A disarming novel that asks a simple question- Can gentle people change the world? In this charming and truly unique debut, popular Irish musician Ronan Hession tells the story of two single, thirty-something men who still live with their parents and who are . . . nice. They take care of their parents and play board games together. They like to read. They take satisfaction from their work. They are resolutely kind. And they realize that none of this is considered . . . normal. Leonard and Hungry Paul is the story of two friends struggling to protect their understanding of what's meaningful in life. It is about the uncelebrated people of this world - the gentle, the meek, the humble. And as they struggle to persevere, the book asks a surprisingly enthralling question- Is it really them against the world, or are they on to something?

Leonard and Hungry Paul

Literature & Fiction

Hession, Rónán

Dramas & Plays

Melville House

Product Description 
A disarming novel that asks a simple question: Can gentle people change the world?\nIn this charming and truly unique debut, popular Irish musician Ronan Hession tells the story of two single, thirty-something men who still live with their parents and who are . . . nice. They take care of their parents and play board games together. They like to read. They take satisfaction from their work. They are resolutely kind. And they realize that none of this is considered . . . normal.\nLeonard and Hungry Paul is the story of two friends struggling to protect their understanding of what’s meaningful in life. It is about the uncelebrated people of this world — the gentle, the meek, the humble. And as they struggle to persevere, the book asks a surprisingly enthralling question: Is it really them against the world, or are they on to something? 
 Review 
Praise for Leonard and Hungry Paul … \nBritish Book Awards 2020 Debut Book of the Year Finalist\nIrish Book Awards 2019 Newcomer of the Year Finalist\n“Radiant… A charming, luminous debut.” 
—Kirkus STARRED Review \n“This quietly brilliant book is as funny as it is wise, as tender as it is ground-breaking. Rónán Hession mines for gold in the modest lives and ordinary friendships that might appear unpromising to another writer, and my goodness, he finds it. It is also a happy book — and we need those.” 
— Diane Setterfield, author of The Thirteenth Tale\n“A charming, warm-hearted celebration of all that is treasurable about everyday life.” 
— The Guardian\n“Charming without being twee, this funny, warm book will bring you sunshine.” 
— The Irish Times\n'God, what a voice Ronan has. It is spectacular and already feels like a cult classic. I was absolutely hooked.' — 
 Donal Ryan, The Spinning Heart\n“For a book that defies convention I would heartily recommend 
Leonard and Hungry Paul. It’s as simple as it is unique … a celebration of kindness and having enough and being content — and living a life devoid of high drama and conflict. It’s very funny, and well-written, poetic in places. But above all it’s kind, a celebration of often overlooked people.” 
— Kit de Waal, author of My Name Is Leon"This beautiful, heartfelt book is fed on wit and purpose . . . it challenges us to take happiness seriously. The result is that its readers may be nourished by it and in turn nourish others. Hession practices the gentleness he preaches, and gives readers a restorative glimpse of what a world based on embracing our best human quirks could look like. This is a novel to hearten us for whatever lies ahead." 
— The Believer 
 About the Author 
Ronan Hession is an Irish writer and musician based in Dublin. As Mumblin' Deaf Ro, he has released three albums of songs, and his most recent album, 
Dictionary Crimes, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize for album of the year. 
Leonard and Hungry Paul is his first novel, and was shortlisted for an Irish Book of the Year award. 
 Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 
CHAPTER ONE \nLeonard was raised by his mother alone with cheerfully concealed difficulty, his father having died tragically during childbirth. Though she was not by nature the soldiering type, she taught him to look at life as a daisy chain of small events, each of which could be made manageable in its own way. She was a person for whom kindness was a very ordinary thing, who believed that the only acceptable excuse for not having a bird feeder in the back garden was that you had one in the front garden.\nAs sometimes happens with boys who prefer games to sports, Leonard had few friends but lots of ideas. His mother understood with intuitive good sense that children like Leonard just need someone to listen to them. They would set off to the shops discussing conger eels and have a deep conversation about Saturn’s moons on the way back; they would talk about tidal waves at bath time, and say goodnight with a quick chat

LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL is the story of two friends who ordinarily would remain uncelebrated. It finds a value and specialness in them that is not immediately apparent and prompts the idea that maybe we could learn from the people that we overlook in life. Leonard and Hungry Paul change the world differently to the rest of us: we try and change it by effort and force; they change it by discovering the small things they can do well and offering them to others.

LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL

Contemporary

Bluemoose Books Ltd

His name was Joseph, but for years they had called him Panenka, a name that was his sadness and his story. Panenka has spent 25 years living with the disastrous mistakes of his past, which have made him an exile in his home town and cost him his dearest relationships. Now aged 50, Panenka begins to rebuild an improvised family life with his estranged daughter and her seven year old son. But at night, Panenka suffers crippling headaches that he calls his Iron Mask. Faced with losing everything, he meets Esther, a woman who has come to live in the town to escape her own disappointments. Together, they find resonance in each other's experiences and learn new ways to let love into their broken lives.

Panenka

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hession, Rónán. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hession, Rónán

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hession, Rónán. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Leonard and Hungry Paul

Leonard and Hungry Paul

LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL

Panenka

Panenka