bravery and unity in extremis, all make for an engrossing read.""--The Telegraph (UK) ""A spectacular, thrilling novel... the novel offers much more than tensely plotted thrills. O'Flaherty's deep and impressively detailed love of Rome is emphasised and handsomely conveyed by O'Connor... My Father's House celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie. It would require a present-day Puccini to do operatic justice to its tremendous tale.""--The Sunday Times (UK) ""This remains a tale worth re-telling, adorned as it is by the brilliance of O'Connor's impressionistic writing.""--The Times (UK), A Best New Thriller for January 2023 ""There have been many books written and films made about Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, the Kerry-born Vatican priest who rescued thousands of Jews and Allied Prisoners of War during the Second World War. But his latest incarnation, as the hero of this fast-moving novel by Joseph O'Connor, is surely the most memorable... A novel that triumphantly recreates the extraordinary human being that was Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and his colourful co-conspirators.""--Irish Examiner ""Superb.""--Irish Independent"

Author Information

Joseph O'Connor's Shadowplay was named Novel of the Year at the 2019 Irish Book Awards and was a finalist for the prestigious Costa Book Award. His novel Star of the Sea was published in thirty-eight languages and won France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Nielsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year. He is the author of nine novels and is the Inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

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