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Summary
Summary
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
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.
Author Notes
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.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The riveting latest from O'Connor (Shadowplay), the first in a trilogy, chronicles the meticulous planning and execution of the escape of hundreds of Allied prisoners and Jews hiding in Vatican City during WWII. It's December 1943 and Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and seven associates who refer to themselves as "the Choir" have exploited the Vatican's sovereignty as a minuscule neutral state to hide refugees from the Nazi occupation of Rome in numerous abandoned sheds, bombed-out buildings, and tunnels. Though they undertake their work with extreme caution--using aliases and forged IDs, referring to their charges in formal communications as "Books" and the hiding places as "Shelves"--they have aroused the suspicion of brutal Gestapo Obersturmbannführer Paul Hauptmann, whose efforts to apprehend the fugitives come to a head early Christmas morning. Through wonderfully developed and varied characters, O'Connor conveys both the painful privations of life during wartime and the nobility of the Choir's goals, and the unfolding of O'Flaherty's marathon of undercover subterfuges that lay the groundwork for their mission in the middle section is a storytelling tour de force. This is top-drawer WWII fiction. Agent: Isobel Dixon, Blake Friedmann. (Jan.)
Booklist Review
Set during the Nazi invasion of Rome in WWII, O'Connor's historical novel describes the unwavering courage of a real-life Catholic priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, who set up the "Rome Escape Line," a network that helped smuggle those at risk from Nazi persecution out of Italy. Born in Ireland, Monsignor O'Flaherty lived in Rome for decades. When the Nazis take over his beloved city, O'Flaherty is safe in the Vatican, but that's not the case for Jews and for soldiers who have escaped Nazi prison camps. Father O'Flaherty's conscience won't let him rest until he's done what he can to help. He forms "the Choir" from a small cadre of friends; ostensibly a musical group, its real purpose is to aid soldiers and others whose lives are at risk. His chief adversary is Gestapo head Paul Hauptmann, who is determined to plug the leaks that are allowing those targeted for death to evade his grasp. As portrayed in this gripping tale, the bravery and ingenuity of O'Flaherty and his Choir are astounding; they save hundreds of lives, despite Hauptmann's efforts to stop them. 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!
Guardian Review
Joseph O'Connor's Shadowplay won novel of the year at the 2019 Irish book awards and was shortlisted for the Costa Novel award. He also writes stage and screenplays, short stories, nonfiction and radio diaries. This formidable talent for writing across genres is reflected in his masterly 10th novel, which should reap similar plaudits. Based on a true story, and several real characters, My Father's House opens in September 1943 with wartime Rome as its memorable backdrop. The city is occupied by German forces and the Gestapo commander, Paul Hauptmann, rules with an iron fist. (His torture chambers are housed in the former German Cultural Institute, "his favoured interrogation tool is the blowtorch".) The one place he can't control is the Vatican City, deemed a neutral, independent country. It harbours diplomats, as well as priests, several of whom dedicate themselves to helping Jews and escaped allied prisoners get out of Rome. A proud Kerryman, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty is the leader of one such escape line. Its agents call themselves the Choir, and meet in a former hospice for fever victims in the right arm of St Peter's Basilica. Under cover of music they explore plans and escape routes, false names and addresses as they prepare for a major mission, codenamed the Rendimento. (Hauptmann and his Nazi thugs are closing in.) A cardinal is 'a long drink of cross-eyed, buck-toothed misery if ever there was, he'd bore the snots off a wet horse' O'Connor has assembled a wonderful cast, which includes Contessa Giovanna Landini, mourning her husband; Delia Kiernan, wife of the senior Irish diplomat to the Vatican, a singer with the voice of an angel; Marianna de Vries, a freelance journalist; Enzo Angelucci, an Italian newsagent, and Major Sam Derry, an escaped British POW. His sources include O'Flaherty's unpublished papers, letters, diaries, telegrams and journalism, as well as a joke borrowed from the late Dave Allen. O'Connor's own distinctive phrases are imbued with a gleeful irreverence: a cardinal is described as "a long drink of cross-eyed, buck-toothed misery if ever there was, he'd bore the snots off a wet horse", wWhile a confident woman could "sell a double bed to the Reverend Mother". This is 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 - paying tribute to the courage of those who resist tyranny. Beautifully crafted, his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming until the novel's coda, where a final joyful conceit is revealed.
Kirkus Review
A priest in Vatican City leads a perilous rescue effort surrounded by Rome's Nazi occupiers. In 1943 and 1944, Obersturmbannführer Paul Hauptmann terrorizes a starving Rome. But he is forbidden to enter Vatican City, at one-fifth of a square mile, the tiniest country in the world. If Jews or escaped Allied POWs can manage to get there, they may have a chance to be smuggled to safety. The novel is inspired by a real historical figure named Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, an Irish envoy to the Vatican. O'Flaherty and a small group go to great lengths to secretly aid as many people as they can. Discovery means death, so the group uses elaborate ruses--they form a choir as a cover, and O'Flaherty quietly passes along individual instructions during choir practice. They speak in code--"Books in the Library" means escapees being protected. It's a risky game they're about. Hitler only tolerates the Vatican's existence and could wipe it out in the blink of an eye, so O'Flaherty's superiors are deeply uneasy about the monsignor's activities. Meanwhile, Hauptmann knows there is an Escape Line, and he is eager to prove it. And given that his "favoured interrogation tool is the blowtorch," his odds look better than O'Flaherty's. But the "nuisance of a priest" is not nicknamed Hughdini for nothing, and he is moral to his core. 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. One unnamed cardinal is "a long drink of cross-eyed, buck-toothed misery if ever there was, he'd bore the snots off a wet horse." On Christmas Eve, three bitterly cold German soldiers are invited indoors for some holiday cheer. They are "fine examples of the super-race": One of them is "a haddock-faced, lumpenshouldered, Wurst-fingered corner boy, that ugly the tide wouldn't take him out." And the Vatican Embassy has "rats you could saddle." A deeply emotional read. And when the action is over, the coda could water an atheist's eye. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
