Exciting Times
A Novel
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- نقد و بررسی
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نقد و بررسی
April 6, 2020
In Dolan’s wry, tender debut, a young Dubliner navigates her love life and sexuality. Ava, 22, has a murky friendship with London-born and Oxford-educated banker Julian, in his late 20s, whom she’d met at a bar during her first month in Hong Kong, where she teaches English. They treat each other with ironic regard, speaking mostly in quips about his privilege and their mutual maybe-attraction. Ava moves into his flat, and they soon start sleeping together. The novel picks up speed after Julian travels to London for work and Ava meets Edith Zhang, who is both different from Julian in many ways—stylish, female, a Hong Kong local—and similar—boarding school, Cambridge, a well-off family. On Ava’s 23rd birthday, Edith kisses her, and they fall headlong into an earnest, garrulous, and secret love, as Edith isn’t out to her family. When Julian writes to say he will be returning in a month, Ava, who hasn’t disclosed the true nature of her and Julian’s relationship to Edith, must decide what she really wants. Dolan starts slowly, but gradually the ironic distancing of Ava’s narration is pierced by questions from Ava’s students and her transformative relationship with Edith. Dolan’s smart, brisk debut works as charming comedy of manners, though it packs less of a punch when it comes to class consciousness.
Narrator Aoife McMahon is terrific delivering Naoise Dolan's impressive debut novel. Twenty-two-year-old Ava moves from Dublin to Hong Kong to teach English. There she meets Julian, an odd, self-involved banker. They start an unconventional relationship. She moves in. Julian picks up the tab. Eventually, they sleep together. They have great discussions. There are no emotional ties. McMahon makes Ava a believable millennial, politically aware and socially conscious, complete with melodic Irish accent. She is spot-on with Julian's indifferent affect, yet she makes him appealing. After Ava meets Edith, a coolly elegant lawyer and Hong Kong native, McMahon delivers a tender/prickly love story. Dolan poses contemporary questions and sets up credible scenarios by using honest, simple language and snarky humor. McMahon's performance is bright, sassy, and delightful. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
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