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LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021

‘One of the year’s funniest books’ i Paper

‘Funny, smart, soulful and sometimes devastating … It made me laugh and cry’ EMILIE PINE, author of Notes to Self

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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.
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‘Patrick Freyne is a comic genius’ MARIAN KEYES

‘Clever, lovely and great, great fun’ RODDY DOYLE

‘Funny and adorable’ NINA STIBBE

‘The most gorgeous and heartbreaking book about humans and why we need each other’ DAISY BUCHANAN

‘Hilariously, painfully, Freynefully brilliant’ JOSEPH O’CONNOR

‘Wonderful … One of my books of the year’ RYAN TUBRIDY

‘Full of humour and tenderness, this book is an absolute JOY’ SINEAD GLEESON

‘F*cking fantastic. Patrick is a brilliant writer’ BLINDBOY BOATCLUB

‘A cracking, sad, funny, honest, brave and hilarious read’ LIZ NUGENT

‘Guffaw-out-loud funny’ Business Post

‘Patrick Freyne is a writer of rare humour, depth, and humanity. These essays are a delight’ MARK O’CONNELL, author of To Be a Machine

‘Goosebumps! Guffaws! It’s got it all. I love this book’ DOIREANN NI GHRIOFA

‘This book is truly gorgeous and deserves to be read’ EITHNE SHORTALL

Publisher Review

One of the best-written, smartest and gosh-darn-it funniest books I've read in a very long while -- Seamus O'Reilly Superb ... The stories move from breathtakingly vulnerable to extraordinarily funny, and all with such skill and lightness of touch. I loved it -- Louise O'Neill No one makes me laugh like Patrick Freyne -- Paul Howard Whether he's writing about his childhood on a military base, working in a kebab shop with a nazi in his teens, playing in punk bands in his twenties, or grappling with the question of whether to have children, Patrick Freyne is a writer of rare humour, depth, and humanity. These essays are a delight. -- Mark O'Connell, author of To Be a Machine Hilariously, painfully, Freynefully brilliant -- Joseph O'Connor Patrick Freyne has a distinct and enviable gift for story-telling ... Full of humour and tenderness, this book is an absolute JOY. -- Sinead Gleeson, author of Constellations I was reminded - very happily reminded - of Kurt Vonnegut. But Patrick Freyne is his own writer and this book is clever, lovely and great, great fun -- Roddy Doyle Patrick Freyne is a comic genius -- Marian Keyes Funny, smart, soulful and sometimes devastating, this book shows life in all its shades. It made me laugh and cry. Freyne catalogues his own flaws with a disarming frankness, pays tribute to his friends and family, and mourns those he has lost. Perhaps most movingly, this book articulates the daily struggle to face our own vulnerabilities. -- Emilie Pine, author of Notes to Self