Damien Owens

There are so many weird mismatched elements here—despite what the back cover promised, I didn't find this either "hilarious" or "heartwarming"; despite what the title promised, this isn't really centred on the father-son relationship of Eugene and Jim (though that's present) so much as it is on Eugene (sort of) coming to terms with some traumatic issues in his past. There are some mildly funny lines and moments, but as the book progressed the family interactions felt increasingly forced, show more and there are some things that happen that I think the reader is supposed to find funny in a sitcom-y way but that I just found uncomfortable and even on the verge of upsetting. (For personal reasons, it turns out that there is something I can find more upsetting than a plot point involving Alzheimer's—it's a plot point involving faked Alzheimer's!) Damien Owens seemed to be aiming for tragicomic or something, but it just didn't hit for me. It just ended up being an uneasy slurry of things that were neither hilarious nor heartwarming. I guess kudos to Owens for the rare feat of writing a novel set in contemporary Ireland that's not set in one of the main coastal cities but I did not vibe with this one. show less

Very funny and cute (for the most part). Eugene Duffy is perturbed by the fact that his son is turning 40 and shows no interest in women, in moving out of the house, or in much of anything, really. Eugene owns a hardware store which he opened about 40 years earlier after he and his wife married. He is now turning 70 and has turned the keys over to his son.

During their marriage, Eugene's wife had several affairs (some that he was aware of) and eventually ran off with a traveling salesman (ok show more maybe not a traveling salesman but someone just as cliché), leaving the cuckolded Eugene to raise two kids on his own. Eugene is a hoot, and we listen to his inner snarky curmudgeonly reflections from page one of the novel. I laugh and giggle out loud, while listening to books on my evening constitutional. This is probably why all the dogs in the neighborhood take the liberty of lunging at the oblivious crazy old bat, crossing their paths. If you read in the evening tabloids that a looney old lady pepper-sprayed an "innocent" dog-owner out for a stroll with its dog, you'll know it was me!

So there you have it - it takes one to know one, and this old curmudgeon was definitely on the same wavelength as our protagonist, at least for most of the novel.

It became obvious early on in the book that the rambling was going to reach a point/climax somewhere along the line. Those poignant and/or serious bits were my least favorite parts of the book, but they didn't interfere with my overall enjoyment.

I think the funniest scene in the book is when Eugene decides that he should push his son to go out for salsa lessons at the neighborhood social club. Eurgene joins for the evening, sizing up all the women in the room in search of the perfect gal for his son. While doing so he makes a major faux pas or two with uproarious repercussions. I loved it.

This is a quick and fun read. Mostly heartwarming. Did I mention that the book takes place in Ireland? The raspy narration was very good - I combined audio with ebook to move thing along. show less

Oh what a fun and entertaining novel. Listened to this on audio and the narrator Gerry O’ Brien really brings the story and characters to life.

Eugene Duffy is turning 70 and his son is turning 40, both have had their share of tough times but Eugene is determined that his son finds love and the process is comical and hilarious.
I loved Eugene and he is a true Monaghan man and has words at will and the majority of those words are swear words.

I enjoyed every moment spent with this novel show more and I really look forward to reading more books by this author. show less