Exciting Times

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

'Kept me rapt until the final page' THE TIMES
'More than lives up to the hype ... Likely to fill the Sally-Rooney-shaped hole in many readers' lives' IRISH TIMES
'Droll, shrewd and unafraid - a winning debut' Hilary Mantel, author of WOLF HALL
'A sharp, smart, witty modern love story. I loved it' David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY

When you leave Ireland aged 22 to spend your parents' money, it's called a gap year. When Ava leaves Ireland aged 22 to make her own money, she's not sure what to call it, but it involves:

- a badly-paid job in Hong Kong, teaching English grammar to rich children;
- Julian, who likes to spend money on Ava and lets her move into his guest room;
- Edith, who Ava meets while Julian is out of town and actually listens to her when she talks;
- money, love, cynicism, unspoken feelings and unlikely connections.

Exciting times ensue.

'I had real fun with Exciting Times. It is a very funny, spiky, Marxist, feminist comedy and it's really mean' Zadie Smith

'A frankly sensational book' Pandora Sykes

'In the tradition of Dorothy Parker, Joan Rivers and Nora Ephron ... I found myself purring with pleasure. ...This is comic writing at the highest level' Craig Brown, DAILY MAIL

'I've been pushing Exciting Times on everyone I know. Some of Dolan's pithy observations of her characters are the best I've read since Edward St Aubyn' OBSERVER


Readers are loving this:

'Funny, witty and utterly enjoyable' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A deeply profound insight into a modern relationship and love story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Delighted to have read this gem of a story. It gave and took in equal measure and I laughed and cringed' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Funny and wry and political and smart and it knows exactly how it feels to be 22 and in unfamiliar surroundings' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐