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My Father's House

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My Father's House

By: Joseph O'Connor
Narrated by: Barry Barnes, Stephen Hogan, Barnaby Edwards, Laurence Bouvard, Aoife Duffin, Gertrude Thoma, David John, Roberto Davide, Thomas Hill
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

September 1943: German forces occupy Rome. SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. The war's outcome is far from certain.

An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping those escaping from the Nazis. His home is Vatican City, the world's smallest state, a neutral, independent country within Rome where the occupiers hold no sway. Here Hugh brings together an unlikely band of friends to hide the vulnerable under the noses of the enemy.
But Hauptmann's net begins closing in on the Escape Line and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmastime, it's too late to turn back.

Based on an extraordinary true story, My Father's House is a powerful literary thriller from a master of historical fiction. Joseph O'Connor has created an unforgettable novel of love, faith and sacrifice, and what it means to be truly human in the most extreme circumstances.

© Joseph O'Connor 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

 20th Century Biographical Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Jewish Suspense Thriller & Suspense World Literature Fiction Heartfelt War Rome

Critic reviews

A spectacular, thrilling novel...suspense crackles...celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie.
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
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
Breathtakingly good writing - O'Connor puts you right there, centre stage in the story and never lets you go (Peter James)
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.
Thrilling... Based on true events, this tense, gripping narrative is rendered in beautifully evocative prose
Impressive and pleasurable...the diverse ventriloquism of O'Connor's novel evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality
A tale worth re-telling, adorned as it is by the brilliants of O'Connor's impressionistic writing (Best New Thrillers)
A powerful portrait of extraordinary courage
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
All stars
Most relevant
A truly remarkable book. Even during the early hours of the morning difficult to stop listening and therefore sacrificing much sleep. But no regrets for this.

Enthralling

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A totally engrossing story with historical facts about the amazing bravery of an Irish priest in Rome, who helped 6,500 people escape during World War 2.

I listed to this audio book within two days, it was totally absorbing.

The narration was exceptional.

Intense, Engrossing, and Informative.

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Every so often a book takes my breath away.. this was that book.. always veered away from Joseph O’Connor books.. I think I tried to read ‘Star of the sea’ but found it too intense and hard to read.
The audio of this book was superb .. engaged from chap 2/3 .. not aware of the back story.. I felt there were so many details in this book it was so real. Was it???… it was .. and thus the story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty and his choir exploded in my mind… k tjink I have been introduced to a person who would make my ‘dream dinner table’ … the Kerry man who took no crap

WOW

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An absorbing, beautifully written and thrilling story. Performed most splendidly by the cast of this audiobook

This is a great performance of an absorbing and beautifully written story

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A wonderful book. The reading was superb, the story breathtaking and full of suspense and the writing, lyrical, textured, glorious and imaginative on a rare level. This is the book of the year.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

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