'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

The stunning Irish debut literary novel of 2025

About the Author

John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Winter Papers, Banshee, The Tangerine and Granta and been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. He is the author of the short story collection Pure Gold. Fun and Games is his debut novel.

Reviews

Praise for John Patrick McHugh:

'One of the most exciting writers working in Ireland today' Sally Rooney, author of Intermezzo

'One of the funniest novels I've read in years. John Patrick McHugh writes with an unerringly acute, mercilessly affectionate eye about the chaotic mores and inescapable entanglements of smalltown teenage life. This is a lively, bighearted coming of age novel that is an utter joy to read' Colin Barrett, author of Wild Houses

'A remarkable depiction of burgeoning masculinity. With sensitivity and flair, John Patrick McHugh paints a portrait of a young man with vulnerability, compassion, and an illuminating and necessary kind of logic' Rebecca Watson, author of I Will Crash

'Fun and Games is a charming, funny and sensitive novel about the fleeting moments in a teenage boy's life. John Patrick McHugh has a gift for depicting interior life' Nicole Flattery, author of Nothing Special

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

'Ireland produces writers the way some countries produce footballers, and the latest is John Patrick McHugh' Sunday Times

Book Information
ISBN 9780008517359
Author John Patrick McHugh
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Fourth Estate Ltd
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 270g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 135mm * 17mm