On the other hand Ava can be a bit too deadpan at times and her constant habit of composing text messages but never sending them irritated me but these are minor quibbles. I thought it was clever, witty and well paced.

Although Ava does make fun of them inwardly, she is also slightly jealous that she cannot fit in.ĭid I like Exciting Times? In a way I did. The same language problems occur with Edith.Īs for social class, Ava sees herself as a wallflower, just obsering Julian and Edith’s mannerisms. Sometimes the amount of restraint bothers here and as she is Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Hong Kong students, Ava sometimes stumbles upon the correct way to pronounce words and has to cast away her Irish slang. Throughout the book Ava notices that she has to be careful with what she says around Julian as a casual swear can sound insulting.

The main one being Irish mentality vs English mentality. The majority of the book is about cultural and social clashes. To say that Exciting Times is about relationships would be incorrect and here is where Naoise Dolan differs. Like THAT other author, Naoise Dolan likes to focus on the details of relationships that we tend to take for granted. She does have an important decision to make but will her attitude prevent it? Julian reappears but, is ok with Edith and Ava being together, despite Ava not telling him until the moment when he is ready to return to Hong Kong.īy the end of the book Ava is floating : she is not sure about Julian or Edith, she’s not sure about her job or her life situation. However, Ava is indecisive and despite attempts on Edith’s part to deepen the relationship, Ava’s attitude creates a barrier of sorts. Due to his work, Julian has to go abroad for long periods of time.ĭuring these sojourns, Ava then meets Hong Kong born but English educated Edith and they do start a relationship, unbeknowst to Julian. I know it sounds contradictory but that is how it is portrayed there are feelings but at the same time there’s constant denial from both ends. There she meets the wealthy 30 year old Julian and they form a relationship, which really isn’t one. By this I mean that Naise Dolan also focuses on love from a millennial point of view.Ģ3 year old Ava moves to Hong Kong to escape Ireland. Naoise Dolan’s debut novel, Exciting Times shares a lot of similarities to Sally Rooney’s Normal People (and shades of Conversations with Friends). Earlier this morning I tired to skirt away from the obvious but the review just didn’t sound right so I’m to get this bit out of the way.

Exciting times naoise dolan ending