{"product_id":"nation-once-again-book-paul-howard-9781844886906","title":"A Nation Once Again","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE NO 1 BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe hilarious new satire from the bestselling author of the \u003ci\u003eRoss O'Carroll-Kelly \u003c\/i\u003eseries\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Funny, smart. seriously thought-provoking' \u003cb\u003eJoseph O'Connor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Hilarious, bang-on, even slightly disturbing - everything I love about Paul Howard's writing.' \u003cb\u003eRoddy Doyle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘I absolutely LOVED \u003ci\u003eA Nation Once Again\u003c\/i\u003e. It was such a huge pleasure to read, I laughed out loud so many times. Paul Howard is a literal genius.’\u003cb\u003e Marian Keyes\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e---\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere’s only one idea more foolish than dividing Ireland – and that’s trying to put it back together again.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeet Fiach O’Bric: career diplomat, recent widower, and a man looking forward to a peaceful retirement. But just when he thinks he's out, he is strong-armed into taking over a shadowy top-secret department tasked with preparing for a United Ireland — a job so surreal it makes his last posting, in Beijing, seem like a Buddhist retreat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRunning the Department with Responsibility for Making Arrangements for the Unification of Ireland, an outfit quietly failing since 1958, Fiach finds himself managing a team of oddballs, timeservers, and a die-hard nationalist from Dundalk. And he spends his days refereeing rows about everything everyone has failed to agree for about 800 years, as well as absurd new suggestions – like conjuring a capital city that nobody actually wants. In Westmeath. Nothing is too crazy to be proposed, nor too sensible to be rejected.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFiach can feel the hand of history upon his shoulder. He suspects it may soon throttle him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet, against his better judgement — and all available evidence — a dangerous thought takes hold. What if \u003ci\u003ehe\u003c\/i\u003e could be the one to do what Tone, Pearse and centuries of Irish martyrs failed to do: make Ireland one, and somehow not die in the process.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDream on, Fiach.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e---\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Funny, smart and provocative, the scariest thing about this novel is that it might be based on fact.' \u003cb\u003eJohn Boyne\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Disgracefully funny’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Best thing he’s ever done – I am in awe’\u003cb\u003e Róisín Ingle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Very funny’ \u003cb\u003ePatrick Freyne\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Riotously funny with a cast of characters I was sad to leave.' \u003cb\u003eSarah Breen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘I LOVED IT! It is funny, sharp, super-smart and thoughtful.’ \u003cb\u003eEmily Hourican\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Pure farce … funny and scabrous’ \u003cb\u003eSeamus O’Reilly, \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Hilarious’\u003cb\u003e RTÉ Guide\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Very funny … comic but deeply insightful’ \u003cb\u003eMatt Cooper\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A great read’ \u003cb\u003eHugh Linehan, \u003ci\u003eInside Politics podcast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘It was well worth dividing Ireland in the first place for this brilliant book.’ \u003cb\u003eDeclan Lynch\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Properly hilarious’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Expertly mines the North's sectarian granite to produce a masterpiece of fact and hilarity. I almost passed out.'\u003cb\u003e Joe Brolly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This playful novel showcases Howard's gift for one-liners and comic scenarios.’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53402759266577,"sku":"NGR9781844886906","price":22.89,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":54684325085457,"sku":"NLS9781844886906","price":22.89,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781844886906.jpg?v=1788465037","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/nation-once-again-book-paul-howard-9781844886906","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}