Scan barcode
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Naoise Dolan is very sarcastic. My kind of person.
The humor in this book is incredibly dry and clever, sneaks up on you. Story and dialogue is simple but full of intellect. Characters feel evasive but real, monotonous day-to-day life of twentysomethings who hate harping on their privilege but definitely take advantage of it. Dolan’s wit is sharp and relentless at times, which works well for the temperament of our main character, Ava. Her not-boyfriend Julian is very noncommittal and quite dull, actually, but his and Ava’s routine of being somewhere between roommates and FWB is interesting although played out. Thus, it is with the turn of the arrival of Edith into Ava’s life that shoots the plot into more compelling territory, though not altogether interesting, even with the announcement of love between them. In any case, the writing is great and very introspective. Many comparisons can be drawn to Sally Rooney, beyond them both being Irish authors of the same age. This one was quite similar to the plot of “Conversations With Friends”, but less engaging, and I do find that Rooney’s writing carries more weight to it.
Dolan’s take on the daily rituals of an Irish millennial living abroad is very functional and slice of life. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, which is not always great when a story is character-driven. In the end, I found myself skimming through paragraphs. I wished for more plot. But that is another pointed joke of Dolan’s—a book called “Exciting Times” with very little excitement.
There were many quotes I liked, especially this one:
“We were the sum of the routines we’d built around each other.”
The humor in this book is incredibly dry and clever, sneaks up on you. Story and dialogue is simple but full of intellect. Characters feel evasive but real, monotonous day-to-day life of twentysomethings who hate harping on their privilege but definitely take advantage of it. Dolan’s wit is sharp and relentless at times, which works well for the temperament of our main character, Ava. Her not-boyfriend Julian is very noncommittal and quite dull, actually, but his and Ava’s routine of being somewhere between roommates and FWB is interesting although played out. Thus, it is with the turn of the arrival of Edith into Ava’s life that shoots the plot into more compelling territory, though not altogether interesting, even with the announcement of love between them. In any case, the writing is great and very introspective. Many comparisons can be drawn to Sally Rooney, beyond them both being Irish authors of the same age. This one was quite similar to the plot of “Conversations With Friends”, but less engaging, and I do find that Rooney’s writing carries more weight to it.
Dolan’s take on the daily rituals of an Irish millennial living abroad is very functional and slice of life. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, which is not always great when a story is character-driven. In the end, I found myself skimming through paragraphs. I wished for more plot. But that is another pointed joke of Dolan’s—a book called “Exciting Times” with very little excitement.
There were many quotes I liked, especially this one:
“We were the sum of the routines we’d built around each other.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault
jrow's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It feels like there is almost nothing going on in the story, but it was funny at times and some parts were cleverly worded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Classism, Colonisation, and Toxic relationship
themeanfrench's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Infidelity
Moderate: Abortion
ramreadsagain's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was amusing in a dry humour type of way, however the book is not as good as it thinks it is. It's trying to call out racism, privilege, and colonialism, while being full of unchecked stereotyping and an astounding lack of self-awareness.
I enjoyed the writing style itself, as well as Ava as a deeply-flawed, largely unlikeable narrator. But that just wasn't enough to make me care at all about what happens. Overall this lacks substance and achieves nothing.
Also, another reviewer pointed out that there is no reason for this book to take place in Hong Kong and I agree.
I enjoyed the writing style itself, as well as Ava as a deeply-flawed, largely unlikeable narrator. But that just wasn't enough to make me care at all about what happens. Overall this lacks substance and achieves nothing.
Also, another reviewer pointed out that there is no reason for this book to take place in Hong Kong and I agree.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual content and Infidelity
Minor: Medical content
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
very similar to the only Sally Rooney book i've read, Normal People, (in fact, both audiobooks were read by the same person) but where i found NP depressing, i found Exciting Times *comforting*. i think it's in the narration: NP's is third-person, detached, and almost cold, while ET's is first-person, familiar, and didn't make everything feel completely futile? it helped that i related a lot, more than i would like, to the narrator 🥲 she's just like me fr. i loved her character's voice (in the literary sense, not the audiobook, though that was good too), i saw myself reflected in it a bit.
i want to talk about the ending. at first i was disappointed, asking myself how the author could think that's a good place to stop. but i read it back and there's more to it:the comparison of exiting the subway station to ascending into the clouds—heavenly, or at least stepping out of the dark and into the light. and to spot & run after Edith there? and Ava's admission to herself that she loves Edith, and that Edith changed her life… i think it says more about me that i wasn't against her moving to Frankfurt with Julian. because at least she had someone who ostensibly wanted her, and what more is there, right? but that's not what i was meant to take away. it's a little bit romcom, but chase after the person you wronged in a transit hub and get them back; don't settle for the emotionally stunted man-child. (i do actually kind of like Julian though, despite his politics [Miles is right]). i also appreciate that the book is a vessel for talking about these things: even though you lovely storygraphians did not ask to hear any of this, it's nice to be able to express it.
i want to talk about the ending. at first i was disappointed, asking myself how the author could think that's a good place to stop. but i read it back and there's more to it:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Classism, and Cursing
Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Colonisation, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug use, and Fatphobia
noveltay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I struggled between 3 or 4 stars and ultimately rated it higher because this story did stick in my mind for a couple weeks afterwards. I think I was going to do 3 stars because I did not find the characters lovable at ALL, but I think that is the point. Great story if you like semi dull characters with boring morals but a love triangle and relatable thoughts from the main character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
antoniav's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia and Rape
Minor: Racism and Sexism
skudiklier's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm not sure how much I liked this book. I enjoyed it, I found it engaging, and I laughed out loud more than once. I also really liked some of the lines; I listened to the audiobook while driving so I sadly didn't save most of them, but there was one part that hit me so hard I paused the book and just sort of yelled for a minute. I just spent fifteen minutes tracking it down so I might as well share it here:
"The best wedges of words were the ones my eight-year-olds wrote: I like her face. With her I am happy. I wished I’d never learned more advanced grammar and could only make sentences like that. It would give me an excuse to say them aloud."
Anyway. This book didn't really go anywhere and I'm not sure the characters are very good in any real way, but I enjoyed the narration for sure. It's interesting and I'd recommend it to some people, but not everyone.
"The best wedges of words were the ones my eight-year-olds wrote: I like her face. With her I am happy. I wished I’d never learned more advanced grammar and could only make sentences like that. It would give me an excuse to say them aloud."
Anyway. This book didn't really go anywhere and I'm not sure the characters are very good in any real way, but I enjoyed the narration for sure. It's interesting and I'd recommend it to some people, but not everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Cursing, and Biphobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism
coreysbooks's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
⭐️⭐️/5 for me
Main character doesn’t get a lot of character development, a love triangle between our bisexual main character and her male roomie banker and a female lovely lawyer. Our main character is kind of cruel, she blatantly used both people, and then goes back to the banker in the end. She’s dishonest, and uses the people she “loves”. I think the only reason I finished is I loved the voice of the audiobook narrator.
⭐️⭐️/5 for me
Main character doesn’t get a lot of character development, a love triangle between our bisexual main character and her male roomie banker and a female lovely lawyer. Our main character is kind of cruel, she blatantly used both people, and then goes back to the banker in the end. She’s dishonest, and uses the people she “loves”. I think the only reason I finished is I loved the voice of the audiobook narrator.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Death, and Cultural appropriation
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Classism, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Lesbophobia