A review by documentno_is
Evenings & Weekends by Oisín McKenna

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

4.25

The aimless ennui of being in your late twenties, with a large focus on a few different kind of queer relationships and family dynamics. I really loved how McKenna crafted this assortment of characters, how they all weaved in and out of each other's lives. This novel has a rather condensed time span for the bulk and then transitions into broader strokes for much of the final chapter. Sometimes feels like it's trying to hit on a variety of topics and does so in unnatural ways

(when the abortion part gives a sort of pedantic explanation of the state of abortion in Europe- not saying this isn't valuable information it just felt a little forced and maybe most interestingly more forced than the chapters about the whale.) In contrast, my favorite chapters were Maggie & Phil ruminating on parenthood and aging and how these topics feel in queer relationships.

The writing style is simple yet poignant, and has a listlessness that ties in well with the subject matter; the third person POV gives enough detachment for the way the story introduces moments between characters that happened in the past. I feel excited to read more of McKenna's work.