A History of Loneliness

By: John Boyne

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

The riveting narrative of an honorable Irish priest who finds the church collapsing around him at a pivotal moment in its history.

Propelled into the priesthood by a family tragedy, Odran Yates is full of hope and ambition. When he arrives at Clonliffe Seminary in the 1970s, it is a time in Ireland when priests are highly respected, and Odran believes that he is pledging his life to "the good."

Forty years later, Odran's devotion is caught in revelations that shatter the Irish people's faith in the Catholic Church. He sees his friends stand trial, colleagues jailed, the lives of young parishioners destroyed, and he grows wary of venturing out in public for fear of disapproving stares and insults. At one point, he is even arrested when he takes the hand of a young boy and leads him out of a department store while looking for the boy's mother.

But when a family event opens wounds from his past, he is forced to confront the demons that have raged within the church and to recognize his own complicity in their propagation, within both the institution and his own family.

A novel as intimate as it is universal, A History of Loneliness is about the stories we tell ourselves to make peace with our lives. It confirms John Boyne as one of the most searching storytellers of his generation.

©2015 John Boyne (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Produced by arrangement with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. All rights reserved.

Narration

Loved how real the main character was. He was true to life. So many lessons learned in this story, sad, infuriating, and yet this is how most of us have been in one way or another. Excellent book!

More about community than loneliness

Although the subject is painful - sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church - I enjoyed this book very much. Filled with interesting characters, both flawed and sympathetic, the story is believable and well-written.

John Boyne is a brilliant writer

The dialogue is engrossing and tells the tale along with the narrator”s revelations
Boyne always makes me weep in empathy with his characters and their dilemmas. The reader did a captivating job for audio.

scorching truth

excellent narration, revelations of the Catholic church that have long been swept under their corrupt rug

A History of Lonliness

This book has really opened my eyes regarding the struggles of Catholic priests. The subject has been in the news for years but unless you are personally involved, it’s difficult to relate to both sides of issue. John Boyne is a superb author and he is now one of my favorites.