Exciting Times

An intimate, bracingly intelligent debut novel about a millennial Irish expat who becomes entangled in a love triangle with a male banker and a female lawyer"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." - The Observer 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. "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, The Daily Mail"Dolan has a wonderfully intuitive and fluid handle on Ava, a young person who equates adulthood with moral imperfection and who finds herself disgusted and beguiled by both... an examination of sex, queerness, self-sabotage, power, and privilege. Its milieu is young and left-leaning, and its tone is dry, sharp, and cerebral..." - Katy Waldman, The New YorkerPolitically alert, heartbreakingly raw, and dryly funny, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love. In stylish, uncluttered prose, Naoise Dolan dissects the personal and financial transactions that make up a life. An intimate, bracingly intelligent debut novel about a millennial Irish expat who becomes entangled in a love triangle with a male banker and a female lawyer Ava moved to Hong Kong to find happiness, but so far, it isn’t working out. Since she left Dublin, she’s been spending her days teaching English to rich children—she’s been assigned the grammar classes because she lacks warmth—and her nights avoiding petulant roommates in her cramped apartment. When Ava befriends Julian, a witty British banker, he offers a shortcut into a lavish life her meager salary could never allow. Ignoring her feminist leanings and her better instincts, Ava finds herself moving into Julian’s apartment, letting him buy her clothes, and, eventually, striking up a sexual relationship with him. When Julian’s job takes him back to London, she stays put, unsure where their relationship stands. Enter Edith. A Hong Kong–born lawyer, striking and ambitious, Edith takes Ava to the theater and leaves her tulips in the hallway. Ava wants to be her—and wants her. Ava has been carefully pretending that Julian is nothing more than an absentee roommate, so when Julian announces that he’s returning to Hong Kong, she faces a fork in the road. Should she return to the easy compatibility of her life with Julian or take a leap into the unknown with Edith? 'droll, Shrewd And Unafraid - A Winning Debut' Hilary Mantel, Author Of Wolf Hall 'fiercely Intelligent, Brutally Funny' Nathan Filer, Author Of The Shock Of The Fall 'witty, Compelling And With A Razor-sharp Social Commentary. I Guzzled It' Pandora Sykes 'read If You Like Animals By Emma Jane Unsworth, Trick Mirror By Jia Tolentino, The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath' Sunday Times 'more Than Lives Up To The Hype ... Likely To Fill The Sally-rooney-shaped Hole In Many Readers Lives' Irish Times One Of The Observer's 10 Best Debut Novelists Of 2020 Naoise Dolan Explodes Onto The Scene With Exciting Times, A Slyly Humorous And Scorchingly Smart Modern Love Story About Three Cynics In Hong Kong 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.