Fun and Games

(Paperback)

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Description

A stunning, darkly comic and deeply moving debut novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland, from the author of the acclaimed short story collection Pure Gold.
Seventeen-year-old John Masterson has no idea what he wants. Its his last summer on the small island where he has grown up and he should be enjoying the weeks until his exam results come through. Instead, hes working mind-numbing shifts at the local hotel trying to keep his head down after his mothers nude sext to another man was leaked to the whole island.

As John joins the local senior football team, gets caught up in fights and parties, and embarks on a tentative relationship with his slightly older co-worker Amber that he feels both proud and ashamed of, he can almost pretend that this summer will last forever. But soon John must face up to the choices before him: to stay or leave, to stand out or fit in, and whether to love and let himself be loved, despite or perhaps because of, the flaws that make us all human.

Fun and Games is a darkly comic, beautifully crafted debut novel that is full of feeling both harsh and tender. It takes in social class and its firm borders, manhood and its frailties, family and, of course, love.

Reviews

Praise for John Patrick McHugh:

One of the most exciting writers working in Ireland today Sally Rooney, author of Normal People

Terrific Roddy Doyle, author of Love

Truly brilliant Megan Nolan, author of Acts of Desperation

Full of stylish brio Colin Barrett, author of Young Skins

Savagely funny Nicole Flattery, author of Show Them a Good Time

Refreshing and ambitious Lisa McInerney, author of The Blood Miracles

Hilarious, shocking, and disturbingly well-observed Vanity Fair

Searing John Patrick McHugh joins an illustrious generation of talented writers Irish Times

Author Bio

John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in Banshee, Granta, Stinging Fly, Tangerine and Winter Papers. Pure Gold is his debut collection.