OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea
Patrick Freyne
Penguin Books
At one point during OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea, Patrick Freyne’s friend tells him that Freyne likes ‘liminal spaces’. Freyne’s interpretation of this is that he likes ‘marginal, in-betweeny things’. Industrial estates, for example, evoke a sense of homecoming in Freyne because they usually mean that a car journey is nearly over. Throughout this endearing collection of essays, Freyne displays again and again this gift for finding hope in the humdrum.
For the uninitiated, Patrick Freyne is a journalist and features writer for the Irish Times. Before he turned to writing, Freyne spent time as a rock star, a carer and a dishwasher on the set of Braveheart (though not all at the same time). This wide range of life experiences makes reading Freyne feel like having a chat with your cool older cousin that you’re always happy to hear is coming to a family event.
Amongst the hope though, as always, there is melancholy, and Freyne writes with a sensitive honesty about his experiences with grief, loss and his struggles with depression. These quieter moments provide a powerful counterweight to the humour that Freyne is equally fluent in.
For all of us, 2020 has no doubt felt like a bit of a liminal space. We’ve all been experiencing a limbo of some kind. Freyne’s thoroughly entertaining debut is a flash of warmth and wit in the darkness.
Words: Joe Joyce
