Author: Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.

He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.

Photograph courtesy of Author’s Website.

#BookReview My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #JosephOConnor #MyFathersHouse #RomeEscapeLineTrilogy #PGCBooks

#BookReview My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #JosephOConnor #MyFathersHouse #RomeEscapeLineTrilogy #PGCBooks Title: My Father's House

Author: Joseph O'Connor

Series: Rome Escape Line Trilogy #1

Published by: Europa Editions on Feb. 1, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 440

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

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.


Review:

Suspenseful, immersive, and intriguing!

My Father’s House is an absorbing, gripping tale set in Vatican City during WWII that follows Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, an Irish envoy to the Vatican who, after witnessing the oppression and horror encountered by the allies, resistance, and Jewish people captured by the Nazi’s in Italy under the direction of Obersturmbannführer Hauptmann, devises an escape plan codenamed “Rendimento” with a small group of individuals who call themselves “The Choir” to help as many victims as possible escape through the secret passageways, tunnels and safety offered by the Holy See on the night of Christmas Eve.

The prose is polished and eloquent. The characters are creative, driven, and determined. And the plot unravels and intertwines briskly into a sweeping saga of life, loss, betrayal, secrets, espionage, danger, deception, survival, coordination, ethics, and tragedy.

Overall, My Father’s House is an absorbing, mysterious, brilliantly plotted tale by O’Connor inspired by real-life events that, at its heart, highlights that preventing evil from running amok often involves moral dilemmas, exceptional courage, strength, action, and beyond all else, sacrifice.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.

He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #Shadowplay #JosephOConnor

#BookReview Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #Shadowplay #JosephOConnor Title: Shadowplay

Author: Joseph O'Connor

Published by: Europa Editions on Jun. 26, 2020

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 310

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Shadowplay by New York Times best-selling author, Joseph O’Connor, is set during the golden age of West End theater in a London shaken by the crimes of Jack the Ripper.

Henry Irving is Victorian London’s most celebrated actor and theater impresario. He has introduced groundbreaking ideas to the theater, bringing to the stage performances that are spectacular, shocking, and always entertaining. When Irving decides to open his own London theater with the goal of making it the greatest playhouse on earth, he hires a young Dublin clerk harboring literary ambitions by the name of Bram Stoker to manage it. As Irving’s theater grows in reputation and financial solvency, he lures to his company of mummers the century’s most beloved actress, the dazzlingly talented leading lady Ellen Terry, who nightly casts a spell not only on her audiences but also on Stoker and Irving both.

Bram Stoker’s extraordinary experiences at the Lyceum Theatre, his early morning walks on the streets of a London terrorized by a serial killer, his long, tempestuous relationship with Irving, and the closeness he finds with Ellen Terry, inspire him to write DRACULA, the most iconic and best-selling supernatural tale ever published.

A magnificent portrait both of lamp-lit London and of lives and loves enacted on the stage, Shadowplay’s rich prose, incomparable storytelling, and vivid characters will linger in readers’ hearts and minds for many years.


Review:

Immersive, evocative, and colourful!

Shadowplay is a beautiful, powerful, alluring interpretation that sweeps you away to London in the late 1800s and into the life of Bram Stroker, from his employment as manager of the Lyceum Theatre, his tumultuous relationships with both his employer, Henry Irving and the celebrated actress Ellen Terry, to his ultimately writing the infamous Dracula.

The prose is expressive and eloquent. The characters are exceptionally drawn, complex, and authentic. And the plot set to the backdrop of a city terrorized by Jack the Ripper and using an intriguing mixture of narration, letters, diary entries, and transcripts is an exceptionally absorbing tale of life, loss, loneliness, loyalty, friendship, desires, aspirations, heartache, drama, and love in all its different forms.

Overall, Shadowplay is a vivid, pensive, compelling story by O’Connor that does a remarkable job of highlighting his considerable knowledge and impressive research into these renowned historical figures whose lives and contribution to the dramatic and literary worlds are often unknown or unfortunately long forgotten.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.

He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.