The Paper Man, Billy OCallaghan
The Paper Man, Billy OCallaghan
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The Paper Man
A Novel

Author: Billy O'Callaghan

Narrator: Gerard Doyle, Helen Lloyd

Unabridged: 8 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/02/2023

Synopsis

A deeply moving interwar romance set between 1930s Austria and 1980s Ireland, based on a real-life unsolved mystery1930s Austria. Vienna is a bustling, cosmopolitan city on the brink of war. Matthias Sindelar is an internationally renowned soccer player known as “The Paper Man” because of his effortless weave across the field. When Sindelar speaks out against Hitler, his fame can’t protect him from being placed under Gestapo surveillance. Meanwhile, Sindelar falls in love with a young Jewish girl named Rebekah. As the atmosphere in Vienna darkens under the Nazi regime, Rebekah flees to relatives in Cork, Ireland. Only after she arrives there does she realize she is pregnant with Sindelar’s child. The following year, at the age of thirty-five, the Paper Man is found dead in his apartment.1980s Ireland. In the Jewish Quarter of Cork, Rebekah’s son Jack Shine discovers a bundle of German letters and newspaper clippings tied with a ribbon while sorting his mother’s belongings. With the help of his German-speaking father-in-law, Jack translates the letters and attempts to piece together his family history and, hopefully, solve the mystery of his father’s identity.Based on real people and true events, The Paper Man is the story of twentieth-century Europe, the Holocaust, the cost of fame, and love against the odds.

About Billy O'Callaghan

Billy O’Callaghan won the Irish Book Award for the title story of his collection The Things We Lose, the Things We Leave Behind and is the author of two other short story collections, In Exile and In Too Deep. His debut novel, The Dead House, was an Irish Times bestseller. He was a finalist for the 2016 COSTA Short Story Award, the Glimmer Train Prize, the Faulkner Wisdom Prize, and the Seán Ó Faoláin Award and has published his stories widely on both sides of the Atlantic. He resides in County Cork, Ireland.

About Gerard Doyle

Gerard Doyle was born of Irish parents and was raised and educated in England. He has appeared in London’s West End and on Broadway and toured with the English Shakespeare Company. A seasoned narrator of audiobooks, he has been awarded more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards and in 2007 won the prestigious Audie Award.

About Helen Lloyd

Helen Lloyd is a British actor and voice artist who, since recording her first voiceover at the age of fourteen, has spent much of her career speaking other people’s words and bringing characters to life. A classically trained actor, she has performed in many of Britain’s leading repertory theatres and in the West End. She began narrating audiobooks in 2013.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Angela M on March 08, 2023

A cardboard shoe box “bearded in dust and probably decades hidden, tucked away on top of a wardrobe” just screaming that there are old letters inside, love letters, no doubt. Perhaps holding the missing parts of Jack’s life , the story his mother who never told her nine year old when she died. This......more

Goodreads review by Claire on May 02, 2023

Billy O’Callaghan’s The Paper Man slowly unveils a love story affected by pivotal world events. It weaves a compelling story in two time frames brought together from one man’s search for identity that spans two countries and leaves an impact on multiple generations. The story enthralls on many level......more

Goodreads review by Bosorka on November 05, 2024

Nakonec musím dát za pět. A to především za to, jak autor krásně píše. Jeho literární schopnosti mě chytly už u románu Náš Coney Island a zatím mě nezklamal. S větami si pohrává a hýčká je, váží každé slovo a každé sedí jak ulité. Je mistrem atmosféry a především mistrem v zachycování běžných okamži......more

Goodreads review by Jenny on January 08, 2024

One of my favourite authors to start the year. Another great read set between Vienna at the onset of war and Cork. Beautiful writing......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on June 05, 2023

This book has shades of 'Zatopek - Today we die a little' - in that its hero is a supreme athlete whose fame was exploited by the despotic regime in power at the time. The Nazis in Sindelar's case and the Russians at the time of the invasion of Czechoslovakia in Zatopek's. Both appear to have simila......more

Quotes

“Helen Lloyd and Gerard Doyle’s polished performance…gives a clear distinction to the different timelines. Lloyd and Doyle are well matched, with both demonstrating excellent accents and characterizations. Their spot-on pacing keeps listeners engaged throughout this novel based on actual events.” AudioFile

“History’s inherited burden presses firmly on the characters...O’Callaghan moves his narrative deftly between the Vienna of the Anschluss, rural Austria before the Nazi takeover and early 1980s” New York Times

“O’Callaghan brings to life 1930s Austria and 1980s Ireland in this mesmerizing tale of love, soccer, and family secrets….O’Callaghan’s storytelling is magnetic.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The poignant and passionate The Paper Man covers lost love, anguished lives, and the discovery of an enduring heritage.” Foreword Reviews

Awards

  • New York Times Pick
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