As a hailing, this phrase is eccentric yet disarming. It also shares a description with the two characters that share the book’s title— Leonard and Hungry Paul. It is also a variation of Hungry Paul’s entry for the Chamber of Commerce’s sign-off contest, which he doesn’t want the prize money for. The two autodidacts can be found wearing paisley pajama tops to work, making jokes without meaning to be funny, or naming their parents’ house after a French song lyric that they misinterpreted. Eccentric yet disarming. Aşşırı tatlı, olağanüstü naif, kendi halinde ve leziz bir kitap "Leonard ve Hevesli Paul". Bir edebiyat şaheseri mi, değil ama yani nasıl güzel, yumuşacık. Resmen okşadı beni bu kitap. Leonard and Hungry Paul is a kind and thoughtful piece with rich anecdotes and sage advice. It is by no means a taxing read but is rewarding in a great many ways. In fact, although published in 2019, fewer books will serve as a better antidote for 2020. And it might just inspire you to get a bird feeder.

All of this is set against the leadup to the wedding of Grace (Hungry Paul's sister). She worries that one day her beloved brother will become her responsibility, as he's really never had to be completely independent before. Existing from one year to the next, unconcerned by the flow of time. Overall a novel I would recommend, and although not quite to my personal taste (which errs to the bile of Bernhard, the apocalypses of Krasznahorkai, and to the unlikable female narrator genre rather than uplit), that is more a failing of mine. Leonard and Hungry Paul are not portrayed as flawed or unreliable – on the contrary they have a clarity of understanding due to their clutter-free attitude to life. It’s all a bit smug, isn’t it? Who even plays board games? Okay, I know some people do. I’m partial to some Scrabble myself, but only occasionally, when I can spare a minute, which is usually over Christmas, or never. Why would I spare the time when I could use it to finally watch The Wire, start my own blog, learn how to make hummus, amass one of the fiscal or cultural currencies in which we all trade? Board games might be fun, but who has time for fun? Die titelgebenden Protagonisten dieses Romans Leonard und Paul sind so sympathisch, dass ich dem Autor literarische Mängel wie das gelegentliche Überschreiten der Kitschgrenze verzeihe. Letztlich sind derartige Fehler auch nur selten. Popkulturell steht Hession meist auf der richtigen Seite. Wenn der "Club der Stille" das erste Mal stattfindet wird beispielsweise 4'33" von John Cage gespielt. Damit kann man mich schon bekommen. Wichtiger ist aber die Empathie und Warmherzigkeit, die dieser Roman ausstrahlt. Die humorvollen Szenen, bei denen man nie über die Figuren sondern immer mit ihnen lacht, sind ein weiterer großer Pluspunkt. Ich hatte durchweg gute Laune beim Lesen.And he decides - in a moment of optimism and bravery - that he should write the sort of story that is bubbling away in him. Leonard knows what children that he was like would want to read, and this is what he sets out to create. It only takes meeting the right person at the right time to set off a spark. He puts his heart and soul into the book, even trying his hand at the illustrations. It's a project of love. But then, Leonard has a very important reader in mind. Rónán Hession is a writer based in Dublin. His short stories have been published in The Honest Ulsterman and The Bohemyth; his flash fiction has been published in Flash Fiction Magazine (US) and Brilliant Flash Fiction. Early on in the book there’s a conversation between Leonard and Paul as they play one of their games, and I found the spoken dialogue a bit forced. It gave me some reservations about what the rest of the book might be like, but I didn’t get the same feeling subsequently, so perhaps I was just taking time to adjust to the author’s style. I also felt that Paul’s parents were a little too perfect, even though I realised the author was deliberately creating characters who cared for one another. I really liked the sound of this book; a celebration of nice gentle introverted souls, two loyal friends, more familiar with the contents of an encyclopedia, than societal norms. But I think my expectations were set too high. I expected some level of depth, reality and authenticity. And there were many genuinely well-observed passages written about Leonard or Paul but there were just too many excursions into farcical unreality so I found it a bit disappointing. My alarm bells went off at the cliched IT/Helpdesk Guy. Then the idea that there would be a €10,000 for a silly competition and that it would only have 3 entrants. Then Hungry Paul going for a job as the president of the mime foundation of Ireland. I think there was the potential for a really good book here and I think it would have been a lot better if it wasn't for all the really silly unbelievable events.

The culmination of the book is Hungry Paul’s sister grace’s wedding. This action is the catalyst for Leonard and Hungry Paul’s change. Although it’s done unconventionally. Especially in Hungry Paul’s case. If it all sounds charming and heart-warming, then you won’t be far off off the mark. In a world where we’re so accustomed to characters who are discontented with life and always looking for the next big adventure, it makes a refreshing change to find a novel with two men who are …. well, just nice. As sometimes happens with boys who prefer games to sports, Leonard had few friends but lots of ideas. His mother understood with good intuitive sense that children like Leonard just need someone to listen to them” The first I feel compelled to deploy is 'feel-good fiction’ (or the term of the moment, 'up-lit'). Unlike other novels that fall into this category, the focus shifts away from individuals overcoming obstacles: damaged pasts, disfigurement or dementia. The heroes (another label, but one I feel is fully justified) are those who refuse to wear a mask, presenting themselves without airs and graces, exactly as they are. I'm disinclined to call them misfits or underdogs, because, despite being aware that they are most definitely not cool, both Leonard and Hungry Paul are perfectly happy in their own skins and don't feel the need to adapt to suit others. During this time, Leonard worries about his friend. As his own life improves, will Hungry Paul get left behind? Hungry Paul’s sister, Grace, is worried too. Struggling to juggle her high-powered job with her final wedding plans, she fears that her brother, shunning independence, will become an increasing burden for their parents.Kalıplar, etiketler, kurumların ötesinde düşünmek; hayata geç de olsa bir yerinden ve bir biçimde tutunmak, kendi kabuğumuzun içinde iyi hissetmenin yollarını bulmak üzerine pek zarif bir roman bu. Çok tavsiye ediyorum, kimsenin hayatını değiştirmez ama okuyan herkesin kalbini yumuşatır bence. Leonard was “raised by his mother alone with cheerfully concealed difficulty, his father having died tragically during childbirth” (an opening sentence which sets the scene for the gentle and quirky humour of the book – humour which is all the stronger and more admirable for being essentially target -free). Longlisted for the 2020 Republic of Consciousness Prize, the judges said: Books this charming and gentle are rarely also as engaging; the power Hession wrings out of such ordinary situations is almost subversive. Leonard and Hungry Paul manages to find a voice for many things that are only thought. Bluemoose Books continue to hit their targets with unerring accuracy, and the book is soon to be published by Melville House in the US.All of that is very valid. In particular, this novel is a welcome counterbalance to the usual focus of literature (one I also have a tendency to enforce in my reading) to the unpleasant. Want to have your reading group featured on a future Book Club episode? Get in touch to find out more.

Leonard and Hungry Paul are best friends. They get together on regular evenings during the week to play board games and discuss topics of mutual interest. They share the minutiae of their lives in the knowledge that the other will accept whatever has happened and move forward without assigning blame. They observe the world around them and ponder how best to integrate when this is necessary. Though not autobiographical, it is a tribute to the kindness I have experienced all my life and which can sometimes seem absent, largely because it is so often expressed in private.It is also beautifully crafted - I highlighted so many passages in my kindle copy that I struggled to select one or two to include in this review, although as a life insurance actuary I loved this towards the novel's end: This book was one of their 2019 publications – and one which featured in so many 2019 book of the year lists by bloggers/reviewers whose opinions I rate that I had to read it. One I can already see featuring on my 2020 “best of” list. They meet up regularly, more regularly than most people see their friends. Weekly board games of Scrabble on a Sunday night are a routine. To prep for the working week ahead. Leonard, Paul and Paul’s parents Helen & Peter. Pitting wits against, and talking to each other (imagine!). It’s safe. It’s routine. It’s comfortable. Leonard and Hungry Paul is the debut novel by Irish writer Ronan Hession, though many at home will be familiar with his music, performed under the moniker Mumblin’ Deaf Ro. Published by UK based Bluemoose Books, it has has built and perpetuated considerable momentum since its release, and was nominated for the Irish book of the Year Awards.

Leonard and Hungry Paul

Leonard and Hungry Paul is almost deceptively well written. It’s clever, and insightful; the kind of book that makes you nod in recognition, and marvel at a writer’s ability to voice something you, yourself have thought, yet never articulated. Though his life had been largely quiet and uneventful, his choices had turned out to be wise ones: he had already lived longer than Alexander The Great, and had fewer enemies too. Two thirty-something single men are friends. They each live at home, they play board games, take satisfaction in their work, like to read, and are, in general, nice. Can quiet, gentle people change the world? This is a gentle yet penetrating tale of the many guises of love and friendship that pierces the too often impenetrable veneer most will apply to protect themselves from others perceived judgement. Leonard and Hungry Paul may appear socially awkward but they offer a deeper understanding of relationships than many who remain unaware that their confidence in a crowd is shallow and blinkered. He didn’t have to decide which of a patient’s limbs to amputate first, or where to invest the life savings of a company’s pensioners. There was no pressure to report fourth quarter losses to the “higher ups” in HQ … His job, on the few days he did it. Involved no agonised decisions or regrets that might spoil the conversation over dinner.