The book
From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Star of the Sea and winner of the 2021 Irish Book Awards Book of the Year for Shadowplay, comes a gripping and atmospheric new novel set in occupied Rome.
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, the world’s smallest state, a neutral, independent country nestled within 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.
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. Suspenseful and beautifully written, My Father’s House tells an unforgettable story of love, faith, sacrifice, and courage.
“Few living writers can take us back in time so assuredly, with such sensual density, through such gorgeous sentences.”—Peter Carey
The author
Joseph O’Connor
Joseph O’Connor’s Star of the Sea was an international bestseller, a New York Times, Economist Notable Book of the Year, and a Sunday Times Number 1 bestseller. It 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. Shadowplay was named Novel of the Year at the 2019 Irish Book Awards and was a finalist for the prestigious Costa Book Award.
Press
- Jan 28 2023
“A masterful mix.”
— Irish Times - Jan 28 2023
“Hugely satisfying.”
— Washington Post - Jan 13 2023
“An intimate drama.”
— Wall Street Journal - Jan 12 2023
“Superb!”
— Booklist (starred review) - Nov 28 2022
“Riveting...This is top-drawer WWII fiction.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) - Nov 11 2022
“A deeply emotional read.”
— Kirkus Review (starred review)