A review by miamcmillan
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i really, really did not think i was going to rate this so highly, because i wasn’t the biggest fan of the first section (‘julian’) but i’m so glad i read the rest of it because it was amazing. the sense of humour is beautifully dry, ava is unlikeable as a character and likeable as a person (the perfect contemporary lit protagonist), and the social commentary is very cutting. i know naoise dolan’s writing has often been compared to sally rooney’s, which is accurate, but i kind of enjoyed it a bit more than rooney’s novels (with the exception of beautiful world) as it felt sharper. idk it was just overall a very funny & enjoyable thinky thoughts novel. 

“i think you want to feel special - which is fair, who doesn’t - but you won’t allow yourself to feel special in a good way, so you tell yourself you’re especially bad.”

“the truth is, you like julian because he enables this perception you have of yourself as a detached person. plenty of people are willing to offer you intimacy. that terrifies you. you prefer feeling like no one will ever love you.” 

(“i feel catholic guilt when we’re fucking, but i’m not sure if fucking you is the source of guilt or the penance”)
Expand filter menu Content Warnings