Play Book Tag discussion

A History of Loneliness by John Boyne - 3* - My Review

Set in Ireland, this book is about the sexual abuse of children in Catholic Church. It was with trepidation that I embarked on reading it. This is obviously difficult subject matter. The storyline follows the life of Father Odran Yates. Each chapter tells part of his life in non-sequential order, moving forward and backward in time and covering around fifty years (1960s-2013). His family experiences a traumatic event, and his mother takes comfort in the church.

Odran is portrayed as an obedient son who follows his mother’s vision about his vocation. In school he leads a rigidly structured life. Odran does not want to disrupt the status quo. He is in denial that anything inappropriate is going on. Odran tells his story and I think the reader is supposed to see him as a sympathetic character, but my feeling is that he is portrayed as overly naïve. It is an examination of culpability and complicity, not only for those perpetrating abuse but also for those looking the other way.

PBT Comments: Content warnings: (view spoiler)[murder-suicide, death of a child, pedophilia (with the majority of the child abuse taking place off-page) (hide spoiler)]