Bestselling author John Boyne's A History of Loneliness tells 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 grows nervous 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 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 Boyne as one of the most searching storytellers of his generation.
- Read-Along eBooks for Children
- Get Hooked on a Series- eBook
- Winter Reading
- eBook Shorts: Your Favorite Stories, but Shorter
- Percy Jackson Collection
- Graphic Novels & Comics
- Romance in the Middle, Ages That Is
- Living on the Edge
- Is It True Dukes Have More Fun?
- Danielle Steel eBooks
- True Stories of World War II
- Biographies of Early Americans - eBooks
- Shifting Sands
- See all
- Read by the Author
- Short Stories for Short Commutes
- Have You Listened to the Most Popular Titles in the Collection?
- Winter Listening
- Percy Jackson Collection
- Animals on Audiobooks
- Audiobooks the Whole Family Will Enjoy...
- Audie Award Winners
- Oldies But Goodies
- Get Hooked on a Series- Audio
- Audiobooks You Might Have Missed
- Listen and Learn
- Listen & Learn: Science Nonfiction
- See all
- 2021 Library Reads
- 2022-2023 Great Stone Face Short List
- 2022-2023 Isinglass Award Short List
- 2022-2023 Flume Award Short List
- 2018-2022 Ladybug Award Nominees
- Romance Award Winners
- 2020 Library Reads
- Edgar Award Winners
- 2019 Library Reads
- Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award Winners
- 2018 Library Reads
- Book Shimmy Awards
- 2017 Library Reads
- See all
- Travel Magazines
- News Magazines
- Heath & Fitness Magazines
- Gardening and Outdoor Living Magazines
- Popular Magazines
- House and Home Magazines
- Tech and Gaming Picks
- Magazines for History Lovers
- Crafts & Hobbies Magazines
- Food & Wine Magazines
- Delving Into Your Devices
- Magazines for Science Enthusiasts
- Hobby magazines
- See all