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. 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. Bluemoose Books is an independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and describes itself as a “‘family’ of readers and writers, passionate about the written word and stories, [who] delight in finding great new talent.” Admirably in 2020 they have committed to a woman-only list for 2020. Yes this book resonated with me in a big way. It’s not often that one reads such a down to earth novel with a lot of heart in it. Sometimes it is essential to read a book like Leonard and Hungry Paul as it changes your perspective and makes you smile in the process. 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?

And when his friend, Hungry Paul, who lives mainly in his own head, mutters that his life seems to be getting smaller, Leonard knows exactly how he feels. 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.What kindnesses is he referring to? “There was a lot of pressure on my mother to keep everything together, and her whole group of friends were a great support to the family,” he says. “And neighbours. Leonard is a sort of an adjunct member of Hungry Paul’s family and I was a bit like that for other families on the street. They would bring me out on trips in a way that didn’t make me self-conscious… I remember there were football managers or parents of other guys on the [football] team where when I had to go to a trial and when my mother was working they would drive me to Blanchardstown, wait for me to play, then drive me home. If I did that once in my life, I’d be telling everyone about.” Before opening this book, I read an online reviewer categorise it as “up lit” (uplifting literature). This terrified me. There’s something odd and doomed about things that try to make you happy in times of chaos: like a man telling you to smile when you’re crying or the quartet playing a waltz as the Titanic goes down. Sobbing over a romance, poring over social critique; these can be cathartic and illuminating. But “up lit”? And the dynamics between the three of them – their roles, interactions worked out over many years but now starting to evolve with Grace’s impending marriage and the retirement of Paul’s parents – an evolution which dawns on Hungry Paul more slowly than Leonard – and which unlike Leonard he seems less immediate need to react to – given his concentration on the present moment rather than the future.

Being chosen for One Dublin One Book has made him realise how rooted he is in the city. He grew up in Beaumont, went to school in O’Connells in the north inner city and was wandering around the city at the age of 12. (“My eldest son is 12 and I haven’t let him go to Dunnes yet.”) He went to college in Trinity. He now works in the Department of Finance. “I’m probably one of those people who, if you showed the Google Map activity at my funeral, they’ll say, ‘apart from his holidays he didn’t really go far’.” Quiet lives 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. I have never read a book that is so gentle and careful. I’ve seen the phrase “up-lit” bandied around and this must be a perfect example. But when you read a book about two single men in their 30s who both have no “get up and go” (their idea of a “good night” is sitting at home playing board games and neither of them has ever left their childhood home) and then introduce other members of their families in stories that are also not very exciting, it is just not very, well, exciting. yazar Rónán Hession'ın ilk romanıymış bu. 30larında iki arkadaş olan Leonard ve Paul'ün süssüz dostluklarını merkeze alıp, ikilinin hayatının bir dönemine göz atıyor yazar ve bence bizi bildiğimiz kategorilerin dışında düşünmeye çağırıyor zarifçe. Hızlıca bazı kalıplara sokabileceğimiz karakterler bunlar aslında, mesela pekala "başarısız" diyebileceğimiz tipler ama o stereotiplerin dışında / ötesinde kim olduklarını görmemizi sağlıyor bu tatlı roman.Sometimes I read works of literature where the characters seem to me to act very aggressively towards others even when they have no reason to, and where the author seems to view this as quite normal. I mention that by way of contrast with this novel, where the two title characters would never intentionally hurt someone else, although they might do so unintentionally, as they struggle with the nuances of human relationships. Leonard and Hungry Paul are both introverted 30-something bachelors who still live in their childhood homes, although Leonard’s parents are dead. Their social life revolves around meeting up with one another to play board games. They are the sort of characters who are often made the butt of the joke in film and literature, although when the author introduces humour in this book, it’s done without cruelty. The novel is based around the idea that the two are faced with major changes in their life. Leonard has the chance of a relationship with a woman, and Hungry Paul has the chance to forge a career. 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.