Search String: Summary | 6 min read. audible mp3, ePUB (Android), kindle, and audiobook. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. Related Post: Why You Should Buy a Kindle This book may be short, but it packs a huge punch. Not so much. I really am. Ava makes it her mission to get him to admit some feelings for her, purely because it would give her the upper hand. Exciting Times for Naoise Dolan: A Review - HeadStuff 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. Exciting Times' By Naoise Dolan Book Review | Marie Claire Dolan encapsulates this in a perfect image near the end of Exciting Times, when Ava is tensely watching the three little dots on her messaging app: Edith is typing reads her screen. , I think it's easy to dislike this and dismiss it; on the surface, it's a young woman who can't make up her mind while living for free in someone's flat. Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times drew instant comparisons to Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends (2017) and Normal People (2019)perhaps because Dolan and Rooney are both brilliant Irish . 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.. Politically alert, heartbreakingly raw, and dryly funny, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love. Always fun reading the #readwithmc selection!" I have no love for a novel which only uses my home town as a colorful backdrop and doesn't give a shit about what is happening to the local people. . It seemed farcical that I even needed to explain to Edith . <style> body { -ms-overflow-style: scrollbar; overflow-y: scroll; overscroll-behavior-y: none; } .errorContainer { background-color: #FFF; color: #0F1419; max-width . 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. About the author (2020) Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. The style is detached and detaching in an interesting way but if you like sinking teeth into a narrative this is not for you. Reviews: Trustpilot. . 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. Ava, the narrator, is an Irish ex-pat living in Hong Kong. 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. This gives the novel a strangely solipsistic feel, like a hall of mirrors, where every attempt to gaze outward is met only by your own face. Unfortunately, I cant give this book the raving review I want to because not only is Ava aimless, but shes SO passive-aggressive within her relationships." Ava is positioned for a quarter life crisis. Do you re-read witty comebacks to try and bake them into your mind should you ever need them? BookBrowse LLC 1997-2023. Everyone should read it right now. 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. Noting that the school hires only white people, she remarks: "Like sharks' teeth, teachers dropped out and were replaced.". And others will find that not much happens and it's just meh. EXCITING TIMES. She talks to Ava about Ava, and delivers the odd riff on her mother or Judy Garland, but we never delve deep into her own feelings or get to see her vulnerabilities exposed. When Naoise Dolan 's debut novel Exciting Times was released last year, she was swiftly earmarked as the " next Sally Rooney ". 1. Her debut novel, Exciting Times, was a Sunday Times bestseller, widely translated, and optioned for television. However, this isnt anotherNormal Peopleand dont expect it to be. m sorry. Also, his father had been ill. "Okay wow, what a great book! I was more interested in her thoughts and experiences with class than her relationships, to be honest, even as they played proxy for amplifying her feelings around status. I 'm sorry. If you, like me, answered yes to all three of those questions, then you're in for a treat. @bookcrazyblogger. Who said I liked you? he counters. Surely, Dolan has much in common with the immensely popular Rooney in terms of themes and style. Yet like many millennials, Ava exhausts the bulk of her mental energy on her bank account. Aleksandar Hemon's characters are romantics. - Kirkus Reviews (How can you tell whether you like someone? Read more. Edith is a local, sophisticated, and enthusiastic lawyer who falls in love with Ava and isnt afraid to say so. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan was published April 16th with Weidenfeld & Nicolson and is described as 'accessible, acerbic, smart and fun' Skip to content. 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. DAS APASIONANTES es una novela social (casi generacional) disfrazada de historia de amor. Heres how it works. @booktrax. In stylish, uncluttered prose, Naoise Dolan dissects the personal and financial transactions that make up a lifeand announces herself as a singular new voice. The story follows Ava, a quick witted, self-loathing Irish 22-year-old teacher and Julian, an almost-30-year-old British banker, both living as expats in Hong Kong. The project, based on Irish writer Naoise Dolan's debut novel, hails from U.S. financier-producer Black Bear Pictures, which optioned rights to the book ahead of its June 2020 U.S. release to . Our parents had divorced when I was a baby, and now lived in different counties in the west of Ireland. "exciting Times" "naoise Dolan" Teaching Resources | TPT Its unusual and contemplative and just very different. 256 pp. I also think the teaching English abroad aspect was well-researched and spot on. Button, water, Tuesdayanything with two syllables zipped up then down like a Gothic steeple. This model of relationship-as-power-struggle is hardly new, but Dolan brings a fresh 21st-century sensibility to it. Naoise Dolan: seasons the novel with insights about class, gender, race and language. Susan Blumberg-Kason is the author of . Nine months later, out popped their new child known asExciting Times. Add to cart. 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. 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. Feelings for Edith but, confusingly, also for Julian. As for the ending, given the character development up to that point, it just felt really implausible. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added. Don't the best books teach us something we don't know? After graduating from Trinity, Dubliner Ava moves to Hong Kong to teach Englishthe only thing she is qualified to doand gets hired mostly because she is white. The book was first published in April 1st 2020 and the latest edition of the book was published in April 16th . Everyone should read it right now. In sixth grade, when Victoria Weaver is asked by new girl Caitlin Somers to spend the summer with her on Marthas Vineyard, her life changes forever. There are intimate moments here, even if they do occur at one remove. It was ok, but I was disappointed and wanted a little more." The novel is shot through with moments of such startling self-awareness as this. 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. D I S C L A I M E RThese are all just my own opinion on the book. What does she see in this man? 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.She lives in Berlin. She is in a constant battle of inner conflicttotal social apathy, whilst silently scathing of her prejudiced workplace. Read if you like Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth, Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Sunday Times Style. - Hilary Mantel. In stylish, uncluttered prose, Naoise Dolan dissects the personal and financial transactions that make up a lifeand announces herself as a singular new voice. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. During an evening stroll, she thinks: I didn't need to know how other women went about being together. Spare by Prince Harry and Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld: The biggest new books of 2023,Expect a reading frenzy for Prince Harry's memoir to kick off a year that also sees releases from 'Exciting Times' author Naoise Dolan and 'Open Water' writer Caleb Azumah Nelson Tags: culture inews.co.uk uconn edu 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. Its free and takes less than 10 seconds! From the jump, Ava approaches the world with cleareyed humor. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - Audiobook - Audible.com I often had to re-read passages, as subtext also plays a huge part in the book. "Exciting Times" Author Naoise Dolan On Expat - Tatler Asia "[A] wry, tender debutDolan's smart, brisk debut works as charming comedy of manners, though it packs less of a punch when it comes to class consciousness." Ava, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children. New RRP 14.99. It would definitely have been helpful to have a general idea of the geopolitics between Ireland/Britain/Hong Kong. Naoise Dolan is in her late 20s and has often been compared to Sally Rooney.