It finds her teaching English while abroad and indecisive about two lovers. But on this occasion, its more than just a question of biography: Dolans writing does genuinely occupy similar territory. Exciting Times is a wily, caustic story about young love.It is set in Hong Kong in 2016, where Ava, a recent graduate from Dublin, has moved to teach English, ostensibly until she works out what . Naoise Dolan captures perfectly the nauseating insecurity of growing up today. 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. If in part one, Ava feels held at a frustrating distance why is she so hard on herself? A young Dubliner in Hong Kong struggles to connect in this fresh and funny debut about love and self-knowledge. The fact that Naoise Dolan is being touted as the new Sally Rooney is nothing short of an insult to Rooneys work. Summary and reviews of Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - BookBrowse Colleen Hoover And then Julian writes to tell Ava he is coming back to Hong Kong Should Ava return to the easy compatibility of her life with Julian or take a leap into the unknown with Edith? The young Irish writers first novel is dry and sharp in its observation of twentysomething expat lives. "This debut novel about an Irish expat millennial teaching English and finding romance in Hong Kong is half Sally Rooney love triangle, half glitzy Crazy Rich Asians high livingand guaranteed to please." Only 2 left. 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 . This is one of the hottest debut authors of 2020, described as the new Sally Rooney and perfect for fans ofAnimalsandTrick Mirror. $15 at Amazon. Amazon.com: Exciting Times: A Novel: 9780062968746: Dolan, Naoise: Books Exciting Times - HarperCollins All Rights Reserved. Reviews | Debut novelist Naoise Dolan is no Sally Rooney, for better and worse But there are nuances that made me literally stop reading and think about what Dolan had wrote. 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. It read as slow-paced indecisiveness. Exciting Times Naoise Dolan $27.99 $26.03 in cart add to cart I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and. 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. Dolan is particularly good at capturing the way men talk to women whom they mistakenly think are not as smart as they are. Autism and LGBT identities - Wikipedia ROMANCE | She said "completely" a lot and usually dropped the "t" in the middle. Do put it on your TBR and let me know what you think." 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. Her debut novel, Exciting Times, was a Sunday Times bestseller, widely translated, and optioned for television. Never feel guilty about skipping book club again. She, a . This model of relationship-as-power-struggle is hardly new, but Dolan brings a fresh 21st-century sensibility to it. I also really loved how the author addresses the Irish English references in the novel and wondered if non-Irish readers understand them. New in Paperback: 'Exciting Times' and 'Leave Only Footprints' Get ready to turn that frown upside down. Fiction Friday: An Excerpt From Naoise Dolan's 'Exciting Times' 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 . influencers in the know since 1933. 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. Abbi Jacobson $28.00 in cart add to cart About Support / Help Become an Affiliate Gift Cards Careers - We're hiring! Edith is a local, sophisticated, and enthusiastic lawyer who falls in love with Ava and isnt afraid to say so. You didnt likeNormal Peopleor are not a fan of Sally Roonys writing style (like, I readNormal Peoplea year ago and still am unsure how I feel), 2. @booktrax. I know its frustrating that any new young female writer must find themselves compared to Sally Rooney. Read an Excerpt From 'Exciting Times' By Naoise Dolan | Marie Claire 23 year old Ava moves to Hong Kong to escape Ireland. Read an Excerpt from Naoise Dolan New Novel Exciting Times - Oprah Daily What I've Loved Reading 2023 - Bookshop.org Or a good girlfriend? They trip her up and get in the way. Are they as insensitive and indifferent as they seem to the foreign city they call home? Incredibly readable.' - Belfast Telegraph. Naoise Dolan. When the two begin a romance, Ava pretends Julian is only a roommate. Colleen Hoover. Publisher: Ecco, 256 pages, $27.99. 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. "Okay wow, what a great book! But while it had a similar vibe and a cast of millennials, it definitely had more of a dry and cutting tone to it. She hopes hell be as impressed by her youth and attractiveness as she is by his salary, which she has Googled, thoroughly. Naoise Dolan, 2020. Edith is curious and enthusiastic, and Ava can no longer maintain her detached, ironical approach to life feelings flower all over the place. The rumors are true: This does read like Sally Rooney. June 2, 2020. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - 9781474613460 - Book Depository Exciting Times is a beautiful novel written by the famous author Naoise Dolan. Exciting Times is very funny in its cool observation and the way it takes us inside Avas spirals of overthinking. Everyone should read it right now. Ava makes it her mission to get him to admit some feelings for her, purely because it would give her the upper hand. 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 . LITERARY FICTION | Her sentences are sharp and confident, especially for a debut. Genre: Literary Fiction Naoise Dolan: seasons the novel with insights about class, gender, race and language. She's a long way from her home in Ireland. 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. Still, Naoise Dolan deserves her own praise. Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. 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! 2. I'm highly anticipating another Naoise Dolan book, I wonder if there could be another instalment of Ava going by Exciting Times book ending. Its a Euro-centric story, despite its Asian setting." Naoise Dolan - Wikiwand As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. . Ava, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children. 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. But that's what I really enjoyed about thisthe characters felt real and the uncertainty and non-committal situations also felt very real. I love books about disaster women and unlike many of my bookish friends do not seem to tire of them at all. Thats good to know about me, she thinks. 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. While there, Ava meets Julian, a rich banker from London, who invites her to move into his home. And no squeamishness about asking for it, discussing it, hoarding it. Ava doesnt flinch. That doesnt make for a worthy heroineor it might make me 'too old' to empathize. , 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. Youre not a fan of unreliable narrators (hiit me), 3. Margaret Verble is the author of several previous novels, including. Exciting Times? Both intonations feel native to its 22 . @readtotheend. Caitlin, determined never to be ordinary, is always testing the limits, and in adolescence falls hard for Von, an older construction worker, while Vix falls for his friend Bru. NY 10036. I really am. The answer Exciting Times seems to offer is yes, in this case they are just as shallow and myopic as one would assume. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. 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? Also, his father had been ill. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan | Waterstones (Ecco, 256 pp., $16.99.) Nolan does a brilliant job of harnessing technology to her story, specifically the phone. They were playful, charged, strained. "Exciting Timesfollows 22-year-old Ava as she leaves Ireland to teach in Hong Kong. BookBrowse LLC 1997-2023. ISBN: 9781474613446. Ava is a 21-year-old who leaves Ireland, where shes convinced everyone hates her, to become a teacher of English as a foreign language in Hong Kong. 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