As with many novels, one of the main drives of this narrative is the lead up to a marriage – in this case that of Hungry Paul's sister Grace. These flashes of wit and poignancy make something exceptional out of what might easily have been humdrum, vindicating WH Auden’s assertion that the novelist must learn “how to be / One after whom none think it worth to turn”. There’s the matter-of-factness in the moment when you accept and just live it for as long as it lasts. These 2 men are sweet, unconcerned about life, play board games together, and see the world differently.

Leonard took off his noise-cancelling/society-repelling headphones and went to the kitchenette for a mid-morning cup, even though he always disliked the awkward wait for the water to boil and the prospect of the kettle-related time-killing small talk. Leonard and Hungry Paul, by Rónán Hession, is a novel of wry intelligence wrapped around the quiet rhythms of ordinary lives as they are being lived. But when you read a book about two single men in their 30s who both have no “get up and go” (their idea of a “good night” is sitting at home playing board games and neither of them has ever left their childhood home) and then introduce other members of their families in stories that are also not very exciting, it is just not very, well, exciting. They each live at home, they play board games, take satisfaction in their work, like to read, and are, in general, nice. The world would be a better place if we were all to ask ourselves ‘What would Leonard and Hungry Paul do?

His best friend, Hungry Paul is sort of the same; he lives with his parents AND lives off them as he doesn’t really have a 9/5 job. Hungry Paul is a master and practitioner of silence, mindfulness, pragmatism – living in and for the moment and avoiding commitment and conflict. and which seems oddly out of character for a book that (quietly) advocates for a simple life, championing the underdogs of suburbia. In particular, this novel is a welcome counterbalance to the usual focus of literature (one I also have a tendency to enforce in my reading) to the unpleasant. Other highlights include conversations over Scrabble or Yahtzee and volunteer visits to the local hospital, where he chats with long-term patients, or (preferring to hold his peace) simply holds their hands in a companiable silence.

On the other hand, most of the sections written about Leonard were much more authentic and interesting and there was some great writing with genuine insight, depth about a person like Leonard. He still lives at home with his parents, and his older sister’s wedding is a central focus of the plot.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. A man who had stood by him through everything and who had always reserved a space in his (admittedly quite) life just for Leonard. One of the most influential statements in literary history was perhaps Tolstoy’s claim that all happy families are alike, implying that they are unworthy of being written about. In addition to being longlisted for several prizes, it was chosen for this year’s One Dublin One Book initiative, in which everyone is encouraged to try the same book, one with a strong connection to the city. Their mother is more phlegmatic but also wonders how her unadventurous son would cope if left to look after himself.