Politics, class, and race anxiously hover over the entire novel. Though the wedding briefly revives Vixs old feelings for Bru, whom Caitlin is marrying, Vix is soon in love with Gus, another old summer friend, and a more compatible match. I need to have a protagonist I can rally behindand Avas self-pitying rants just made me irritated and wanting her to find a good therapist. Avas character provides us with biting social commentary. Naoise is an author I know Ill follow throughout her writing career, and that excites me. She said "completely" a lot and usually dropped the "t" in the middle. Dolan writes about some of the social and political changes happening on the island, and its really interesting to consider this novel a time capsule for some of the last, perhaps, 'golden years' of the Anglo-European expat life in Hong Kong. Emotions are dealt with baldly, dryly: Anyway, I hated her, says Ava about Victoria, a moneyed friend of Julians. @brigittesbookshelf, "Lovers of Sally Rooney will absolutely devour this book. Overall, the #ReadWithMC community had trouble relating to Ava, mainly due to her passive aggressiveness and inability to speak the truth to fellow characters in the book. Naoise Dolan: seasons the novel with insights about class, gender, race and language. Abbi Jacobson $28.00 in cart add to cart About Support / Help Become an Affiliate Gift Cards Careers - We're hiring! Spam Free: Your email is never shared with anyone; opt out any time. Naoise Dolan will be an auto-buy for me in the future." The novel goes on to discuss the history of colonialism by the British of the Irish and Hong Kong. @readtotheend. NOTE: I am coming in here a little over a year after writing this because I have changed a bit as a reader and reviewer, and want this, which is still getting eyes on it pretty constantly, to reflect that. LITERARY FICTION | With Julian away, the women bond and Ava must interrogate herself over a whole new range of feelings. For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for theMarie Clairenewsletter. @suzylew_bookreview, "Love triangle. But did I like Exciting Times? ), She and Edith are a love story, but also a fear story. Perhaps because Ava's first love interest, Julian, uncomfortably reminded me of someone from my past! 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. Current research indicates that autistic people have higher rates of LGBT identities and feelings than the general population. None of the English-speaking characters seek to venture beyond their established social circles, where even brief references to elections or the conditions of domestic workers are dismissed as white savior-ish. They barely notice the Chinese characters on street signs, let alone try to understand them. Her debut novel, Exciting Times, was a Sunday Times bestseller, widely translated, and optioned for television. Edith is a local, sophisticated, and enthusiastic lawyer who falls in love with Ava and isnt afraid to say so. However, they did enjoy the political and historical references throughout the novel, albeit having to do a bit of research on the topics themselves. Both are well-educated and earning a good living. NY 10036. But that's what I really enjoyed about thisthe characters felt real and the uncertainty and non-committal situations also felt very real. Exciting Times. Similarly to her feelings about Julian, Ava becomes obsessed with Edith, to the point where she begins wondering if Edith will be her girlfriend. 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.. Shortly after, she meets native Hong Kong-turned-boarding-school-broad, Edith. Categories: Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. The answer Exciting Times seems to offer is yes, in this case they are just as shallow and myopic as one would assume. Exciting Times is a beautiful novel written by the famous author Naoise Dolan. 5.79. Exciting Times Naoise Dolan $27.99 $26.03 in cart add to cart I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and. Dolan seasons the novel with insights about class, gender, race, colonialism, and language, though the result does not always bring depth of flavour. It felt authentic, less an added 'interesting' point, but a way of being that felt effortless. Exciting Times Book Rating. 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. I have a feeling this one is going to be popping up on lots of summer 2020 must read lists! I personally found that to be utterly fascinating. Nordstrom has been the go-to destination for fashion editors alike, and this season is no different. A Hong Kongborn lawyer, striking and ambitious, Edith takes Ava to the theater and leaves her tulips in the hallway. In July, we'll be reading Brit Bennett's bestselling novel,The Vanishing Half (opens in new tab). With Naoise Dolan on the literary scene, there are Exciting Times ahead.' - i-D. Categories: She is also obsessive and over-analytical in her thoughts about both Julian and Edith. Politics, grammar, and morality are explored with quick jabs and sharp wording. Her elegantly simple writing allows her ideas and musings to shine. New RRP 14.99. "Overall, this surprising novel is believable and piercingly written, with many hilarious linesFor fans of Rachel Khong's Goodbye, Vitamin." $15 for 3 months. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. ), On a personal level, I found Avas character very insular and detached, but the moments that worked their way under my skin were those where she drafted text messages which she didnt send. 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. She has been short-listed and long-listed for several prizes, including the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Sunday Times Young Writer . Surely, Dolan has much in common with the immensely popular Rooney in terms of themes and style. I know its frustrating that any new young female writer must find themselves compared to Sally Rooney. In addition to appearing in best selling lists in the original English, it has also been translated into Italian where it has got rave reviews. After a local waiter replies to her English greeting in Cantonese, an irritated Edith points out one of Avas blind spots: Youre not noticing because youre white, she says, people see me and assume Im from here. Edith might let Ava off the hook, but why should todays reader do the same? Naoise Dolan is a queer and autistic Irish writer born in Dublin. I'm highly anticipating another Naoise Dolan book, I wonder if there could be another instalment of Ava going by Exciting Times book ending. I wasn't immediately sucked inI think when Edith entered the picture, I became a lot more engaged. 2. Already drawing comparisons to Sally Rooney's work, "Exciting Times," by Naoise Dolan, has many of the familiar tropes of the "millennial . If you like this book that's totally up to you, I just wanted to share some of my own thoug. I know everyone says this, but there are so many similarities I saw between this andNormal People. But the intellectual aura inserted across the novel felt taut and occasionally reaching. Lots of reviews are making the Rooney 'millennial lit' comparison which is fair but I'd add. Exciting Timesis a smart and funny book that deals with class, money, bisexuality, and the uncertainties of modern love through the eyes of a narrator that is scared to be loved. "Gaydars . (Ecco, 256 pp., $16.99.) - Book Riot Everyone should read it right now. Youre not a fan of unreliable narrators (hiit me), 3. 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. Naoise Dolan - Exciting Times: A Novel Audiobook. She's instructing the dispassionate topic of grammar to youngsters in Hong Kong. Exciting Times takes place in Hong Kong around 2015, when 22 year-old Ava leaves Ireland to take a job as a TEFL teacher and find her own way in the world.This is a novel of many layers. "Hands down one of the most anticipated debuts of the yearA piercingly provocative look at modern love and power games." New York, I think these were used as great insights. Naoise's debut novel EXCITING TIMES was published by W&N in the UK and by Ecco in the US in 2020, and became a Sunday Times bestseller, widely translated and optioned for TV. I love books about disaster women and unlike many of my bookish friends do not seem to tire of them at all. When Julian plans to return to Hong Kong, Ava must come clean to Edith and decide for herself which life she wants to live: one with romance and adventure or money and comfort. , Something small I enjoyed was the depiction of Ava's queerness. While there, Ava meets Julian, a rich banker from London, who invites her to move into his home. GENERAL FICTION, by audible mp3, ePUB (Android), kindle, and audiobook. I rolled my eyes a few times. In November we went for brunch on Aberdeen Street with Ralph, pronounced 'Rafe', who'd gone to Balliol with Julian, now worked at . 4. She has been short-listed and long-listed for several prizes, including the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. "Aimless Ava moves from Dublin to Hong Kong looking to find purpose for her life. Ava, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children. Millennials floundering in the realms of the heart. Dolan is particularly good at capturing the way men talk to women whom they mistakenly think are not as smart as they are. Like New Very Good Good. Sentences are short. Related Post: Why You Should Buy a Kindle 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. In this, shes reminiscent of Sally Rooneys precarious young women, whose struggle for self-affirmation is so snarled up with the power dynamics of sex. Its a great pick for everyone whos sensitive and introspective, but also cynical and scared of relationships." "If I had to describe this book to someone in two sentences it would be like this:Eleanor OliphantandNormal Peoplegot together and had a baby. She writes fiction, essays, criticism and features for publications including The London Review of Books, The Guardian and Vogue.Her debut novel Exciting Times was published by W&N in the UK and by Ecco in the US in 2020, and became a Sunday Times . Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the sites day-to-day editorial operations. His privilege is the invisible third party in the relationship. Do you re-read witty comebacks to try and bake them into your mind should you ever need them? I really am. I related to it immensely. @bookcrazyblogger. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire, where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. Regardless, I encourage you to seek outExciting Timesfor yourself because I know so many of you are hungry for reading experiences that capture the complexities of love, personal politics, and the precariousness that comes with being young and lost and in love. Her elegantly simple writing allows her ideas and musings to shine. Our parents had divorced when I was a baby, and now lived in different counties in the west of Ireland. EXCITING TIMES. I know it's frustrating that any new young female writer must find themselves compared to Sally Rooney. EXCITING TIMES is a joy from start to finish, and the perfect balm for these times-fresh, funny, sharp. Condition - Like New. Get help and learn more about the design. Honestly. There is just something I really appreciate about women writing about women making terrible choices and being honest about that while they are doing it. Both intonations feel native to its 22 . Exciting Timesfollows Ava, a young Irish woman living in Hong Kong and her relationship with Julian and Edith. Naoise Dolan'sExciting Times (opens in new tab)drew instant comparisons to Sally Rooney'sConversations with Friends (opens in new tab)(2017) andNormal People (opens in new tab)(2019)perhaps because Dolan and Rooney are both brilliant Irish writers who instill a dry sense of humor in their characters. Like Rooney, Dolan writes in a deadpan style. BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfictionbooks that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading, you wish the author that wrote it was a Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes! Deadline reports that the actress will star in and produce Exciting Times, a "contemporary romance with a twist" adapted from Irish author Naoise Dolan's novel of the same name. Exciting Times. Retrieve credentials. In fact, Exciting Times (talk about a misleading title) reads like a dry, emotionless version of Conversations with Friends without the subtle characterization and psychological realism that made Rooney a household name. Politically alert, heartbreakingly raw, and dryly funny, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love. Figures such as Victoria serve to generate much of the books caustic wit. Exciting Times is her first novel, an excerpt from which was published in The Stinging Fly by Sally Rooney. She has been shortlisted and longlisted for several prizes, including The Women's Prize for Fiction, the Dylan Thomas Prize and The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year . Its a story about intimacy, vulnerability, being alone, and being different versions of yourself with different people. Heres how it works. 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. - Library Journal Naoise Dolan, 2020. A sharp, witty and ultimately moving debut . @kelseylovesbooks. Her sentences are sharp and confident, especially for a debut. She hopes hell be as impressed by her youth and attractiveness as she is by his salary, which she has Googled, thoroughly. Oh . Founded in 2009, The Rumpus is one of the longest running independent online literary and culture magazines.Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. 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. Its a brilliantly concise summation of her take on relationships, which she sees as a power game, an ultimately shallow emotional transaction in which the greatest potential benefit might be that you get to move into an apartment better than anything you can afford on your own. 'There was something Shakespearean about imperious men going down on you: the mighty have fallen.'. They form a digital counterbalance to Avas aloof and guarded in-person presence, and through this duality Dolan captures perfectly the nauseating insecurity of growing up today. (Image credit: Design By Morgan McMullen), (Image credit: Design by Morgan McMullen), We're InspiredCrisp Suiting and Bold Beauty is All We Can Currently Think About, Revolve Is Having a Huge One-Day-Only Saleand You Can Get $100 Off These Legendary Gucci Sunglasses, Jo Piazza and Christine Pride Tackle the Complicated Topic of Motherhood in 'You Were Always Mine', 'Token Black Girl' Is Our October Book Club Pick, 25 Books by Latinx Authors You Should Read Immediately, Join #ReadWithMC: Marie Claire's Virtual Monthly Book Club, 'Mika In Real Life' Is Our September Book Club Pick. When he leaves to go work in London again, Ava is left wondering what their exact relationship status is, caught between being a sugar baby or being Julians girlfriend. Publisher: Ecco, 256 pages, $27.99. As for Julian, he is a closed book he wouldnt fulfil his function in the storyline otherwise and the rest of the characters, barring Avas hilariously frank Mam on the phone from Ireland, are similarly unforthcoming. 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. The book is perfect for those who wants to read contemporary, lgbt books. When Julian returns to London for six months for work, Ava meets Edith, a smart and beautiful Hong Kong lawyer. The most insightful and raw of these are the caustic observations about Irelands repressive attitudes to homosexuality and abortionand how they damage individual lives. EXCITING TIMES, by Naoise Dolan. She is in a constant battle of inner conflicttotal social apathy, whilst silently scathing of her prejudiced workplace. I personally see the appeal for Sally Rooneys fans (and thats why I chose it as my next rec), but I also think that Dolan deserves praise of her own. An intimate, bracingly intelligent debut novel about a millennial Irish expat who becomes entangled in a love triangle with a male banker and a female lawyer. - Exciting Times [ Book Description ] When you leave Ireland aged 22 to spend your parents' money, it's called a gap year. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend if you want to read something thats not the normal style." Blume knows the way kids and teens speak, but her two female leads are less credible as they reach adulthood. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. "Volleying dialogue, rich interiority, and perceptive writing on money, politics, and classA clever and deep novel of sex, connection, and the complexities of self expression." In my opinion,Exciting Timesreads very similar. Naoise Dolan and her debut novel, "Exciting Times." (Maria Bianchi / Ecco) The title of Naoise Dolan's debut novel, "Exciting Times," is a clever trick an ambivalent phrase that reads one way in millennial deadpan, an additional way as an earnest expression. Exciting Times is very funny in its cool observation and the way it takes us inside Avas spirals of overthinking. Button, water, Tuesdayanything with two syllables zipped up then down like a Gothic steeple. The fact that Naoise Dolan is being touted as "the new Sally Rooney" is nothing short of an insult to Rooney's work. Every complaint you've ever read about "millenial fiction"? Don't get me wrong, it's not the story itself, the story as a concept it totally up my alley (it has to be, because it sounds like a Sally Rooney novel): A 22 year old Irish expat living in Hong Kong who finds herself in a love triangle with a cold English banker who doesn't want to be her partner but will let her live in his expensive appartment for free, and a young woman from Hong Kong. [5] Dolan obtained an English degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2016 [6] [2] and later a Master's in Victorian literature from Oxford University. Enter Edith. While Julian is back in London for six months, Ava meets Mei Ling Edith Zhang, a corporate lawyer from a well-off Hong Kong family. You get annoyed when a book includes references to politics/political issues/cultural references and you have NO IDEA what they mean (lots of info on politics in Ireland and Hong Kong, neither of which I knew OR cared to Google), While this style is definitely not for me, if you were a fan ofNormal PeopleandEleanor Oliphant,I can see you really enjoying this read and encourage you to try. Naoise Dolan is an Irish novelist. It all adds up to a bracing, refreshing first novel, with hints of greater things to come. Read more. This is it. The more I think about this novel the more it suffers in my estimations. Omnipresent yet subtle, Hong Kong doesn't overshadow the characters and their struggles in trying to figure out life. Ava wants to be herand wants her. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers. Yet like many millennials, Ava exhausts the bulk of her mental energy on her bank account. However, its the authors style of writing that really grew on me. From the jump, Ava approaches the world with cleareyed humor. PDF Preview: PDF Title : Exciting Times : A Novel: Total Page : 200 Pages: Author: Naoise Dolan: PDF Size : 592 KB: Language : English: . - Publishers Weekly The characters are refreshing, I think particularly for me because they are not American, thus allowing for some exploration of how differing cultures analyze and observe class, race, and politics. It also turned into a really beautiful queer love story, taking turns I hadnt anticipated at the outset of the novel. Have I compared this book to Sally Rooney enough times yet?? As Ava grapples with the newfound vulnerability Edith has exposed in her, she finds herself observing her own actions like a zoologist peering into a cage. 256 pp. Some will declare Ava sharp and wise and funny, a hyper-relatable protagonist. 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 The Stinging Fly while Rooney edited it. Edith Zhang Mei LingEnglish name Edith, Chinese name Mei Ling . Sentences are short. But I'm going to just get it out of the way, for Naoise Dolan . Youre not easily pleased with how other people put sentences together, Julian accuses, but when it comes to money, youve got no taste. The actual experiences of local people her age have no effect whatsoever on Ava, the details of their lives mentioned, by the author, only in passing. Victoria, or more commonly Vix, lives in a small house; her brother has muscular dystrophy; her mother is unhappy, and money is scarce. HarperCollins. Its a Euro-centric story, despite its Asian setting." Reviews | Julian is a banker.
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