LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL

Product Information

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.

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. This is the stillness I feel giving Maya her drip. I know she is slowly dying, and I’ve cried. But there is also this almost inexpressible sweetness to this time. There’s the matter-of-factness in the moment when you accept and just live it for as long as it lasts. Hession captured it and makes you feel it in this slow,* wise story. If I were to compare Rónán writing to work produced by other contemporary authors, I would say that it remindedBut the charm wasn’t enough for me. Even accepting that this is primarily a character rather than an event driven novel. the leisurely pace was an annoyance. I kept waiting for something – anything – dramatic to happen. Several times I thought we were approaching a plot development that would make a refreshing change to the leisurely narrative pace, only to be stalled. Disappointingly, since I found this a very irritating sub plot, even the wedding of Paul’s older sister goes swimmingly. As a small publisher without the heft and marketing budget to roll out a massive campaign for our books, the One Dublin One Book is, without going all Kate Winslett, the best thing ever to have happened to us at Bluemoose and I’d like to thank Mairead Owens. and her team for choosing Leonard and Hungry Paul. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with this book. If there were an award for “Most Inoffensive Book”, this would probably win it.

In the seaside town of Tramore, County Waterford, visitors arrive in waves with the tourist season, reliving the best days of their childhoods in its caravan parks, chippers and amusement arcades. The descriptions of his loneliness, and his “sudden” awareness of it, are so sad to read. It’s so hard not to feel sorry for the feelings he is having. Always on the periphery, with that awkwardness many of us feel at times. Oh Leonard! Leonard was raised by his mother alone with cheerfully concealed difficulty, his father having died tragically during childbirth. The book was selected with the help of a panel of library staff from across the UK. Our readers loved Leonard and Hungry Paul – here are some of their comments: This is a debut novel published in 2019 by Bluemoose Books, an independent press based in Yorkshire, England. It was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. Rónán Hession is an Irish writer, musician, and social worker based in Dublin. Under the stage name of Mumblin’ Deaf Ro, he has released three albums of Irish blues music. His most recent album, Dictionary Crimes, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize for album of the year

A word from Rónán

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.

It is a story of charm and wit that immerses the reader within the ordinary, everyday lives of our narrators. The titular Leonard works as a ghost writer of children’s encyclopaedias, of which he himself is an avid reader. Paul lives at home with his parents and works every second Monday as a postman. The wants and desires of both men are simple, and they remain gloriously void of external influences while steering well clear of extroverts. 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. 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.’ 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). Ihre Freundschaft war mehr als die bequeme Verbindung zweier introvertierter, alleinstehender Männer – sie war ein Pakt. Ein Pakt gegen die Unrast und Achtlosigkeit, die den Rest der Welt erfasst hatten. Ein Pakt der Bescheidenheit gegen Konkurrenzgerangel und Getöse.“ (S. 167)So 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.