Paperback

Cork, 1980s: Jack Shine discovers a shoebox full of love letters among his mother Rebekah's belongings. Rebekah came to Cork as a Jewish refugee from Vienna after the outbreak of the Second World War. She died soon after, and Jack never knew who his father was. So why did his mother keep newspaper clippings about a famous footballer? Who was the Paper Man?

Vienna, 1930s: The bustling city is on the brink of war, and Matthias Sindelar is one of the most famous footballers in the world. His nickname is the Paper Man. When Sindelar meets Rebekah, their lives are changed forever. But to survive the war, their paths must part and their destinies be torn apart.

Inspired by true events, this novel tells a story of twentieth-century Europe. It is about a love that was determined to overcome everything.

Billy O'Callaghan (1974) debuted in 2008 with a collection of short stories titled In Exile. His third short story collection, The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind, gained the attention of literary critics, and in 2013, O'Callaghan received an Irish Book Award for it. In addition to numerous short stories, he has also written two novels. In 2017, The Dead House was published, following in the best tradition of ghost stories. Two years later, O'Callaghan's novel My Coney Island Baby captivated the literary world. The rights to it have been sold in ten countries.