Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - Ebook | Scribd Article Categories: She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. Our parents had divorced when I was a baby, and now lived in different counties in the west of Ireland. That doesnt make for a worthy heroineor it might make me 'too old' to empathize. Do you take delight in words like "gormless"? Naoise Dolan - Exciting Times: A Novel Audiobook. Exciting Times, Naoise Dolan - Review - Besos, Betty The book was first published in April 1st 2020 and the latest edition of the book was published in April 16th . Bookshop For Authors Bookshop . 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 . Ava is an accurately drawn emblem of the zeitgeist, but as such, she stands apart from it, isolated. I liked Exciting Times a lot more than the average GR reviewer. Besides school and uni . The story explores the freedoms and dangers of modern love and expression through Avas relations with these two people and her teaching of the often non-sensical semantics of the English language to her students. As for the ending, given the character development up to that point, it just felt really implausible. In November we went for brunch on Aberdeen Street with Ralph, pronounced 'Rafe', who'd gone to Balliol with Julian, now worked at . Naoise Dolan on the joy of literary threesomes 1. 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." Phoebe Dynevor, the glamorous lead of Netflix's Bridgerton, is set to star and executive produce Exciting Times. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - 9781474613453 - Book Depository Another month has whizzed by, seriously where is 2021 going so fast, and it is time for the latest #BookClub with Melanie and I. Reviews | Written in a Woolf-esque internal monologue from Ava's perspective, we are met with an inner conflict that struggles to reconcile her disapproval of capitalism and a hyper-sensitivity to class structures . I love the unconventional, the interpersonal, the relatable *but not talked about,* and this book had all of that and more. When Ava leaves Ireland aged 22 to make her own money . Why do you like me? Ava asks him. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. . Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. At some point, the millennial-ness of it all became too much for me and I felt my eyes glaze over a bit. ), 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. This novel is a tedious account of one girls romantic flings during a year of living abroad in Hong Kong. Nolan does a brilliant job of harnessing technology to her story, specifically the phone. It finds her teaching English while abroad and indecisive about two lovers. 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 . A young millennial finds herself in a love triangle with a man and woman. 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? Naoise Dolan. Politically alert, heartbreakingly raw, and dryly funny, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love. And damn I wish I could figure out why exactly. Summary. Throughout the book, Ava makes incisive observations about the legacy of colonialism in both HK and Ireland, in addition to funny musings about the rules of English grammar she teaches her students, but can hardly explain, let alone justify, herself. She's a long way from her home in Ireland. 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. Read an Excerpt From 'Exciting Times' By Naoise Dolan | Marie Claire As I started reading this novel, I realized I had to take my time with it. Julian is a banker who likes spending time with Ava, but incapable (or simply unwilling) to express his feelings for her. Politically alert, heartbreakingly raw, and dryly funny, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love. Exciting Times By: Naoise Dolan. Thats partly because Edith herself is only lightly sketched in. Judy Blume Trouble signing in? ISBN-13: 9780062968746. However, I soon grew to really like this, as I became used to her inner thoughts. A Hong Kongborn lawyer, striking and ambitious, Edith takes Ava to the theater and leaves her tulips in the hallway. Im sorry. More from Star Tribune. 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. 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. Dolan skilfully reveals to us how Avas choices are all made with self-protection in mind: her constant irony, her low expectations, her chilly relationship with Julian. Unfortunately, Dolans superficial evocation of the island is conjured mostly through Instagram latte art geotagged on fashionable streets. Read if you like Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth, Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Sunday Times Style. Exciting Times: A Novel - Naoise Dolan - Google Books Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - Goodreads 1. His privilege is the invisible third party in the relationship. New RRP 8.99. Ava feels safer, more shielded from harm with Julian, but happier with Edith. Exciting Times for Naoise Dolan: A Review - HeadStuff Naoise Dolan: 'The way people use on the spectrum is straight-up wrong This is the kind of book that people are going to have vastly different opinions on. Ava makes it her mission to get him to admit some feelings for her, purely because it would give her the upper hand. While there, Ava meets Julian, a rich banker from London, who invites her to move into his home. 2019 Naoise Dolan (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group. 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. , RIYL: Sally Rooney. (How can you tell whether you like someone? - Hilary Mantel. Victoria, or more commonly Vix, lives in a small house; her brother has muscular dystrophy; her mother is unhappy, and money is scarce. Publisher: Ecco, 256 pages, $27.99. But when she asks whether he loves her, he cannot say more than "I like you a great deal." audible mp3, ePUB (Android), kindle, and audiobook. Eileen was six years older than me. Missed out on our June book club pick? Rushed in some places, dragged out in others. But that's what I really enjoyed about thisthe characters felt real and the uncertainty and non-committal situations also felt very real. I cant believe it was written so geniously by someone so young. by She hopes hell be as impressed by her youth and attractiveness as she is by his salary, which she has Googled, thoroughly. Its the closest well ever come to telepathy: she realises Edith is thinking about her at that moment, and it changes everything. Naoise Dolan's debut novel, Exciting Times shares a lot of similarities to Sally Rooney's Normal People (and shades of Conversations with Friends). 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. The dark and light sides of friendship breathlessly explored in a novel best saved for summer beachside reading. 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! Ava makes it her mission to get him to admit some feelings for her, purely because it would give her the upper hand. A young Dubliner in Hong Kong struggles to connect in this fresh and funny debut about love and self-knowledge. In Irish author Dolan's debut novel, 22-year-old narrator Ava relocates from Dublin to Hong Kong to teach grammar at a school for English-language learners. But on this occasion, its more than just a question of biography: Dolans writing does genuinely occupy similar territory. 3. in part two, we watch her coming into the light. The more I think about this novel the more it suffers in my estimations. 5.79. Available in used condition with free delivery in the UK. "Gaydars . . Still, Naoise Dolan deserves her own praise. What listeners say about Exciting Times Average Customer Ratings. m sorry. "Droll, shrewd and unafraida winning debut." The fact that Naoise Dolan is being touted as the new Sally Rooney is nothing short of an insult to Rooneys work. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - 9781474613460 - Book Depository How High We Go in the Dark - HarperCollins Do put it on your TBR and let me know what you think." Oh my goodness. She's lost as well as lonely. Naoise Dolan. "I have to say I really liked this debut novel by Naoise Dolan. Naoise Dolan captures perfectly the nauseating insecurity of growing up today. What I've Loved Reading 2023 - Bookshop.org 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. Aleksandar Hemon's characters are romantics. Ava is positioned for a quarter life crisis. Its a story about intimacy, vulnerability, being alone, and being different versions of yourself with different people. It was as if someone else ironed everything for her her whole life, Ava thinks, and her role was to make new creases. Dolan is also funny about Irishness, pointing out the irony of Ava having to teach her young ESL students how to aspirate the th in things when, as a Dubliner, she has gone 22 years without once pronouncing it herself. If youre looking for likable and well-rounded characters, a happy love story, and everything packaged up in a neat box, this isnt it. She dissects language and her humor is so deadpan I sometimes read sentences twice. However, this isnt anotherNormal Peopleand dont expect it to be. Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. Do you marvel at clever sentence structure when encountered in a book? I related to it immensely. Like Rooney, Dolan writes in a deadpan style. I really am. @cc_bookclub, "There is definitely some exciting fiction coming out of Ireland and it's hard not to compare this book to Sally Rooney's work. Have I compared this book to Sally Rooney enough times yet?? In 'Exciting Times,' Echoes of Sally Rooney, but With a Queer Twist 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. Her elegantly simple writing allows her ideas and musings to shine. This book also brought back so many memories from my trip to Hong Kong with my friends after college graduation (swipe!). "Much likeNormal Peopleby Sally Rooney, I expect there will be polarizing opinions onExciting Times. 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. As they fall into a quasi-relationship, Ava moves into his apartment, where Julian allows her to live rent-free. Ava, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children. 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. 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. Feelings for Edith but, confusingly, also for Julian. She spends so much time telling us how lacking she is that I started to believe her. I am not in my twenties although still full of angst. Search String: Summary | I also think the teaching English abroad aspect was well-researched and spot on. And others will find that not much happens and it's just meh. "[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." Her debut novel, Exciting Times, was a Sunday Times bestseller, widely translated, and optioned for television. @compulsivereadersblog. By contrast, Avas written correspondences social media posts and emails she labors over, analyzes, doesnt send or sends by accident become increasingly vulnerable in their disclosures as the book moves along. <style> body { -ms-overflow-style: scrollbar; overflow-y: scroll; overscroll-behavior-y: none; } .errorContainer { background-color: #FFF; color: #0F1419; max-width . It is forbidden to copy anything for publication elsewhere without written permission from the copyright holder. Reviews: Trustpilot. I wasn't immediately sucked inI think when Edith entered the picture, I became a lot more engaged. This information about Exciting Times was first featured Avas character provides us with biting social commentary. Exciting Times is a beautiful novel written by the famous author Naoise Dolan. Noting that the school hires only white people, she remarks: "Like sharks' teeth, teachers dropped out and were replaced.".