Author: Patrick Freyne
Genre: Adult Non-Fiction / Biography
Review by: Emma, Leixlip Library
★★★★
Synopsis:
Patrick Freyne has tried a lot of stupid ideas in his life. Now, in his scintillating debut, he is here to tell you about them: like the time (aged 5) he opened a gate and let a horse out of its field, just to see what would happen; or the time (aged 19) he jumped out of a plane for charity, even though he didn’t much care about the charity and was sure he’d end up dead; or the time (aged old enough to know better) he used a magazine as a funnel for fuel when the petrol cap on his band’s van broke.
He has also learned a few things: about the power of group song; about the beauty of physically caring for another human being; about childlessness; about losing friends far too young. Life as seen through the eyes of Patrick Freyne is stranger, funnier and a lot more interesting than life as we generally know it. Like David Sedaris or Nora Ephron, he creates an environment all his own – fundamentally comic, sometimes moving, always deeply humane. OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea is a joyous reading experience from an instantly essential new writer.
REVIEW:
OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea by Patrick Freyne is written almost like a series of blog posts or as a collection of memories or anecdotes, that largely concentrate on Freyne’s on childhood and teenage years. Patrick is a regular contributor to the Irish Times Newspaper and occasionally appears as a guest on various radio or tv shows , I have occasionally read his articles in the Irish Times and quite liked his writing style so I decided to give his recently released book a try. I was not disappointed, in fact I found quite a lot of his anecdotes made me laugh out loud while reading and found some sections of the book particularly those related to the time he spent working as a care giver incredibly moving and at points found myself in tears. While I did find the structure of the book to be a little jumbled when I thought about it as say a series of blog posts like I mentioned earlier, the structure didn’t seem to bug me so much then. I found this book to be so full of character and one that was so easy to dip in and out of, which is an absolute pleasure to find when you feel life is a bit chaotic and you’re trying to create some time to get your reading done at the end of the day before collapsing into bed. I would also class this book as one of those titles that I would dip in and out of or re-read again in the future. Very enjoyable!
Feel free to request online from your local library here.
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