Fun and Games

by John Patrick McHugh

‘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 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.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Contemporary, Irish Literature, Coming Of Age, Summer, Literary Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

Published April 24, 2025

Reviews

[Lauren]

thought this was gay, it wasnt. Idc about straight white men’s ‘problems’.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a coming of age novel. Fun and Games is a novel which follows John Masterson in his final year of school as he contemplates his life beyond his small island town.

Things at that age are never easy, but decidedly less so for John when his mother sends a picture of her breasts to a man which then goes viral across the island. Added to this John is trying to navigate a relationship with the slightly older Amber, study for his exams and earn a place on his football team.

This was beautifully written and was so bittersweet. Despite wanting to give John a good shake at times, you never give up wanting him to succeed and to fulfil the clear promise that he definitely has in trying circumstances. His relationship with both his parents, as well as Amber, were expertly written and real to all of us who (barely) remember their days as a young man.

I'm not sure what it is about Ireland which spawns so many brilliant writers but long may it continue.

Although a sequel is unlikely, I would genuinely to love to follow John's journey further.

Thanks to Netgalley and 4th Estate and William Collins | Fourth Estate for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Zoe Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book confirmed that teenage boys are just horrible. I cannot understand the praise for this book. I found the whole thing shallow, and trite, and confirmed my worst suspicions about how teenage boys view the world - and women.

[Alexandra Olanescu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sally Rooney-esque. I think I’m fine with not reading about teenage boys for a long long time

[Luke Hosford · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review might seem a bit harsh, but that's mostly because I saw so much potential in the material and was disappointed in the execution, and/or also because of how familiar the setting is to me. I've recently thought that the GAA has been under-developed in Irish fiction. But really, we didn't get much insight into what this tells us about masculinity, male friendships, or adult pressures in this book. It was just what this character was doing at this time. I feel the book could have been written 20 years ago or 20 years from now, you would just need to exchange some surrounding details. It was difficult to see the author's stamp or style on the story, it's just telling us what it is like to have been a young person at this time in this particular place.

This lack of insight was mainly down to how the world around him wasn't developed enough. The teammates and even friends were stereotypes, assuming that you knew them and their type based on rudimentary characteristics. I found it unbelievable that he wouldn't know at least some important details about players on the senior team, presuming he actually wanted to make the team. He would have heard stories about their exploits at whatever age group he was playing with, heard or even seen their great achievements during the season. The manager and the assistant also represent key figures in the GAA and potentially the character's life. How did he not pay attention to a single team talk before Championship? This was a prime opportunity. The manager could have been a character that might have failed or struggled in life but has found a new calling in being the man to lead a team of men towards victory. Also, if you had no experience of this atmosphere before, I am not sure what these situations would teach you about the character or even about playing football, other than the details of what happens at training and what goes through your head in a game.

Maybe this book suffered from an abundance of suggestions as there was way too much to balance - moving up to the seniors, the Leaving Cert, beefs with your friends, what are you gonna do when the summer is over, but more importantly will you get into the club at the weekend, what about this girl at the hotel you work at, do you like her or not, oh your mother has sent a picture of her breasts to someone else on the island, and now the dad has left the house, the house with all the paintings of elves the mother drew by the way, the same dad that used to play senior and oh no the sister's wedding is also this summer, will the groom's sister forgive her and attend the wedding?

Perhaps due to all these competing storylines and aims of the book, the style is too unbalanced. It has identified a lucrative moment for reflection and change - the summer after the Leaving - but the moment is not interesting in and of itself, the style needs to reflect it too. He seems to capture "child" language with these concepts and nouns that we hear as children but do not question, and uses them without articles - Championship, not drinking directly from the water bottle because 'germs', no point driving because 'too near'. Or, when a joke lands describing it as an airport. However, this was overused to the point it was jarring. I think it was jarring because of how poorly it blended with the "man" language.* It felt at times like the author was trying to make clear to us that he doesn't use the words himself, so when words like "inscrutable" come along it takes you completely out of the moment because its not like the book is written from a distance. The writing is at its strongest when in the midst of an event, emotional or intense.

But these moments did not lead to any reflection afterwards that might lead us to think what the character thought of it. The actions and the change that is indicated at the end could have actually been the exact opposite and it would not have been a surprise. This takes me to my next point where there is actually no adult-like reflection on anything. He is starting to be exposed to adult events. For example, the only major interaction with the sister was one "close" conversation at the wedding, where she makes a broad statement about happiness. Even at this late stage, the character doesn't have any major reflection on anything - what he wants to do, what does he think make him happy, who does he think about when he hears this, what does he want to do right there and then. His behaviour is pretty consistently reprehensible throughout the book. Is this just saying adults are just children doing "adult" things and he will go about behaving the way he was in this book with no consequences? I don't even think the character would think that, but who knows because he never reflects on anything. Is adulthood just a series of talking about different things than when you were younger? But that wouldn't add up either because your childhood isn't just talking about the same stuff for years. We get descriptions of his actions and what he is thinking in the moment that leads to them. But afterwards, that's when the real insight should come. Let us in, John, let us in.

(As an aside, I thought he also misused the word 'sound'. I always thought of that as describing someone else as 'sound', like their whole person, but here it seemed to be used as if you could or could not be 'sound' right now depending on how you were feeling. After getting sick, his friend says 'ah, you're sound' and he replies 'I don't think I am sound actually'. Felt off to me)

[Joe Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading is friction. Watching short videos on your phone is easier than reading a novel. But reading has a payoff that I've yet to get from any other medium: those little epiphanies you experience when you read a sentence or a paragraph that expresses something you've always known at a gut-level but have yet to see put into words. These are the moments during which reading feels frictionless. Raw insight, straight through your eyeballs and directly into your brain. Therefore, I propose a new metric to use when judging the quality of a novel: Epiphanies-Per-Page (EPP). Fun and Games scores higher for EPP than any novel I can remember. John's excruciating self-awareness, his entrapment by the hierarchies of young manhood, the drudgery of a summer job, the liminal space of post-Leaving Cert but pre-college, loving and hating your family at the same time; all are rendered beautifully by McHugh's vivid prose, multiple times on every page. Read it now.

[Peter Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This coming of age story is set on an island off the west coast of Ireland. John Masterson in 17 and at that great crossroads in life. It's his last summer at home before he embarks on the adventure of university. But he's got problems to deal with. His father has moved out of the house after discovering his mother had sent a nude picture to another man. This has earned John the unfortunate nickname of Tits, much to the hilarity of his friends. He's also in a situationship with an older co-worker called Amber and hugely confused about how to navigate it. And he's on the verge of breaking into the local football team, along with all of the pressure that goes with it. It's a turbulent time, no doubt - mistakes will be made and hearts will be broken, but John will come out the other side all the wiser.

I enjoyed John Patrick McHugh's collection of short stories, Pure Gold, so I was excited to read his first novel. And I thought it was fine. As a chronicle of Irish country life it certainly succeeds. A small community where everybody helps out but also knows your business, the prominence of the local GAA club, the general lack of things to do - I appreciated all of these rural attributes and more (I come from the back of beyond in County Galway myself). And I thought that it did a good job of the depicting that awkward journey into adulthood, including the general puzzlement and uncertainty that comes with it. But I'm afraid I didn't find John all that interesting a character, or any of the supporting cast if I'm honest. Maybe it's because I recognized all of these people so well, coming from a similar background - they don't hold any particular intrigue for me. I also felt like McHugh was retreading a lot of the same ground as his previous work. I would like to see him spread his wings and tackle something other than life on a small Irish island, as his talent is in no doubt.

[Giorgia Legge Tanto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Questa storia parte molto bene perché sembra un racconto divertente e sarcastico sull'adolescenza maschile. Poi però si blocca e diventa un libro piatto senza capo né coda.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be gay based on the cover, but this was about an awful straight teenage boy exploring his sexuality. I feel deceived...

[Valentina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Se un romanzo Young Adult possiede un pregio universale, è solitamente la scorrevolezza: si può accettare una scrittura non proprio eccelsa se il ritmo tiene incollati alla pagina. Questo libro non ha nemmeno quel pregio. È di una noia mortale, talmente piatto e privo di mordente che mi ha richiesto un mese intero per essere portato a termine, e sia chiaro che il blocco non è stato causato da una prosa densa o stratificata, ma solo da una pesantezza infinita.
La trama si arena quasi subito in un’ossessione monotematica per il calcio, lasciando zero spazio a qualsiasi dinamica interessante. I personaggi e i loro legami sono semplicemente terribili, ma a raggiungere vette allucinanti è il protagonista: una red flag vivente, un concentrato di snobismo tossico che si vergogna della ragazza con cui esce solo perché lei fuma e non possiede una laurea. Un impianto relazionale che vorrebbe forse essere romantico o tormentato, ma che risulta solo profondamente irritante.
Cosa mi ha spinto a iniziarlo? L'endorsement di Sally Rooney. A questo punto, davanti a uno dei libri più brutti che abbia mai letto in vita mia, l'unica vera curiosità che mi resta è scoprire la cifra esatta con cui è stata pagata per scrivere una recensione positiva di questo scempio. Una stella è persino generosa.

[Oliver Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly incisive writing that vividly articulates its protagonist’s inarticulacy. Found it rough being in John’s head for all the second guessing, self awareness and indecision that comes with being a teenage boy, and felt for him despite his often frustrating, though entirely believable decisions. Full body flashbacks for some scenes, particularly the house party and John’s hilariously dramatic reaction to the taxis arriving.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5
'Fun and Games' is set on a small Irish island during the summer before college starts. It’s about friendship, football, first love and sex, and all the insecurities that go with it. John is 17 years old. He's not a child anymore but clearly he's not an adult either. There are many books about growing up from a female point of view, but this is one from a male point of view, and I think it's pretty well done. I would have liked to have seen more ‘show’ instead of ‘tell’ though. A pretty good coming of age debut novel all the same.
Thanks you Fourth Estate and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

[Remi · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly, i found this frustrating, repetitive, and ultimately bland. while i love football, even that couldn’t save the story from feeling monotonous. the protagonist’s summer of awkward encounters, small-town drama, and tentative romance just didn’t capture me.

i probably should have taken the hint from sally rooney’s blurb on the cover.

[Aoife D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was like it was wrote by a teenager, not because the writing was juvenile, because it felt like I was literally sitting inside the mind of a boy on the cusp of adulthood. It captures the self consciousness, self absorption and emotional intensity of teenage years brilliantly. Wanted to grab John by the shoulders and give him a good shaking countless times but was still rooting for him throughout. I did feel it was lacking a smally bit in something but as to what that was I don’t know, it just felt a little flat at times, but overall another great Irish contemporary fiction and debut.

[suzannah ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeous coming of age story that is laced with nostalgia and emotion. Another irish lit banger!

[Elena Longo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine primo tempo è un romanzo che ho apprezzato moltissimo, cosa che ho però capito con un certo ritardo. Non aspettatevi una lettura "semplice" perchè quello di John Patrick McHugh è un libro che costringe il lettore ad indossare degli abiti che troverà molto scomodi, provando una sensazione spiacevole che in alcuni momenti si trasforma in un disagio palpabile. Il punto di vista della storia è infatti quello di un ragazzo di diciassette anni di nome John, il quale, terminato l'ultimo anno delle superiori, divide il proprio tempo tra il calcio gaelico e un lavoro estivo presso un hotel dell'isola irlandese in cui vive. John è in effetti davanti alla fine del primo tempo della sua vita, pronto ad abbandonare l'isola e le dinamiche adolescenziali caratteristiche degli anni appena trascorsi a favore di un nuovo inizio a Galway per frequentare l'università. Il grande spartiacque nella sua maturazione è quindi molto prossimo, ma non si è ancora concretizzato. La vita del giovane è già caratterizzata da elementi che lasceranno comunque il segno: la diffusione di una foto intima della madre, che gli è valsa il soprannome di Tette e che ha portato il padre a trasferirsi, l'inizio di una relazione con una collega di un paio di anni più grande di nome Amber, con relativi alti e bassi... Quello di McHugh non è però un romanzo di formazione nella sua forma più canonica perchè se è vero che John sbaglia, ed anche tanto, è anche vero che non sempre impara dai propri errori. L'autore ha una grandissima capacità di introspezione riuscendo così a svelarci, un po' alla maniera di Sally Rooney, il mondo interiore del protagonista ed è proprio questo che rende la lettura a tratti respingente, perchè la mente di un giovane maschio diciassettenne non è facilmente approcciabile da un pubblico come quello dei lettori che è per la maggior parte femminile e di età superiore. In più potremmo dire che neanche a John piace essere John: come tutti i suoi coetanei è insicuro, ma si sente costretto a portare avanti una visione del mondo machista e patriarcale che non lo porta da nessuna parte se non ad autosabotarsi (vedi la relazione con Amber). Il lato tenero di John vi porterà a volerlo rassicurare, ma ci saranno dei momenti in cui da lettori vorrete solo prenderlo a schiaffi: vi assicuro che andrà bene così e che questo significa solo che Fine primo tempo è un gran bel romanzo.

[Juliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

“John had concluded that life was stuff that happened without your consent, your control […] Life careened into you and there was nothing you could do about it and so what was the point?” There’s much to enjoy in John Patrick McHugh’s debut novel Fun and Games: it’s well-written, in prose that rarely strays from being purposeful, sharp. Protagonist John feels very believable (though perhaps too much so — more on that shortly), and many of the other characters that round out the story feel just as fleshed-out as the lead, maybe more. Interestingly it’s mostly the women characters who feel the most nuanced, such as Amber (what we now might call John’s “situationship”), Kay (John’s sister), and above all Yvonne (John’s mother), who holds her head high in the face of judgement, and the endless disrespect of her own son. This leads me to my gripes: the men, however true-to-life this may or may not make them, largely have a flatness that makes them frustrating to read about, none more so than John himself. In fact I can’t think of the last time I had such disdain for a protagonist as John, who yes is a fallible 17 year old caught in a culture of misogyny and idiocy, but Christ alive is he pathetic about it all. I typically like unlikeable protagonists, but for me there has to be some facet that redeems them: I struggled to see it for John. And this made it a stultifying read, because it’s all about the life of someone I didn’t care about in the slightest. Maybe I’m not the right audience for a novel about a teenage Irish-football-playing straight lad who disrespects everyone and everything in his life and mostly just swings from whinging to raging. Maybe I’m secretly a moralist who needed to see John gain some meaningful self-awareness or comeuppance or something transformative…? But I liked McHugh’s writing, his use of John to probe questions of the end of youth and familial obligations, and I found myself — despite my sports apathy — quite enthralled by some of the passages about John’s games and practices. Out in April — thanks to 4th Estate for the proof!

[Fiona]

I tend to avoid books written from a male pov because the male mind is a frightening place I have little interest in and I should’ve stuck with that. I read the first chapter and it was…strange. Reading 12% and it was about fingering, his mother’s tits and GAA. From reading other reviews it seems the other 98% is not too different. So quite a quick DNF.

I also am Irish and though this book is set in the west of Ireland (something I had to double check because there’s some phrases used where I was a bit confused. Eg a girl is going away and the MC replies “Sham”. Sham the infamous Irish pint man? Huh?) If someone like me could be left confused I can’t imagine how this book will fare in other cultures.

[Jenny Claffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️
I really loved the writing style, and the story overall was right up my street. I adore a coming of age novel and Fun & Games nailed all the awkward parts of adolescence, the things I said and how important that last summer before adulthood feels.

I wish we got more insight into Amber. Unfortunately I felt as the book went on her characters purpose was less clear. I also have no interest in GAA so those chapters were a bit of a slog for me personally, but other than that this was a great read, especially for anyone who grew up in Ireland. A brilliant debut

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

culchie gaa men are actually beyond saving.... what if your characters didnt develop and just stayed cowardly melts....

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, nothing can compel me to care about Gaelic football. I do, however, appreciate the realism of how hard John fumbled Amber.

[Silvia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una noia infinita...sono arrivata in fondo solo perchè avevo la speranza che prima o poi succedesse qualcosa
Nessuna trama

[mari🥟🦦 · Rating 2 out of 5]

sono sempre gli uomini sfigati e complessati a far star male le cool girls per poi frignare se non vogliono più stare con loro

[Alessandra Brignola · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Fine primo tempo” racconta con rara precisione emotiva quel momento sospeso in cui l’adolescenza non è ancora finita e l’età adulta è già lì, a reclamare spazio.
Attraverso l’ultima estate di John Masterson, il romanzo intreccia desiderio, vergogna, amicizia, tensioni familiari e bisogno d’amore, restituendo con ironia e lucidità tutta la fragilità di un’età in cui ogni scelta sembra definitiva.
Un libro divertente, malinconico e molto acuto, capace di parlare di mascolinità, classe sociale e relazioni senza perdere leggerezza. Un romanzo di formazione autentico e profondamente umano.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this is pretty slow to get going, but it’s worth sticking with. It is a credit to the author and his painstakingly accurate rendition of rural gaa culture, that I both empathised with these boys and wanted to run them over with my car. Should be compulsory reading for paul mescal-pilled yanks, see what irish lads are actually like before they decide to emigrate here.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hilariously accurate portrayal of a 17 year old Irish boy’s inner thoughts. But, almost by definition, a bit pointless.

[Greta]

reikėjo prisijaukinti šitą knygą, iš pradžių atrodė tokia triviali, ką ten tas septyniolikmetis airis, tik žaidžia futbolą ir laksto paskui mergų. bet vėliau pradėjo žavėti specifinė rašymo maniera ir net visas nejautraus berniuko coming of age (dažniausiai juk būna arba mergaitės, arba jautrūs vyrukai). tie pasirinkimai, nesusivokimai, persigalvojimai, paprastumas, mažas pasaulis. fun and games, nors tu ką.

patiks: kam buvo įdomus connellio iš normal people personažas
nepatiks: kam neįdomūs baltų bernaičių vargai ir godos

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Masterson is like every teenage boy I’ve ever known. Unknowingly cruel, majorly insecure and completely selfish. He should have been unlikeable but he wasn’t; he was charmingly quite dopey and idiotic and so incredibly realistic he could have stepped off the page and I’d have barely noticed.

The plot isn’t one of much excitement, instead it details the everyday emotional landscape of a teenage boy, and as a 23 year woman, I was aware this was not really for me nor relatable to my experiences. For that reason I will be encouraging all the young men in my life to read this because it did really capture the angst and horror of being a teenager. It was a little bit long I think for what it was, and the last quarter was by the far the best bit, but once I got into it and understood what it was actually trying to do, I enjoyed it a lot more.

McHugh’s writing isn’t like anything I’ve read before, both conversational and intentionally repetitive, but that’s because, well, teenagers are dull and repetitive about the things only they care about. I enjoyed seeing John go on a (very slow) journey towards the future and I ended up feeling quite hopeful by the end.

[Luna · Rating 1 out of 5]

BORINGGGGGGGG 😪 Mi aspettavo completamente un’altra cosa, ma poi davvero dai non succede NIENTE, un sacco di trame che potevano essere sviluppate e invece …niente, il nulla cosmico, stavo per abbandonarlo ma sarebbe stato il mio primo libro abbandonato quindi per la curiosità alla fine, non so come, sono arrivata in fondo, ma non si è comunque ripreso

[Charlotte Ashhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, felt like I was inside the mind of a 17 year old boy, a truly terrifying place!