A review by portybelle
My Father's House by Joseph O'Connor

dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 

The author grabbed my attention from the very first dramatic chapter when diplomat’s wife Delia races through the streets of occupied Rome with a seriously ill man in the back seat of her Daimler. One of the other passengers is Father Hugh O’Flaherty, an Irish Catholic priest and part of the resistance movement.

O’Flaherty was instrumental in helping thousands of allied soldiers and Jews escape during the Second World War. The Escape Line, as it was known, referred to those escaping as books with their hiding places were shelves. Those involved in The Escape Line became members of ‘The Choir’, a way they could meet without arousing too much suspicion.

I thought the way the author told his story was brilliant. We hear from the points of view of many of the different characters through different styles of writing. For example, some chapters are straight forward narrative, while others are written as extracts from memoirs of those involved in The Escape Line or as if transcripts from interviews in later years. The varying time periods and individual voices blended beautifully to build up the complete narrative.

This is a powerful read with the chapters in the hours before the Rendimento, the code word for the mission, adding a particular sense of urgency. The book is all the more compelling knowing it’s based on real events and real people: real heroes I would say. This is the first in what is planned to be a trilogy with the second book, The Ghosts of Rome, due to be published in January 2025. I will definitely be reading that as I thought My Father’s House was superb, one of my favourite reads this year.