Fun and Games: The stunning Irish debut literary novel of 2025

‘One of the most exciting writers working in Ireland today’ SALLY ROONEY 'A lively, bighearted novel that is an utter joy to read' COLIN BARRETT 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. 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. 'A charming, funny and sensitive novel' NICOLE FLATTERY For fans of Paul Lynch (Grace), Sally Rooney (Intermezzo), George Saunders (Tenth of December), Gabrielle Zevin (Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow), and Marco Pedulla (The Flying Inn).