A History of Loneliness by John Boyne will be featured on the Radio 2 Book Club on Monday 22 September.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK.
A History of Loneliness
Odran Yates enters Clonliffe Seminary in 1972 after his mother informs him that he has a vocation to the priesthood. He goes in full of ambition and hope, dedicated to his studies and keen to make friends.
Forty years later, Odran’s devotion has been challenged by the revelations that have shattered the Irish people’s faith in the church. He has seen friends stand trial, colleagues jailed, and the lives of young parishioners destroyed.
But when a family tragedy opens wounds from his past, he is forced to confront the demons that have raged within a once respected institution and recognise his own complicity in what has happened.
Selection panel review
Our selection panel thought this was a great read. This is what they had to say:
“A History of Loneliness is set in Ireland and revolves around Odran Yates, who is called to the priesthood from an early age. What follows is a tale of suspicion, denial and a world in which priests go from being revered to reviled. This is a powerful story with lots of discussion points. John Boyne can weave a tale like no other contemporary author that I have come across.”
About the author
John Boyne was born in Dublin in 1971, and studied English Literature at Trinity College and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, where he was awarded the Curtis Brown prize.
John has written eight novels for adults and four for younger readers, including the bestseller The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, which has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. John’s novels have been published in 47 languages, and A History of Loneliness is the first novel about his home country of Ireland.
A word from John
The months leading up to the publication of a new novel can be both exciting and anxious for an author, no matter how many books he or she has published before.
When I completed A History of Loneliness, I felt particularly apprehensive as it’s the first novel I’ve written which is set in Ireland and it tackles a contentious issue that continues to be a source of pain for generations of Irish people.
When I heard that the novel had been chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club, I was incredibly grateful. It can be difficult for any novel to get attention these days so to have The Reading Agency and their team of readers, who must have had a long but hopefully enjoyable task of reading so many novels, choose the book gave me a boost of confidence which was very welcome.
I hope it will prove interesting to those who take part in the Book Club. I’ve tried to present a balanced account of what has happened in the Irish Catholic Church over recent decades. It will make uncomfortable reading for some, perhaps, but it’s a story that needs to be told. I just hope that I’ve done it justice.
Get involved
Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime on Monday 22 September to hear a live interview with John Boyne talking about his book.
Win a set of 10 copies of A History of Loneliness for your Reading Group by completing this survey by 25 September 2014.
Have you read A History of Loneliness? You can share your thoughts on Twitter, or by posting a comment in the space below.
Want to find out more? The Radio 2 Book Club now has a dedicated Twitter feed, and you can also follow the author John Boyne.
Dornoch Academy Reading Group
Very readable but sad book.
Dornoch Academy Reading Group
I have not read a book like this before and was not sure if I would like it but with the author writing fictionally about Ireland and the Catholic church it helped to make a difficult history readable. I found the book informative and interesting.
Dornoch Academy Reading Group
A History of Loneliness is a shocking yet powerful fictional rendering of the appalling revelation of endemic child abuse within the Catholic church in Ireland in the eighties. The writer provides us with convincing characters where the perpetrators as well as the victims are treated sympathetically. The abusive priest of the story is shown to be a victim of the poverty and repression that forced unsuitable candidates into the religious life for economic rather than religious reasons. It also powerfully shows the power of the church for so long in Ireland and the responsibility the church should accept for cover ups to protect such priests. The narrator, also a priest, is also conveyed in shades of grey rather than black and white to capture both the parental pressure for him to go into the priesthood but mixed ultimately with a genuine vocation. He thus acts as an example of how many genuine priests were caught in the crossfire and stigmatised for the crimes of others. This is a writer who is not afraid to engage with the darker issues in life. Occasionally the dialogue drags a little, particularly in the early parts of the book but for the most part it is a convincing, at times harrowing account - not one to read on a snowy Christmas evening by the fire.
Dornoch Academy Reading Group
Very sad in places. You felt sorry for Father Yates. Suitable for older teenagers and adults due to subject matter.