Exciting Times

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction'Kept me rapt until the final page' THE TIMES'More than lives up to the hype ... Likely to fill the Sally-Rooney-shaped hole in many readers' lives' IRISH TIMES'Droll, shrewd and unafraid - a winning debut' Hilary Mantel, author of WOLF HALL'A sharp, smart, witty modern love story. I loved it' David Nicholls, author of ONE DAYWhen 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. 'I had real fun with Exciting Times. It is a very funny, spiky, Marxist, feminist comedy and it's really mean' Zadie Smith'A frankly sensational book' Pandora Sykes'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, DAILY MAIL'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' OBSERVERReaders are loving this:'Funny, witty and utterly enjoyable' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A deeply profound insight into a modern relationship and love story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Delighted to have read this gem of a story. It gave and took in equal measure and I laughed and cringed' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Funny and wry and political and smart and it knows exactly how it feels to be 22 and in unfamiliar surroundings' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐