Based on an extraordinary true story, My Father’s House is a powerful literary thriller from a master of historical fiction.

At great risk to themselves and family, some Romans helped escaped Allied prisoners and Jews, providing train tickets in false names, which helped them flee to Switzerland. This author uses a highly effective way of developing the main characters (largely, choir members) by inserting a few pages on each, spaced throughout the novel.The novel is told as a countdown to the Rendimento (whose literal meaning is performance) a daring mission which is to take place on Christmas Eve 1943. That torture and murder occurred is not in doubt; that brave sould risked their lives and often lost them is another given. It is an unforgettable novel of love, sacrifice and what it means to be human in the most extreme circumstances.

I was held captive with O’Connor’s premise; a choir conductor and choir preparing for a performance! My only previous experience of Joseph O’Connor’s work is his novel Shadowplay, a fictionalized account of the life of Bram Stoker which was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Fiction 2020. It's another part of the book where O'Connor excels, such is his attention to detail of the buildings in the basilica. There were times when I was almost reading with my eyes closed because I couldn’t handle the suspense.Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. Based on a true story,and first in a trilogy,Joseph O´Connor tells the story of Monsignor Hugh O´Flaherty,in Nazi occupied Rome,and his very particular "choir" which helped escape thousands of war prisoners. The characterisation is superb, you get a real feel for the distinctiveness of each member of the Choir, and the exceptional character and personality of Hugh himself, a man who knows Rome like the back of his hand, for whom the city is his true home. Although Hugh O’Flaherty is the key character I loved the way the author brought to life the other members of the group. As a note, Pope Pius XII seemed to know of O'Flaherty's activities and knew what he did could endanger the Vatican, but allowed him to continue.

I was drawn to the novel as I know so little about Italian resistance and the plight of POWs held by the Germans in Italy. The Holocaust, the devastation of war and the plight of civilians unable to escape war-torn lands are always deeply affecting. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty was committed to helping as many people escape the wrath of the Nazis as he could and get out of Italy.

With beautiful prose and vivid imagery, author Joseph O' Connor has done a superb job of transporting the reader to Nazi-occupied Rome. I paired my reading with the superb full-cast narration - featuring Barry Barnes, Stephen Hogan , Barnaby Edwards , Laurence Bouvard , Aoife Duffin , Gertrude Toma , David John , Roberto Davide and Thomas Hill -that made for an immersive experience. Each chapter was read by one of the narrators listed above and we see the setting and atrocities through their eyes. It details raw courage and the selfish acts of all those who worked with Hugh to raise funds and find accommodation for the growing number of escapees. In a narrative that shifts from 1943 and the future, we are given insights and experiences of the period through the perspectives in the 1960s of the widely disparate and fascinating cast of the Choir, that included the likes of Sir Guy D'Arcy Osborne, the wily John May who can get his hands on almost anything, the beautiful and grieving Contessa Landini and 40 year old singer and diplomat's wife, Delia Kiernan.