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A review by kate66
My Father's House by Joseph O'Connor
5.0
This is the Joseph O'Connor I know and love. I was mighty disappointed by Shadowplay but with My Father's House he is back to his storytelling best.
This novel tells a fictitious version of the real life of Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty who, along with a cast of several others plus the inhabitants of Rome played a central role in getting escapees and the like put from under the noses of the Nazis during the occupation. He, like many others, risked his life to help others during a murderous episode in Rome's past.
That torture and murder occurred is not in doubt; that brave sould risked their lives and often lost them is another given. What Joseph O'Connor weaves in My Father's House (what I believe is going to be the first part of a trilogy) is one version of a true and truly terrifying story but his research of the Monsignor and his "gang" has clearly been done meticulously.
This is a great book and I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in history or Mr O'Connor's work or even those who simply enjoy a very well written piece of historical fiction.
On a related note if you are interested in the true version of events Mr O'Connor provides further reading at the end of the book and you can visit the statue of Hugh O'Flaherty in Killarney National Park in Kerry (where they do now have crushed ice, tomato ketchup and easy access to garlic - read the book and you'll understand the reference).
This novel tells a fictitious version of the real life of Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty who, along with a cast of several others plus the inhabitants of Rome played a central role in getting escapees and the like put from under the noses of the Nazis during the occupation. He, like many others, risked his life to help others during a murderous episode in Rome's past.
That torture and murder occurred is not in doubt; that brave sould risked their lives and often lost them is another given. What Joseph O'Connor weaves in My Father's House (what I believe is going to be the first part of a trilogy) is one version of a true and truly terrifying story but his research of the Monsignor and his "gang" has clearly been done meticulously.
This is a great book and I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in history or Mr O'Connor's work or even those who simply enjoy a very well written piece of historical fiction.
On a related note if you are interested in the true version of events Mr O'Connor provides further reading at the end of the book and you can visit the statue of Hugh O'Flaherty in Killarney National Park in Kerry (where they do now have crushed ice, tomato ketchup and easy access to garlic - read the book and you'll understand the reference).