Handy Andy: A Tale of Irish Life. Volume 1

The great Irish comic tradition begins here, with a hero whose heart is gold but whose hands are forever calamity. Andy Rooney is that rare literary creation: a man whose every act of kindness explodes in his face, whose earnest attempts to help cascade into magnificent chaos, and who somehow remains utterly lovable through it all. Set in the Irish countryside of the 1840s, Lover's novel captures a world where community is everything, where Andy's constant missteps become occasions for warmth rather than shame. His mother dotes on him despite the chaos, the squire regards him with exasperated affection, and the entire village has learned to brace for disaster whenever Handy Andy appears with that eager, doomed expression. Whether attempting to catch a wild horse, deliver a message, or simply mind his own business, Andy transforms the mundane into the catastrophic with an almost supernatural gift for choosing the wrong approach. The humor never turns cruel, and Andy's genuine good nature shines through every catastrophe. Lovers of comic characters from Ignatius J. Reilly to Bridget Jones will recognize the archetype: the lovable fool whose heart is always in the right place, even when his hands are not.