OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea

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 
_______________ 
 
Patrick Freyne has tried a lot of stupid ideas in his life. Now, 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. 
______________ 
 
'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' SINÉAD 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 
 
'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 NÍ GHRÍOFA

One of the year's funniest books ... witty, wise and worth returning to again and again

Funny, smart, soulful and sometimes devastating, this book shows life in all its shades. It made me laugh and cry

Warm, wry, charming, absorbing ... It's the most gorgeous and heartbreaking book about humans and why we need each other

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

Patrick Freyne has a distinct and enviable gift for story-telling ... Full of humour and tenderness, this book is an absolute JOY

Sinéad Gleeson, author of Constellations

One of the best-written, smartest and gosh-darn-it funniest books I've read in a very long while

Hilariously, painfully, Freynefully brilliant

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

A cracking, sad, funny, honest, brave and hilarious read

No one makes me laugh like Patrick Freyne

Superb ... The stories move from breathtakingly vulnerable to extraordinarily funny, and all with such skill and lightness of touch. I loved it

I don't know another writer who could balance poignancy and hilarity with such grace ... Goosebumps! Guffaws! It's got it all. I love this book

A riotous read from the get-go ... An absolute tonic for our times

F*cking fantastic. Patrick is a brilliant writer

A wonderful book ... done with a gorgeous twist of humour and great emotional insight ... One of my books of the year

Exquisite ... One of the funniest writers in Ireland

Immensely readable, warm, human and very, very funny

Pixies were loud-quiet-loud. Patrick Freyne is funny-sad-funny. I really loved his new book

Readers are sure to find themselves touched by Freyne's writing ... Delightful

Freyne's thoroughly entertaining debut is a flash of warmth and wit in the darkness

Genuinely moving ... [It] will evoke warmth in anyone who isn't totally sociopathic

A delightful insight into the mind of the hilarious Patrick Freyne

So honest, so funny, and most importantly, 11/10 for self-deprecation

Freyne's radar is precision-honed to find the madness within the mundane

More moving that I ever expected and somehow funnier than I assumed

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.

Patrick Freyne

Rich, funny, moving and alive. The Commitments for a generation who grew up burning their own CDs off dodgy LimeWire MP3s.

Beautiful, big-hearted, silly and profound

A wonderfully evocative novel from a major storytelling talent.

The experience of reading Experts in a Dying Field feels kaleidoscopic, as each twist reveals the vividness of each character’s particular sorrows and guilts and griefs, and above all, the force of friendship. Clever, warm and moving, it’s a remarkable book, thrumming with music and with love.

A paean to friendship, forgiveness and the power of music, told with the blend of empathy and wit that is Freyne's trademark. I loved this book

Brimming with musicality and the wild, unpredictable energy of a session, this book hums with life, told with the rigour and brilliance of one of Ireland’s finest minds. As profound as it is hilarious, Freyne’s voice is unmistakable: clever, tender, and original. Read it once, then read it again. Then go to the pub.

A poignant and beautifully observed novel about the heroic underdogs of the music underground and the dreams and friendships that were forged there. Patrick Freyne writes about his characters with humour, care and loving attention.

Kaleidoscopic, witty, boisterous and warm, Experts in a Dying Field confirms Patrick Freyne as a writer who cares deeply about people.

A sharply funny and tender book. You can hear the music coming off every page. Wonderful.

Sizzles with hope, laughs and the tensions that come from knowing someone in their brighter, younger days and wishing, perhaps, that you've left them there. Nostalgic, darkly funny, and real – perfect for anyone trying to make sense of what it means to have history.

The Heathens thought of themselves as 'the 1000th best band of all time'. Then their tour van crashed, and one of their members died.Twenty years later, weird things are happening in Dublin, bringing the surviving members of the band together in ways none of them could have anticipated and lifting the lid on mysteries from their shared past.Experts in a Dying Field is a gloriously sharp, witty and surprising novel about friendship, secrets, the strange workings of grief and guilt, and the joyful alchemy of music, from a writer with a unique ability to access humour and deep emotion.

Patrick Freyne

Praise for Experts in a Dying Field

Rich, funny, moving and alive. The Commitments for a generation who grew up burning their own CDs off dodgy LimeWire MP3s.

Beautiful, big-hearted, silly and profound

A wonderfully evocative novel from a major storytelling talent.

Rich, funny, moving and alive. The Commitments for a generation who grew up burning their own CDs off dodgy LimeWire MP3s.

Beautiful, big-hearted, silly and profound

A wonderfully evocative novel from a major storytelling talent.

Rich, funny, moving and alive. The Commitments for a generation who grew up burning their own CDs off dodgy LimeWire MP3s.

Beautiful, big-hearted, silly and profound

A wonderfully evocative novel from a major storytelling talent.

Books by Patrick Freyne

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter