Exciting Times
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3.2 • 13 Ratings
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- €9.99
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- €9.99
Publisher Description
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
It takes only a few minutes of Naoise Dolan’s extraordinary, much-anticipated debut to realise that the Irish writer’s future will be very bright indeed. Exciting Times transports us to Hong Kong, where we meet 22-year-old Ava, an English teacher from Ireland who forms a friendship with Oxford-educated banker Julian. He is her polar opposite in almost every way, yet they bond, with Julian eventually inviting Ava to live in his plush apartment (and his bed). But when Ava meets Edith, a lawyer who studied at Cambridge, everything changes. Taught, razor-sharp and brimming with dry wit, Exciting Times is an impeccable portrayal of growing up, figuring out who you are and love, as well as the crushing fear of committing to it. Dolan’s debut will no doubt draw countless comparisons with Sally Rooney, who is thanked in the novel’s acknowledgements. But Exciting Times confirms the author as a unique voice in her own right. Add in Aoife McMahon’s intimate narration and you’ve got a listen we challenge you not to devour in one long, delightful sitting.
Customer Reviews
Boring
Fixation on language made it difficult to pay attention