#naoisedolan

[biancabagnarelli]

Illustration for INQUE Magazine, @inquemag , accompanying a beautiful piece of fiction by the amazing Naoise Dolan. Thank you to @mrwilley for asking me to contribute to this wonderful magazine. #Inque #NaoiseDolan #biancabagnarelli #illustration https://www.instagram.com/p/CYUEus1sWS8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[robertsparrowjones]

Exciting Times by @naoisedolan was such a a smart, fierce and humored book. A lucky read over the pandemic. Can’t wait to read it again!! #irishwriters #fiction #naoisedolan #greatbook #irishwriter #indiebooks (at Nashville, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUP1POuF12z/?utm_medium=tumblr

[bookramblings]

Exciting Times

Author: Naoise Dolan

Published by: Weidenfield & Nicolson

Pages: 279

Format: Hardback

My Rating ★★★

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.

My thoughts:

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 cranky roommates in her cramped apartment. When Ava befriends Julian, a witty British banker, he offers a shortcut into a lavish life her small salary could never allow. Ignoring her feminist leanings and her better judgements, 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 theatre and leaves her tulips in the hallway. Ava wants to be her—and wants to be with 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 tough decision. Should she return to the easy compatibility of her life with Julian or take a leap into the unknown with Edith?

With so many professional reviewers hailing Exciting Times as one of the best debut novels of 2020, praising Naoise Dolan for her wit and her razor-sharp social commentary, or describing her book as being “droll, shrewd and unafraid”, this promised to be an intelligent and compelling read. Sadly, as with a lot of hyped new releases, Exciting Times wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

At 22 Ava decides to leave Dublin behind and move to Hong Kong where she ends up teaching English grammar. Because she didn’t like herself in Ireland, she believes that a change of scenery will either improve her personality or the way she sees herself. In Hong Kong Ava makes few attempts at socialising with her colleagues or her roommates, and it is only when she meets Julian, a banker, that she begins to be interested in someone other than herself. The two form a bond of sorts, which sees them occasionally sparring about the fraught history between Britain and Ireland, while for the most part they seem content with being cynical together. Soon enough Ava moves into Julian's guest bedroom. While he’s back in England Ava meets and ‘falls’ for Edith who, unlike Julian, openly reciprocates her feelings.

The plot as such sees Ava obsessing about either Julian or Edith, checking their Instagram accounts, over-analysing their texts, and attributing a special meaning to everything they say or do.  For the most part Exciting Times is about Ava’s detachment from others. There is little or no character growth with Ava, and the ending felt vague in terms of whether or not she had learned from her mistakes.

I was also disappointed that the Hong Kong setting felt overlooked.  Ava’s narration really fails to create a vivid setting of China; it’s as if the entire story takes place in front of a blank backdrop. There is very little writing dedicated to Chinese culture and traditions. This seemed a missed opportunity.

The novel is so focused on being clever that it ends up not having anything substantial to offer. Ava’s supposed ‘aloofness’ seemed more of an excuse for her character not to have a personality. Instead of really showing her emotions, Ava simply tells us that she ‘loves/hates’ someone...and I just didn’t feel it. If anything, she was infatuated with the idea of love.

Julian and Edith also weren’t particularly likeable, but they certainly felt more like well-rounded people. I couldn’t see why they were both interested in Ava given how self-involved she was.

It took me far too long to read this relatively short book because my attention was easily distracted by other things. All in all, it’s well written and I found it fairly interesting. I may simply be the wrong audience, but I just didn’t connect with the book almost at all. If you enjoy pretentious literary fiction, you'll love this one. But sadly, it wasn’t for me.

Overall reaction:

[skoobandmore147]

J’avais beaucoup entendu parler de ce roman et il était comparé à ceux de Sally Rooney donc forcément j’étais intrigué. Et que vous dire à part : déception et mensonge ! Le personnage principal est tellement insupportable et les deux autres persos importants sont tellement inintéressants que l’on arrive pas à être excité par l’histoire. C’est terriblement long et ennuyant, il n’y a rien qui sauve ce premier roman. De même pour la plume de l’autrice qui n’était pas fluide du tout. Il est d’ailleurs paru en français le mois dernier sous le titre « Rien de sérieux ». J’ai au moins aimé une chose : la couverture 😂 • I don’t have anything to say except that I did not like it at all. The main character is annoying AF and the other two are so boring that I did not care at all for the story. Long and boring... so funny that it’s called « Exciting Times » 😂 - The only thing I liked is the cover • #books #naoisedolan #excitingtimes #riendesérieux #livre #bookstagram #leskoobclub #goodreadschallenge2021 (à Montrouge) https://www.instagram.com/p/CN8TleSn6p_/?igshid=9j0a9wjes80i

[miss-mesmerized]

Naoise Dolan - Aufregende Zeiten

Nach dem Studium flüchtet Ava aus Dublin nach Hongkong, wo sie einen Job als Englischlehrerin annimmt. Was sie in ihrem Leben tun will, davon hat sie keinen Plan, ganz anders als Julian, der als Banker fest im Leben zu stehen scheint. Bald zieht sie bei ihm ein, von einer klassischen Beziehung kann jedoch keine Rede sein. Sie wohnt im Gästezimmer, was die beiden jedoch nicht von gemeinsamen Nächten abhält. Sie sind ein ungewöhnliches Paar, zwischen Nähe und Distanz, immer darauf bedacht, keine rote Linie des anderen zu übertreten, jedes Wort auf die Goldwaage legend und doch vermissen sie sich, wenn Julian auf Geschäftsreisen ist. Während einer solchen lernt Ava Edith kennen, die so anders ist, sich wirklich für Ava interessiert und alles von ihr wissen möchte. Zunehmend lässt Ava sie in ihr Leben, auch wenn ihr das Interesse und bald auch die Zuneigung der Juristin komisch vorkommen. Aber womöglich hat sie nur noch nie die Erfahrung von Liebe gemacht.

 Unweigerlich ist man bei Naoise Dolans Debütroman auch an eine andere irische Autorin erinnert, die in den letzten Jahren für Furore gesorgt hat. Ebenso wie Sally Rooney schreibt Dolan über eine Generation von stark verunsicherten jungen Menschen, die sich nichts mehr als funktionierende Beziehungen wünschen, aber selbst mit dem passenden Partner eher einen gemeinsamen Tanz voller Verunsicherung aufführen, als sich gelassen dem hinzugeben, was geschieht.

 Ava ist die Personifizierung des Twentysomething: sie wirkt unabhängig und willensstark nach außen, ihr Leben findet gleichermaßen online wie offline statt, Image muss immer in beiden Versionen des Lebens mitgedacht werden. Freundschaften drücken sich mehr durch die Likes und Klicks aus denn durch das gemeinsame Erleben. Gedanklich steckt sie derweil in endlosen Spiralen des Überdenkens fest, Spontaneität gibt es nicht mehr, da Worte Folgen haben und jede mögliche Deutung antizipiert werden muss, bevor es dann doch zu spät ist, noch auf etwas zu reagieren. Ironie und Zynismus gehören zum Kommunikationsrepertoire, sind jedoch gleichzeitig mit für die Distanzierung von den anderen verantwortlich, die die Figuren einsam macht.

 Einerseits ist die 22-Jährige nicht immer leicht auszuhalten, man wünscht ihr eine gute Portion naive Sorglosigkeit, um frei von den Gedanken zu sein und das Leben genießen zu können. Andererseits hat ihr analytischer Verstand jedoch auf einer ganz anderen Ebene wiederum einen großen Reiz. Sprache dient ihr nicht nur als Mitteilungsmedium für Inhalte, sondern markiert auch Klasse. Sie als Irin mit bescheidenem Hintergrund unterscheidet sich dramatisch von Julian, der Eton und Oxford besuchte und mit seinem Job im Finanzsektor auch finanziell zum oberen gesellschaftlichen Ende zählt. Beide wiederum gehören als Expats des ehemaligen Kolonialherren in Hongkong zur Oberschicht, die in einer Parallelwelt lebt und nur im Dienstleistungsbereich Berührungspunkte mit den Einheimischen hat. So kommt es auch, dass die dramatischen politischen Ereignisse der Umbrella Bewegung vor Avas Tür stattfinden, ohne dass sie ernsthaft davon Notiz nehmen würde. Sie kann jedoch auch jederzeit das Land verlassen, irgendwo hingehen, wo sie ganz selbstverständlich alle Rechte in Anspruch nehmen kann. Sensibilität scheint nur in Bezug auf die eigene Person angezeigt, dann jedoch gleich in übersteigerten Maßen.

 Avas Angst vor Zurückweisung, dem immerwährenden Gefühl nicht zu genügen, folgt eine Distanziertheit, die man auch als Leser spürt. Es fällt nicht leicht, Sympathie mit ihr zu empfinden und sich ihr zu nähern. Als Figur kann sie so überzeugen, ich hätte mir jedoch eine größere emotionale Eingebundenheit gewünscht.

 Eine pointierte und scharfe Analyse einer Generation, deren globale Vernetzung nicht zu mehr Nähe, sondern zum genauen Gegenteil führt und deren Leben nur dann stattgefunden hat, wenn es auch mit schönen Bildchen dokumentiert und von möglichst vielen geliked wurde.

https://missmesmerized.wordpress.com/2021/03/23/naoise-dolan-aufregende-zeiten/

[bibliobethblog]

Monday is book haul day!! Hello everyone and hope your week started well wherever you are in the world. Today I’m showcasing three paperbacks I’ve bought or been gifted. The Hiding Game was sent to me in a @wearereposed book box which was a gift from my dear friend @keeperofpages I’ve read Mrs Hemingway by the same author and loved it so I’m looking forward to this! I Am Not Your Baby Mother was an essential pre-order for me after I heard Candice Braithwaite speak at two different events. I might not be reading it for a little while due to personal reasons but it’s on my shelves for when I’m stronger. Finally we have Exciting Times. I pre-ordered the paperback but am now cursing myself for not shelling out on the special edition hardback with the spredges. 🙄 I’m still looking forward to reading it though 😂 and it’s also recently been long listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Delighted to tick that off my shopping list! I’d love to know your opinions on any of these books or authors. Let’s have a chat in the comments! Have a great week everyone 🤗😘 #bookstagram #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookfiend #bookhaul #paperbackbooks #paperbackheaven #iamnotyourbabymother #candicebraithwaite #thehidinggame #naomiwood #excitingtimes #naoisedolan #tbrpile #womensprizeforfictionlonglist #womensprizeforfiction #womensprize2021 https://www.instagram.com/p/CMc-aVIgHcQ/?igshid=1tixxlouwr9nm

[iamyourfriendlyblogger]

Your Friendly Blogger Reviews EXCITING TIMES, by Naoise Dolan.

Your Friendly Blogger Reviews EXCITING TIMES, by Naoise Dolan.

Exciting Times a book by Naoise Dolan.

Jealousy and obsession, love and late capitalism, sex and the internet all come together in a ironic and fresh and invigorating tale of class and privilege.

Ava, is an intelligent, 22-year-old loner who moves from her native Dublin to Hong Kong to teach English, with no discernible qualifications other than being white. Not long after her arrival, she…

[arambling]

An Irish girl, a posh boy, another girl, terrible communication skills and relationships that are a thing but also aren't. It sounds and feels familiar (CwF) but still worth the time. I particularly loved how the social media and the way Ava uses it, is intertwined in the narrative, as cringey as reading one of your school diaries. . . . . . #readingcorner #cornersofmyhome #oootd #bookcoverart #bookcation #the52bookclub2021 #naoisedolan #excitingtimes #weidenfeldandnicolson #faneproductions #springinscotland — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/3av3LJ1

[pjmendez]

My US launch tour comes to an end tonight courtesy of @greenlightbklyn and the great and wonderful @thesonofbaldwin, aka Robert Jones, Jr. In 2013, I left London and returned to my home city, feeling, for various reasons, disillusioned with life and estranged from myself. I didn’t know who I was or what I was for; what I’d left my family and religious community to achieve. I felt I had nothing to show for what I’d made myself or the people I grew up with suffer. Returning home only made things worse, until I realised that what I was lacking was a sense of heritage. I went to see 12 Years a Slave at the Electric Cinema in Birmingham, and for the first time understood my hitherto unexplainable rage. Trayvon Martin was murdered and his killer was acquitted – #blacklivesmatter began as a new kind of organised resistance. Tumblr was the right platform at the right time to show an isolated Black person like me, raised in a neo-fascist-leaning borough with no Black literary or political role models, what Black history was and what it meant for me. Robert’s was one of the voices telling me what it had never occurred to me that I didn’t know. @thesonofbaldwin I wish I had a tenth of your knowledge, determination, courage and composure to stamp out the intolerant and ignorant wherever you find their little fires, with such eloquence and grace, while reserving enough energy to inspire and affirm. Thank you, and I very much look forward to our conversation. It’s been a challenging week (I’m usually in bed by 11 so these midnight starts have been brutal), but I’m thrilled with the way it’s gone and I couldn’t have asked for a finer group to be in conversation with. Thank you to @maazamengiste @bry.washing @naoisedolan @jeremyathertonlin and @brandonlgtaylor for your brilliance, and to @itsmemarg0 @jill_brill @erindmerlo of @doubledaybooks for making all this happen. Robert Jones, Jr. x Paul Mendez x Greenlight Bookstore, tonight 7pm ET/12am BST. Link in bio. (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQOqb_rF70m/?utm_medium=tumblr

[belleandkurtbastian]

half of my twitter feed is ppl using MSM to mean 'men who have sex with men' and the other half is ppl using it to mean 'mainstream media' and the best tweets are the ones where you can't tell which it is

— 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (@NaoiseDolan) July 19, 2018

[mizuhi-blog]

#MyFavorite #instagram #Facebook #twitter #tumblr Instagramからの投稿やFacebookからのシェア画像の場合は、正確な描写が為されない場合も多いので、FacebookやInstagram等の投稿者の意図を正確に表現する為にも、 是非、下記のURLをクリックして下さい。 いいねいいねい20210505😊 #naoisedolan https://instagram.com/naoisedolan?igshid=zqo0t5o6surs https://www.instagram.com/p/COfHygCHIcZ/?igshid=31t8swi828ii https://www.instagram.com/p/COfS5iLjqif/?igshid=rmlqidn1d55x

[timelyslapintheface]

[bettydaedalus]

You're gonna hear me regardless though... #naoisedolan