THE INSTANT TOP 10 IRISH BESTSELLER An Observer Best Debut Novelist of 2025 'One of the most
exciting writers working in Ireland today' SALLY ROONEY 'One of my favourite books of the year'
JULIA ARMFIELD 'A funny and frank coming-of age-drama' OBSERVER 'Gorgeous ... a writer of
immense talent' MICHAEL MAGEE 'Growing up isn't all fun and games' SERVICE95 A stunning debut
novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland from the author
of the acclaimed story collection Pure Gold . Seventeen-year-old John Masterson has no idea
what he wants. It's 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 he's working mind-numbing
shifts at the local hotel and trying to keep his head down after his mother's 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. 'Brilliantly written
as evocative as it is funny. Think: the male version of Sally Rooney' VOGUE 'A writer at the
top of his technical game' TELEGRAPH 'In 20 years of reviewing I'm not sure I've read a
funnier book or one I've enjoyed more' DAILY MAIL 'Warmth and sensitivity and a skillful
humour' GUARDIAN 'Funny and heartbreaking' FERDIA LENNON 'Brilliant and bittersweet ode to
young love friendship and GAA' IRISH TIMES 'One of the debuts of the year' iPAPER 'An utter
joy to read' COLIN BARRETT 'A gifted writer' ANNE GRIFFIN 'Bighearted and boisterous bursting
with life' COLIN WALSH 'A remarkable depiction of burgeoning masculinity' REBECCA WATSON
'Totally brilliant and unputdownable' IRISH EXAMINER John Patrick McHugh's 'Fun and Games' was
a Irish top ten bestseller w c 2025-04-28.
