23 year old Ava moves to Hong Kong to escape Ireland. All Rights Reserved. She hinges on the idea of a strong female, but then plays out the stereotype. by Naoise Dolan captures perfectly the nauseating insecurity of growing up today. Condition - Like New. Don't the best books teach us something we don't know? RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 2022. Add to cart. Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. As for the ending, given the character development up to that point, it just felt really implausible. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the sites day-to-day editorial operations. Exciting Times By Naoise Dolan | Used | 9781474613446 | World of Books Exciting Times a book by Naoise Dolan - Bookshop [3] A college debater, she co-convened the Irish Mace competition in 2015/16. Every complaint you've ever read about "millenial fiction"? Though the novel had mixed reviews, one thing readers did agree on is that Dolan is a unique and smart writer who they'll continue to support throughout her career. Avas character provides us with biting social commentary. Julian is a banker who likes spending time with Ava, but incapable (or simply unwilling) to express his feelings for her. in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. 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. 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. But I'm going to just get it out of the way, for Naoise Dolan . With Ava still living in Julians apartment, she and Edith fall into a quick friendship that evolves into a relationship. New York, 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. But boy, this novel feels so liveless and fake. Politically alert, heartbreakingly raw, and dryly funny, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love. Exciting Times: A Novel - Naoise Dolan - Google Books Aleksandar Hemon's characters are romantics. Yet like many millennials, Ava exhausts the bulk of her mental energy on her bank account. Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published. This can be really interesting territory for a novel, but it didn't completely work for me here. 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. 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. 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. Overall. 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. Youre not a fan of unreliable narrators (hiit me), 3. The middle section was slightly better than the beginning, there was an ounce of truth to it, but then it nosedived again. June 3, 2020 7 AM PT. EXCITING TIMES. PDF Preview: PDF Title : Exciting Times : A Novel: Total Page : 200 Pages: Author: Naoise Dolan: PDF Size : 592 KB: Language : English: . Im sorry. [2] She experienced homophobic bullying in school. Its a great pick for everyone whos sensitive and introspective, but also cynical and scared of relationships." Both are well-educated and earning a good living. This is one of the hottest debut authors of 2020, described as the new Sally Rooney and perfect for fans ofAnimalsandTrick Mirror. But now theyre co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. They trip her up and get in the way. BookBrowse LLC 1997-2023. . Search String: Summary | However, this isnt anotherNormal Peopleand dont expect it to be. Were glad you found a book that interests you! On a sentence level the novel delivers one perfect zinger after another. The novel is shot through with moments of such startling self-awareness as this. ISBN-13: 9780062968746. 2 junio, 2022; couples challenge tiktok; dome structure examples . Find out exactly what #ReadWithMC loved and didn't love aboutExciting Times, below. Bookshop For Authors Bookshop . Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over. 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. But there are nuances that made me literally stop reading and think about what Dolan had wrote. 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. Judy Blume, edited by 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. While there, Ava meets Julian, a rich banker from London, who invites her to move into his home. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjectsa pigdevelops the capacity for human speech. I love books about disaster women and unlike many of my bookish friends do not seem to tire of them at all. Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times is shortlisted for the 2020 Young Writer of the Year Award. I loved him potentially, she thinks. I don't do that often. The years in between are related in brief segments by numerous characters, but mostly by Vix. Judy Blume Exciting Times Naoise Dolan $27.99 $26.03 in cart add to cart I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and. "Echoes of Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends resound in this exacting debut novel about a young Irish woman living in Hong Kong who becomes embroiled in a love triangle with a wealthy man and woman." Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan review - a bracing, witty debut 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. 1. Ava is constantly trying to make sense of her situation by framing it in terms of identity: does sleeping with Julian make her a bad feminist? Multiple friends of mine whove read Sally Rooneys phenomenally popular novel. Exciting Times is a beautiful novel written by the famous author Naoise Dolan. "Exciting Timesby Naoise Dolan follows a young 20-something as she flees Dublin for Hong Kong in search of a life that matches her desires. Exciting Times. Some will find Ava absolutely intolerable and insufferable and won't be able to finish the first 25 pages. Stars = 4 / 5. But even though shes divorced, Lily isnt exactly free. Exciting Times PDF Details. Its something I appreciate in memoirs and also in literary fiction. I cant wait to read what Dolan writes next. "Gaydars . About the author (2020) Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. Instead of just a romance or coming-of-age narrative, Dolan dives a bit deeper to probe what we carry into the relationships we form (like our personal politics and gendered expectations) and how those either weigh us down or perhaps end up setting us free., Exciting Timeslost me a bit in the second half with its pacing. This novel is a tedious account of one girls romantic flings during a year of living abroad in Hong Kong. RELEASE DATE: May 8, 1998. Queer romance. 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. Phoebe Dynevor Set To Star In 'Exciting Times' Series In Works At Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan, review: breezy fun with stabs of social Exciting Timesfollows Ava, a young Irish woman living in Hong Kong and her relationship with Julian and Edith. Enter Edith. "Dolan's preoccupation with power is often couched in humor but always expertly observed. The Problem with Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times *a rant* 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. 256 pages Have I compared this book to Sally Rooney enough times yet?? Victoria, or more commonly Vix, lives in a small house; her brother has muscular dystrophy; her mother is unhappy, and money is scarce. @readtotheend. Do you take delight in words like "gormless"? How High We Go in the Dark - HarperCollins She is highly attuned both to the power dynamics at play (do you want me to depend on you? she asks him) and to her moral predicament, as she adds up how much money she is saving on rent, as well as on the clothes and meals Julian pays for with the funds he doesnt know what to do with. 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. Lots of reviews are making the Rooney 'millennial lit' comparison which is fair but I'd add. Theres a certain dry, almost deadpan quality in her observation of the lives of her twentysomething characters the complications of attraction, and the gap between whats felt and whats spoken; calmly articulated self-loathing, and precise capturing of class differences that both authors nail down dead. [PDF] Exciting Times : A Novel - Download Book Online Amazon.com: Exciting Times: A Novel: 9780062968746: Dolan, Naoise: Books Until she got pregnant at fifteen, she'd . In stylish, uncluttered prose, Naoise Dolan dissects the personal and financial transactions that make up a lifeand announces herself as a singular new voice. Oh . Secrets, shame, and adoption in the 1960sa poignant tale of a mother's enduring love. Ava is an accurately drawn emblem of the zeitgeist, but as such, she stands apart from it, isolated. It is forbidden to copy anything for publication elsewhere without written permission from the copyright holder. Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. She's lost as well as lonely. June 2, 2020. (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. She spends so much time telling us how lacking she is that I started to believe her. Sigh. If in part one, Ava feels held at a frustrating distance why is she so hard on herself? (How can you tell whether you like someone? Exciting Times' By Naoise Dolan Book Review | Marie Claire 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. When Julian leaves for London on an extended work project, Ava meets Edith, a Hong Kong local and ambitious lawyer. RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2020. Exciting Times is an acerbic tale of sex and love, set in the social media age.' - The Herald Scotland. Amazon.com: Exciting Times: A Novel: Dolan, Naoise: Books Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. . How to Join Marie Claire's Online Book Club. However, its the authors style of writing that really grew on me. Honestly. Publisher: Ecco, 256 pages, $27.99. This is it. Sentences are short. But on this occasion, its more than just a question of biography: Dolans writing does genuinely occupy similar territory. New in Paperback: 'Exciting Times' and 'Leave Only Footprints' Surely, Dolan has much in common with the immensely popular Rooney in terms of themes and style. I also think the teaching English abroad aspect was well-researched and spot on. This years Womens Prize for Fiction longlist includes quite a few of these disaster women books and I for one am really pleased with that. 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 . Dolan was born in Dublin, Ireland. Thats good to know about me, she thinks. Reviews | [4] She identifies as queer.