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LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL

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With their self-effacing manner, both men tend to fly under the radar. Which in a world filled to the brim with noise, and with way too many extroverts, tends to go against the grain. They haven’t felt the need before to prove their worth. And yet…there’s this sense that maybe, just maybe, there could be more…. That new paths should be taken. Leonard and Hungry Paul are two 30ish-year-old bachelors, not exactly go-getters. Leonard has just lost his mother, whom he loved dearly. He feels her loss acutely, the house is empty without her presence. He realises how truly lonely he is and that he's not really living. Aspects of his job as a ghostwriter of encyclopedias and other reference books are starting to bug him. The unspecified location reinforces the slight detach from reality. There is a rough sketch of an urban landscape, streets, shops, restaurants, mentions of McDonald’s and a Tesco but only blueprints, which alleviates the characters from any major specific socio-geographical struggles. Both men reside in their family homes not (like many of us) because of unprecedented rent prices, but because they are happy in these homes. On the other hand, most of the sections written about Leonard were much more authentic and interesting and there was some great writing with genuine insight, depth about a person like Leonard. I wish the whole book was like this. I don't quite know how John Boyne juggled the silly and the real in The Hearts Invisible Furies. That worked so well. But in Leonard and Hungry Paul the farcical stuff all but ruined it for me. Hungry Paul is a master and practitioner of silence, mindfulness, pragmatism – living in and for the moment and avoiding commitment and conflict.

When the book opens, Leonard is feeling melancholic. His mother has died, and he’s starting to resent the way he’s being treated as a ghost-writer of children’s encyclopaedias. Leonard and Hungry Paul, by Rónán Hession, is a novel of wry intelligence wrapped around the quiet rhythms of ordinary lives as they are being lived. The apparent simplicity of the narrative carries the reader through moments of insight as characters speak from their hearts on everyday dilemmas. The rarity of such truthfulness in conversation and the skill with which thoughts and feelings are conveyed make this a singular read. 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.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, who works writing entries for children’s encyclopedias, recognises that this represents a key turning point in his life and that he has the choice either to retreat further from the world (which he fears will turn him into a grumpy eccentric) or start to carefully engage with it (a path he embarks on when a single mother at work – her child a fan of his work - starts to show interest in him). The quiet, unobtrusive and meaning-filled book is the story of two friends – Leonard and Hungry Paul – both quiet 30-ish year old men living quiet, unobtrusive but still meaning-filled lives, still based in their childhood homes.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with this book. If there were an award for “Most Inoffensive Book”, this would probably win it. There are so many deep ponderings and musings. Possibly unintentionally so. I loved the thought processes of these two. 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. When we meet Leonard, he is living alone in his childhood home, his mother having died recently. He has a steady job working for a children’s encyclopaedia; he writes (or rewrites) the text the educated researcher submits to make it more accessible for kids. Hungry Paul is Leonard’s best (and only) friend. He still lives at home with his parents, and his older sister’s wedding is a central focus of the plot. Hungry Paul takes judo lessons (he’s not very good) and works one day a week as a substitute letter carrier. Writing a weekly column featuring débuts, I’m generally aware of everything produced by Irish writers, so I was surprised when Rónán Hession’s first novel was shortlisted for a Bord Gais Energy Book Award and was anxious to procure a copy.This thought spurs Leonard into action. He starts talking to Shelley, a woman at work, and gains the courage to ask her out. And, feeling inspired, he begins to write a children’s book of his own, and in so doing, gains passion for his work. Leonard and Hungry Paul are two friends in their thirties. Leonard lives alone these days, his mother having passed away recently. His work involves writing children's encyclopedias, which he enjoys, but doesn't seem to get a lot of credit for. Hungry Paul lives with his parents, who are retired, and occasionally fills in as a postman. Leonard visits his pal's house to play board games and the whole family often join in. Their discussion these days mostly revolves around the upcoming wedding of Grace, Hungry Paul's sister. But Leonard has other stuff on his mind too. For one thing, he has made the acquaintance of Shelley, a girl at work, and this has set all kinds of thoughts in motion. It might even prove a solution to his growing loneliness. And Hungry Paul has entered a competition to come up with a new sign-off phrase for the local Chamber of Commerce. These might seem like small events for most people, but for the two friends, they are significant, and this sets in motion a momentous few weeks in their otherwise quiet lives. Leonard and Hungry Paul are two friends who see the world differently. They use humour, board games and silence to steer their way through the maelstrom that is the 21st century.

This is the peace evoked by Ronan Hession’s voice. It’s his voice even more than his story of two single men in their thirties who live their lives as well as they can. This voice comes in at moments when the stillness—of death, of rejection, of nothing at all—takes over.

Selection panel review

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. It was hard to put his heart into it at times when all his good ideas were either rejected without being understood, or appropriated and credited to someone else.’ As such it acts as a perfect anecdote to the tendency to see unpleasantness as somehow more literary; as one wedding guest says of an attendee on a creative writing course she ran: I’ll be honest: I had been avoiding this book partly because I thought the title sounded like a children’s book but largely because the book blurb made it sound like not my kind of book. But it appeared on so many “Best of 2019” lists from both GR friends and journalists that I thought I had to give it a go. 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.

Similarly, Hession’s conclusion to the story could be seen as a cop-out. But the success of Leonard and Hungry Paul suggests there’s a big appetite for gentler, less dramatic storytelling; and in our current anxious environment, Panenka’s rejection of the grim, in favour of small moments of grace, looks like a bold and successful choice. Perhaps the characters Leonard and Hungry Paul most resemble are Sheldon and Leonard of The Big Bang Theory – a TV series in which women aren’t properly characterised until around series three when it is decided that geek girls might add some flavour to the soup. I long for geek girls. And with a two-book deal under his belt, perhaps Hession will provide them. Next time. For now, all I can do is what the book asks: take it for what it is. One of life’s simple pleasures. Niamh DonnellySo many moments resonated with me. I'm an introvert, one who hasn't been brave enough to drop the mask, but that doesn't mean that I haven't known excruciating moments of social awkwardness. If I'm honest, I am probably closest to Grace, who spends her days being super-efficient at work but needs a boyfriend she can trust enough to be a flake with at home. This was one of the observations I enjoyed the most. I am fortunate enough to have a Leonard.

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