It was hard to put his heart into it at times when all his good ideas were either rejected without being understood, or appropriated and credited to someone else.’ 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 If I were to compare Rónán writing to work produced by other contemporary authors, I would say that it reminded me of Joanna Cannon, Mark Haddon and Sara Baume's. All four have deep empathy and understanding of humanity. The three of them . had always seen themselves as bumpers along the blowing lane for him to bounce between, saving him from mundane dangers and guiding him towards his achievements, modest though they were. Similarly, Hession’s conclusion to the story could be seen as a cop-out. But the success of Leonard and Hungry Paul suggests there’s a big appetite for gentler, less dramatic storytelling; and in our current anxious environment, Panenka’s rejection of the grim, in favour of small moments of grace, looks like a bold and successful choice.

I have had a library card all my life. The idea that my wallet contains a small rectangle of plastic that guarantees me a lifetime’s supply of free books from anywhere in the world is almost gameshow-like in its ostentation. And yet, these simple cards are available as a signal of encouragement to anyone who needs it; a statement – an understatement perhaps – that that there will always be a place reserved in the world for the imagination.” Get involved

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Overall a novel I would recommend, and although not quite to my personal taste (which errs to the bile of Bernhard, the apocalypses of Krasznahorkai, and to the unlikable female narrator genre rather than uplit), that is more a failing of mine. Bluemoose Books is an independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and describes itself as a “‘family’ of readers and writers, passionate about the written word and stories, [who] delight in finding great new talent.” Admirably in 2020 they have committed to a woman-only list for 2020. If I don't believe in events, I don't believe in the characters. If I don't believe in the characters, I don't care about the characters. If I don't care about the characters, I don't care about the book. During this time, Leonard worries about his friend. As his own life improves, will Hungry Paul get left behind? Hungry Paul’s sister, Grace, is worried too. Struggling to juggle her high-powered job with her final wedding plans, she fears that her brother, shunning independence, will become an increasing burden for their parents. Leonard and Hungry Paul is almost deceptively well written. It’s clever, and insightful; the kind of book that makes you nod in recognition, and marvel at a writer’s ability to voice something you, yourself have thought, yet never articulated.

Part of why I enjoy Hession’s books so much is that they’re unashamedly kind and optimistic when literary fashion often veers towards the dark and nihilistic. He puts this down to a couple of influences. “Leonard and Hungry Paul in particular, is heavily influenced by coming out of a decade of reading children’s books for my kids,” he says. “What children’s books do a bit better than other fiction is they try to go beyond just saying ‘the world is a bad place’… They try and say, ‘Is there a way to be in the world, given the world is the way it is? How do I engage with the world without it overwhelming me?’… That’s something I think of in my own life and it comes out in the book.” Though his life had been largely quiet and uneventful, his choices had turned out to be wise ones: he had already lived longer than Alexander The Great, and had fewer enemies too.Want to have your reading group featured on a future Book Club episode? Get in touch to find out more. We have the chance for you to win 10 copies of this fantastic novel for your reading group! Please enter by Friday 22 March. Very little happens in this novel, but the gradual unpeeling of character, and the way in which, through doing practically nothing, Hungry Paul’s assets are recognised, so shining a light on his future, make for a gentle but deeply satisfying read. The central characters of the book are the two friends of the title, both of whom are quiet single men in their 30s. Leonard works as a writer providing text for children's encyclopedias, and has recently lost his mother (as the striking opening line says he has been fatherless almost since birth). Hungry Paul (the Hungry part of the name is never explained, nor are there any behavioural clues to its origin, nor is he ever referred to by name by anyone other than the omniscient narrator, and for me this grated a little) still lives with his parents, and has an occasional job as a casual postman. Leonard regularly visits Paul's house to play board games.

There are some gorgeous scenes in this novel. The one that sees Leonard practising conversations in preparation for his first date, are reminiscent of those in Martin Amis’s The Rachel Papers, (Though Amis’s protagonist is a teenager, whereas Leonard is in his thirties.) Hungry Paul is a master and practitioner of silence, mindfulness, pragmatism – living in and for the moment and avoiding commitment and conflict. Leonard and Hungry Paul is a kind and thoughtful piece with rich anecdotes and sage advice. It is by no means a taxing read but is rewarding in a great many ways. In fact, although published in 2019, fewer books will serve as a better antidote for 2020. And it might just inspire you to get a bird feeder.

Instead everyone they meet - family, friends, colleagues, shopkeepers - seems to be similarly nice. Even when Hungry Paul (in one of a number of rather contrived sitcom style setpieces) causes a major scene in a supermarket, falsely claiming it sells out of date good, the store manager sees the bright side and send him away with a free Easter egg. I would have liked to see the duo encounter hostility or negative reactions and see how they dealt with it - but then I am guilty of wishing for a different, and perhaps more conventional book. I am truly grateful that Leonard and Hungry Paul has been selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club: I feel particularly honoured that the book has connected with librarians and the book lovers at The Reading Agency; after all, this is a story about, and a tribute to, the specialness of quiet, gentle people. As sometimes happens with boys who prefer games to sports, Leonard had few friends but lots of ideas. His mother understood with good intuitive sense that children like Leonard just need someone to listen to them”