Exciting Times

A Novel

by Naoise Dolan

256 pages

English language

Published July 27, 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-296874-6

(4 reviews)

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, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children.

Julian is a banker. A banker who likes to spend money on Ava, to have sex and discuss fluctuating currencies with her. But when she asks whether he loves her, he cannot say more than "I like you a great deal." When Julian's job takes him back to London, Ava 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.

And then Julian writes to tell Ava that he is coming back to Hong Kong... Should Ava return to the …

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, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children.

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.

And then Julian writes to tell Ava that 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?

Politically 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 — and announces herself as a singular new voice.

9 editions

debby_joyblue reviewed Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

Review of 'Exciting Times' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I hesitated in choosing this book because it was compared to Normal People, which I disliked. But, based on the largely glowing reviews, I decided to buy it so I could read it sooner than the library hold list would allow (now I'm regretful).

At the end of my first day of reading, I told my DH that I liked this book —it's funny. Yesterday, I had to admit that I was no longer enjoying it. Ultimately, it's about a young (23-ish) Irish woman who is immature, generally unpleasant, and treats her lover(s) badly. That's the whole of the story. I think I'm done giving these types of books a chance.