Overview

A gripping thriller based on true story of an Irish priest in the Vatican who smuggled victims of the Nazis out of Italy under the nose of his SS officer nemesis. From the bestselling and prizewinning author of Shadowplay. When the Nazis take Rome, thousands go into hiding. One priest will risk everything to save them. September 1943- Nazi forces occupy Rome. SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping people escape. In his home in the Vatican - a neutral, independent country inside Rome - he gathers a team to set up an Escape Line. But Hauptmann's net begins closing in and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmas, it's too late to turn back. Based on a true story, My Father's House is a powerful thriller from a master of historical fiction. *THE NUMBER ONE IRISH BESTSELLER* 'Breathtakingly good writing - O'Connor puts you right there, centre stage in the story and never lets you go' Peter James 'O'Connor is on stellar form with this ensemble thriller...an expert storyteller' Daily Mail 'A masterwork... so urgent, so incredibly alive... A searing and beautiful example of storytelling's infinite importance' Donal Ryan 'Impressive and pleasurable...evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality' Financial Times 'A literary thriller of the highest order...his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming' Observer *THE GHOSTS OF ROME, the next gripping book in Joseph O'Connor's THE ESCAPE LINE TRILOGY, is available to pre-order now! Out January 2025.* LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2024 LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024

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9781529919646

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Reviews

Stylish, gripping, and inspiring...O'Connor is one of the most talented and respected writers of his generation * Church Times *

A spectacular, thrilling novel...suspense crackles...celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie. * Sunday Times * O'Connor is on stellar form with this ensemble thriller ...while the story's inbuilt tension urges you on, it's the sheer vigour of O'Connor's beautifully turned phrases that really makes the book sing...an expert storyteller * Daily Mail * A literary thriller of the highest order. The incarnation of O'Flaherty, the Irish Oskar Schindler, is sublime. What often elevates a writer is compassion, and O'Connor has it in spades... Beautifully crafted, his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming * Observer * Breathtakingly good writing - O'Connor puts you right there, centre stage in the story and never lets you go 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. * Telegraph * Thrilling... Based on true events, this tense, gripping narrative is rendered in beautifully evocative prose * Mail on Sunday * Impressive and pleasurable...the diverse ventriloquism of O'Connor's novel evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality * Financial Times * A tale worth re-telling, adorned as it is by the brilliants of O'Connor's impressionistic writing * The Times * A powerful portrait of extraordinary courage * Irish Independent * Precisely choreographed... We eagerly follow the characters through uncertainty and disappointment as well as high-stakes jeopardy. O'Connor is playing with the possibilities of multiple narrators, and thinking also about plurality, reliability and the historical record * Guardian, Book of the Day * Gripping...a hugely satisfying book, from its explosive opening to its bittersweet end * Washington Post * So beautifully written, a masterclass in 'voices' and an extremely tense thriller. It's magnificent. A masterwork... so urgent, so incredibly alive... A searing and beautiful example of storytelling's infinite importance For all its thrills...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 * Wall Street Journal * I cannot say enough good things about this World War II thriller... Told from different perspectives of people in the movement, as well as the Gestapo villain, readers will hold their breath if the Choir will fulfill their critical mission. It's the first of a trilogy and a must read * BookRiot * O'Connor's work is hugely impressive and utterly haunting * Sunday Mirror * Riveting, immersive, synesthetic, linguistically dazzling, funny and dark, this novel is blessed with a kind of magical grace. Sprezzatura springs from every page * SMF Bookclub * O'Connor's writing is always intensely atmospheric...O'Connor succeeds in integrating into the suspenseful plot numerous narrative voices that intersect class, gender, nationality and religion * Literary Review * Gripping, compelling and utterly brilliant. O'Connor's gift for exquisite language shines through A thriller of engrossing urgency * Irish Independent * Joseph O'Connor is a very great artist and storyteller

Author Information

Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin. His books include Cowboys and Indians, Inishowen, Star of the Sea (American Library Association Award, Irish Post Award for Fiction, France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, Prix Madeleine Zepter for European novel of the year), Redemption Falls, Ghost Light (Dublin One City One Book Novel 2011) and Shadowplay (Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year, Costa Novel of the Year shortlist). His fiction has been translated into forty languages. He received the 2012 Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature and in 2014 he was appointed Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. www.josephoconnorauthor.com

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