Ava wants to be herand wants her. "Hands down one of the most anticipated debuts of the yearA piercingly provocative look at modern love and power games." Every time she typed out a note in her phone to send to the other characters, only to delete it, my soul died a little. Until she got pregnant at fifteen, she'd . However, I soon grew to really like this, as I became used to her inner thoughts. East and West collide in a timely and bittersweet novel of loyalty, love, and the siren call of freedom. Do put it on your TBR and let me know what you think." In Naoise Dolan's 'Exciting Times,' an Irish ex-pat in Hong Kong lands in a love triangle. Ava is an accurately drawn emblem of the zeitgeist, but as such, she stands apart from it, isolated. It also turned into a really beautiful queer love story, taking turns I hadnt anticipated at the outset of the novel. Sure, her salary is good compared to the locals, but ending things with Julian would mean shed have to, gasp, live like they do, in coffin homes.. Naoise Dolan is an Irish novelist. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. Trouble signing in? She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. Exciting Times, which was acquired in a seven-way bidding war, more than lives up to the . I dove right in and read from beginning to end, and now Im giving thanks that such a book exists in the worldlight, sweet, sad, true. With a similar rhythm of detachment and sparsity found in Rooney and Ottessas writing, I can see why comparisons are being drawn, and I dont think this comparison does Dolan any disservice. . A variety of explanations for this have been proposed; The Lancet's "Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism" commented that it "might be part of a different concept of self, less reliance on or reference to social norms, or part of a . Blume knows the way kids and teens speak, but her two female leads are less credible as they reach adulthood. 2. She obtained an English degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2016 and later a Master's Degree in Victorian Literature from Oxford University. Sally Rooney-endorsed. Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. Fiercely intelligent, brutally funny and written with such heart, Exciting Times announces an impressive new voice in literature. Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Just $45 for 12 months or Exciting Times is very funny in its cool observation and the way it takes us inside Avas spirals of overthinking. Its something I appreciate in memoirs and also in literary fiction. Youre not easily pleased with how other people put sentences together, Julian accuses, but when it comes to money, youve got no taste. 23 year old Ava moves to Hong Kong to escape Ireland. Reviews: Trustpilot. The following is excerpted from Naoise Dolan's debut novel, Exciting Times, an excerpt of which was published in The Stinging Fly by Sally Rooney. Her sentences are sharp and confident, especially for a debut. HarperCollins. Naoise Dolan has been compared to Sally Rooney, and I definitely think fans ofConversations With Friendsmay like this one more than I did!" @bookish_molly. It would definitely have been helpful to have a general idea of the geopolitics between Ireland/Britain/Hong Kong. ), She and Edith are a love story, but also a fear story. Some will declare Ava sharp and wise and funny, a hyper-relatable protagonist. After high school, Caitlin travels the world and cant understand why Vix, by now at Harvard on a scholarship and determined to have a better life than her mother has had, wont drop out and join her. @kelseylovesbooks. BookBrowse LLC 1997-2023. If Sally Rooney couldn't write, was more cynical and forgot everything about subtlety and realistic characterisation and dialogue. If you love prose sprinkled with sarcasm, characters who could use some serious self-improvement, and complicated love stories, thenExciting Timeswill likely appeal to you. ROMANCE | I loved the IG stalking references, so current and fun to read. Books that read fast, cut fluff, and get to the point are your jam. The prose is interesting; the way Dolan writes the dialogue is natural; the conversations back home with family felt real in a way that many writing about calling home don't. And sometimes youre just not sure anything looks good and nothing quite fits right. She's a young Irish woman, after all, and she'd written a . [2] She experienced homophobic bullying in school. A gut-punch of a novel about a Cherokee child removed from her family and sent to a Christian boarding school in the 1950s. But boy, this novel feels so liveless and fake. Because truly, if you love her books, dont sleep on this one. This book is very clever and very busy being very clever making it tiring to read but being a millennial seems pretty exhausting so perhaps its captured a lived experience. His privilege is the invisible third party in the relationship. Add to cart. There are intimate moments here, even if they do occur at one remove. in part two, we watch her coming into the light. Its not easy to sustain interest in someone so relentlessly floundering for self-knowledge, and the book flags once Ava and Edith are together. (How can you tell whether you like someone? I took some time getting used to the narrators voice, but once I did, I became completely absorbed in Avas story. Enter Edith. Phoebe Dynevor, the glamorous lead of Netflix's Bridgerton, is set to star and executive produce Exciting Times. The novel takes place a few years after the 2014 Umbrella Movement, peaceful demonstrations that galvanized Hong Kongs youth, who were demanding open elections, in a renewed spirit of protest. Straight romance. Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info and giveaways by email. "Telling Time to Minute" contains high-end 3D animations that explain abstract topics visually in detail to understand it more easily. But there are nuances that made me literally stop reading and think about what Dolan had wrote. Exciting Times. Search: But that's what I really enjoyed about thisthe characters felt real and the uncertainty and non-committal situations also felt very real. But Im going to just get it out of the way, for Naoise Dolan is Irish, in her mid-20s, and her debut was previewed in literary magazine, Naoise Dolan: 'I'm not good at presenting myself as likable', Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan review a witty, deadpan debut, 'The stakes were really high': the stars bringing Sally Rooney's Normal People to TV, 'My family are too frightened to read my book': meet Europe's most exciting authors, Sally Rooney: 'I want the next thing I do to be the best thing Ive ever done', 'All words are not equal': the debut novelist who's become a lockdown sensation, Tiger King and a bloody mary: Hilary Mantel, Simon Armitage and other writers on lockdown life, Introducing our 10 best debut novelists of 2020. Sigh. Do you re-read witty comebacks to try and bake them into your mind should you ever need them? The answer Exciting Times seems to offer is yes, in this case they are just as shallow and myopic as one would assume. What listeners say about Exciting Times Average Customer Ratings. When Julian returns to London for six months for work, Ava meets Edith, a smart and beautiful Hong Kong lawyer. Its a story about intimacy, vulnerability, being alone, and being different versions of yourself with different people. From the jump, Ava approaches the world with cleareyed humor. This book also brought back so many memories from my trip to Hong Kong with my friends after college graduation (swipe!). In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself. But while it had a similar vibe and a cast of millennials, it definitely had more of a dry and cutting tone to it. The middle section was slightly better than the beginning, there was an ounce of truth to it, but then it nosedived again. Who said I liked you? he counters. The years pass by at a fast and steamy clip in Blumes latest adult novel (Wifey, not reviewed; Smart Women, 1984) as two friends find loyalties and affections tested as they grow into young women. Its a layered book because of these factors, and it works in the storys favor. Naoise Dolan's debut novel Exciting Times is to be made into a television series in the United States by Black Bear Pictures, whose credits include the 2014 Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game. With Ava still living in Julians apartment, she and Edith fall into a quick friendship that evolves into a relationship. Naoise Dolan June 2, 2020. Exciting Times is a fun, snappy read ordinarily, Id say its short chapters could be torn through on your commute, but itll brighten lockdown too. [3] A college debater, she co-convened the Irish Mace competition in 2015/16. 4. Though this model of relationship-as-power-struggle is hardly new, Dolan brings a fresh 21st-century sensibility to it. Queer romance. I cant wait to read what Dolan writes next. Exciting Times? Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. However, as a TEFL teacher, Ava struggles with a myriad of contemplative problems and inner issues as she comes to terms with her feelings for both Julian and Edith. "When you are craving a loveable story with depth and true character developmentthis should be your next read.". Exciting Times Naoise Dolan. Ava admires how Julian handles his advantages, how he could calmly note where he benefited from unfairness not self-indulgently like I often did, but factually. As their undefined relationship goes on, she begins to develop her own brand of romantic longing, which begins with a desire for his life of privilege. Sentences are short. Again, this recalls Rooney, who uses emails both sent and unsent as a potent fictional technique, and writes in Normal People that the network is a form of intelligence in itself, containing them both, and containing their feelings for each other. EXCITING TIMES is an acerbic tale of sex and love, set in the social media age * The Herald Scotland * Incredibly readable * Belfast Telegraph * With Naoise Dolan on the literary scene, there are EXCITING TIMES ahead * i-D * The Irish debut novel everyone is talking about * The Gloss * I savoured every shrewd line * Dazed * A sharp, witty and . Add to cart. About the author (2020) Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. More from Star Tribune. - Book Riot You like an unreliable narrator (thinkEleanor Oliphant) as you read. The Irish debut novel everyone is talking about.' - The Gloss. Absent the textures of a real city that is sharply divided along generational, ideological and class lines, Dolans novel could have taken place in any other major Asian metropolis. I could see it forever, for us: walking through cities, laughing at things that werent that funny. When Julian tells her hes returning to Hong Kong, she must navigate the precarious situation shes inadvertently created. In stylish, uncluttered prose, Naoise Dolan dissects the personal and financial transactions that make up a life - and announces herself as a singular new voice. , Dry humor can be hard to execute on the page, but Naoise Dolan does so effortlessly and its evident from the very first pages. She studied at Trinity College, followed by a master's in Victorian literature at Oxford. A young millennial finds herself in a love triangle with a man and woman. evenings that often end in drunken blackouts or in bed with her sort-of boyfriend Julian, who . Ava, a 22-year-old Dubliner living in Hong Kong, describes herself as good at men. Categories: Here goes apologies if this review gets a bit ranty.

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