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My Father's House: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Star of the Sea (The Rome Escape Line, 1)

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And as each chapter heading steers the reader to the countdown before the frighteningly risky next Rendimento, we become utterly invested in the safety and the ultimate fate of “our” Monsignor and the motley members of the Choir. O’Connor endows his O’Flaherty — whom he warns us is a fictionalised version of the man himself — with a near- encyclopaedic knowledge of the boltholes and rabbit warrens of Rome and Vatican City. O’Connor also has consistent wit and lightness of touch — when, for example, some American servicemen insist on throwing balls from house to house across the street after they are told that they can’t go outside. He was brought up to despise British soldiers; now he cannot but rescue them from the Hauptmanns of this world.

Book Review - My Father’s House - Joseph O’Connor Book Review - My Father’s House - Joseph O’Connor

The latter’s importance to the story is, of course, because of the Vatican’s supposed neutrality in the war, a neutrality echoed by that of Ireland. We learn to know him through the warm tales of his life as a priest fresh to Rome, and his delight and ease in the city.At the centre of the story is Bill Furlong, a coal merchant, who, in the busy weeks leading up to Christmas, works hard to ensure that he can provide for his five daughters. This new full-time post of Lead Area Director of Ordinands offers the opportunity to play a key role in leading this exciting ministry of discernment and preparation of ordinands. Photograph: Anonymous/AP Pope Pius XII tours Rome following an air raid during the second world war. This is a love letter to Rome, Italy, and Ireland, by turns heart-rending, comedic and awe-inspiring.

My Father’s House (The Rome Escape Line Trilogy, 1)

O’Connor achieves this balance partly through characterisation and voices strong enough that we eagerly follow them through uncertainty, mundanity and disappointment as well as high-stakes jeopardy. My Father’s House is inspired by the extraordinary true story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who, together with his accomplices, risked his life to smuggle Jews and escaped Allied prisoners out of Italy right under the nose of his Nazi nemesis. My father's house' is set in wartime Rome, occupied by the Nazis and lead by Gestapo commander Paul Hauptmann, who takes a hands on approach to his work. Fair enough, but it would have been helpful as an Author's Note at the beginning of the work and not at the end. There was indeed an Irish priest living in Vatican City involved in running an escape line for resistance fighters, escaped prisoners of war and Jewish people from Nazi-run Rome, and his collaborators share names and biographical details with characters in this book.If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. There are near misses, scenes of intense physical suffering and rising jeopardy, particularly as we also see vignettes of Hauptmann’s evening. The author’s sparing prose reflects the monotony of the coal merchant’s life, while capturing place and emotion to great effect.

Book club: My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor Book club: My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor

That high praise is echoed in the reviews on this site but, I feel as if I read a different book as I just didn’t care for this novel at all. O’Connor keeps an admirable command of the various strains and voices, some fictional, others, such as the British diplomat Sir D’Arcy Osborne, drawn from reality. The city is occupied by German forces and the Gestapo commander, Paul Hauptmann, rules with an iron fist. This experience shows on the page, the raconteur’s flair for mining history that has seen his work translated into over 40 languages.How effective did you find the different voices that O’Connor uses to tell his story, and the different types of writing, e. Those that run the Escape Line — an initiative Hauptmann is determined to stamp out — are gathered together in what becomes known as the Choir, under the tutelage of Monsignor O’Flaherty. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs.

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