A sweeping and unforgettable interwar love story, from the Costa-shortlisted and bestselling Irish author of Life SentencesA BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2023 IN IRISH TIMES, RTÉ GUIDE AND SUNDAY INDEPENDENT1980s Cork. Jack Shine discovers a shoe box full of love letters in his mother's belongings. Rebekah came to Cork alone as a young Jewish refugee from Vienna when the Second World War broke out. She died soon after, and Jack never learned of his father's identity. Why did she keep newspaper clippings about a famous footballer player? Who was 'The Paper Man'?As Jack uncovers his mother's life, he is transported to 1930s Vienna, a bustling city on the brink of war. At the heart of the action is Matthias Sindelar, one of the most famous footballers in the world, known as 'The Paper Man' because of his effortless weave across the pitch. When Sindelar unexpectedly meets Rebekah, both of their lives are changed forever. As war looms, they must accept that their survival will tear them apart.Based on true events, The Paper Man is the story of twentieth-century Europe and love against the odds. It is a story that will take Jack far from Cork and all the way back to Vienna, and towards The Paper Man.
Format: Hardback
CONTRIBUTORS: Billy O'Callaghan
EAN: 9781787333772
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
PAGES:
WEIGHT: 407 g
HEIGHT: 222 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Vintage Publishing
DATE PUBLISHED: 2023-05-04
CITY:
GENRE: FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II, FICTION / Romance / Historical / 20th Century, FICTION / Jewish
WIDTH: 144 cm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
County Cork, Vienna, c 1919 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), c 1980 to c 1989, Relating to Jewish people and groups, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Historical romance, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Narrative theme: Displacement, exile, migration
The Paper Man is Bill O'Callaghan's most ambitious work to date, and it fulfils its ambitions magnificently. Exciting, moving, perceptive and wonderfully entertaining., Billy O'Callaghan's writing is powerfully emotional and wholly captivating from page one. The Paper Man is the best book yet by a truly gifted Irish writer, Gorgeous. Billy O'Callaghan writes with such a spirit of warmth about the darkest of subjects, The Paper Man is a beautiful, layered novel about love, football and family. As the world falls apart in its darkest hours, this story tells of a life so bright, it echoes on into the generations: so that even in tragedy, there is always hope, A lovely, piercing book
Billy O'Callaghan is the author of the critically acclaimed novel My Coney Island Baby, which has been translated into nine languages and was shortlisted for the Encore Award 2020. Stories in his collection The Boatman and Other Stories were shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award and for Writing.ie Short Story of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards. He lives in Douglas, a village on the edge of Cork City.
