{"product_id":"exciting-times-9781474613460","title":"Exciting Times","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eThe book of the summer ... Kept me rapt until the final page\u003c\/b\u003e'' \u003c\/font\u003e \u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eA sharp, smart, witty modern love story. I loved it\u003c\/b\u003e''\u003c\/font\u003e David Nicholls, author of \u003ci\u003eONE DAY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eMore than lives up to the hype ... Likely to fill the Sally-Rooney-shaped hole in many readers'' lives\u003c\/b\u003e''\u003c\/font\u003e \u003ci\u003eIRISH TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eDroll, shrewd and unafraid - a winning debut\u003c\/b\u003e'' \u003c\/font\u003e Hilary Mantel, author of\u003ci\u003e WOLF HALL\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eI''ve been pushing \u003ci\u003eExciting Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e on everyone I know. Some of Dolan''s pithy observations of her characters are the best I''ve read since Edward St Aubyn\u003c\/b\u003e''\u003c\/font\u003e  \u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eA frankly sensational book\u003c\/b\u003e''\u003c\/font\u003e Pandora Sykes on THE HIGH LOW\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e''\u003cb\u003eI\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003en the tradition of Dorothy Parker, Joan Rivers and Nora Ephron ... I found myself purring with pleasure. ...This\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI had real fun with EXCITING TIMES. It is a very funny, spiky, Marxist, feminist comedy and it's really mean.\u003c\/b\u003e * Zadie Smith *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDroll, shrewd and unafraid - a winning debut\u003c\/b\u003e * Hilary Mantel, author of WOLF HALL *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFiercely intelligent, brutally funny and written with such heart, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e announces an impressive new voice in literature.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWitty, compelling and with a razor-sharp social commentary. I guzzled it.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Pandora Sykes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA modern love story ... astute, sardonic and highly emotionally aware ... Heralding for sure a new star in Irish writing\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003emore than lives up to the hype ... Likely to fill the Sally-Rooney-shaped hole in many readers' lives.\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDazzling ... So brilliantly executed ... Coming-of-age love is told in technicolour ... Banging lines follow banging lines. Your underlining pen destroys the pages ... With \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e comes a rare and indeed exciting talent, a cacophony of our times, a treat for the socially distanced\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLucky us ... \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewill brighten lockdown ... Very funny ... Extremely sharp ... Insightful and raw\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA funny, smart, contemporary love story. Perfect for fans of Sally Rooney and Emma Jane Unsworth\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Times Style *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe funniest writer you will read this year\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eEvery page crackles ... Very funny ... Ultimately a very moving story, one that occupies a small sliver of time and space, but manages a lasting emotional tinnitus ... Naoise Dolan is not the new anyone. She's entirely herself, and that's plenty\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Life, Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA sharp, funny account of a contemporary relationship, told tenderly and with biting, bright insight.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHands down one of the most anticipated debuts of the year ... A piercingly provocative look at modern love and power games.\u003c\/b\u003e * BookRiot *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA funny, smart and sensitive exploration of love, privilege and bisexuality that had me gripped from the first page. Dolan's sentences are like a splash of cold water to the face\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDevastatingly perceptive and articulate. It's a joy to encounter a book so compulsively readable and painfully funny while simultaneously deeply insightful on love, on sexuality, on social class, on their links as terribly inextricable in the 21st century as they ever were. Dolan is a major talent and this is a formidable debut\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is icily brilliant stuff. A poised and surgical examination of class, sex, language and self-making, with some flat-out enviable jokes\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead if you like ANIMALS by Emma Jane Unsworth, TRICK MIRROR\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eby Jia Tolentino, THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Times Style *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliantly funny, surgically sharp, furiously political\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eExpect to hear lots about \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003enext year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eForensically brilliant - an elegant and painfully funny portrait of greed and hunger, love and indifference\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSo wry, witty and insightful\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDolan's debut lives up to the hype, a hypnotic tale \u003c\/b\u003e -- Sarah Hughes * The i newspaper *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWe're really, um, excited about this sharp, smart debut\u003c\/b\u003e * Red magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA modern love story that will live with you long after you've finished it\u003c\/b\u003e -- Molly Aitken author of THE ISLAND CHILD\u003cbr\u003eFollowing the love triangle between three expats living in Hong Kong, EXCITING TIMES\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003edissects the financial and personal transactions that make up life\u003c\/b\u003e * Platinum magazine *\u003cbr\u003eThis debut from Dolan explores a love affair between an English teacher and a banker in Hong Kong and the lawyer who blows the whole thing sky-high.\u003cb\u003e Definitely one to watch.\u003c\/b\u003e * Stylist, 'Best new books for 2020' *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinance, sex, cynicism and unspoken feelings\u003c\/b\u003e are swirled together in a can labelled 'Hong Kong' in this modern love triangle * Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmong the most hotly tipped debut authors for 2020\u003c\/b\u003e * The Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003eEXCITING TIMES is more caustic and cynical than Rooney's writing, if just as clever ... \u003cb\u003eAll the fretting over love and class could be compared to Austen or Wharton, but her light treatment of bisexuality and polyamory is utterly 2020\u003c\/b\u003e * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeet the new Sally Rooney\u003c\/b\u003e... That might sound like hyperbole but this tale brings fresh and on-point insights into modern love that'll make it a hit with lovers of NORMAL PEOPLE * Stylist *\u003cbr\u003e2020 is set to be a \u003cb\u003ehuge \u003c\/b\u003eyear for Naoise Dolan * Irish Examiner *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEchoes of Sally Rooney's CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS resound\u003c\/b\u003e in this exacting debut novel * Oprah magazine *\u003cbr\u003eIce cool, self aware and very funny. Shades of Lorrie Moore and THE BELL JAR. * Graham Norton *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDry, sharp, meticulously observed ... A frankly sensational book that's flawlessly executed\u003c\/b\u003e * Pandora Sykes on The High Low *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHalf Sally Rooney love triangle, half glitzy CRAZY RICH ASIANS high living - and guaranteed to please\u003c\/b\u003e * Vogue, 'Books We Cant Wait to Read in 2020' *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn effervescent snapshot of millennial, attachment-avoidant dating\u003c\/b\u003e * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eConstant, breezy fun\u003c\/b\u003e * Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA love story about three expats in Hong Kong\u003c\/b\u003e - teacher Ava, banker Julian, and the alluring Edith - and \u003cb\u003eexplores the nuances and uncertainties of modern love\u003c\/b\u003e * Cosmopolitan, 'Best Books of 2020' *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e is a joy from start to finish, and the perfect balm for these times-fresh, funny, sharp.  Everyone should read it right now. A literary and hilarious tour de force.\u003c\/b\u003e * Katherine Heiny, author of Standard Deviation *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e From the opening page, Ava's voice is electrifying and frequently very funny; Naoise Dolan's debut novel really is as good as everyone says it is.\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eI wouldn't be surprised if it emerges as \u003cb\u003ethe book of the summer\u003c\/b\u003e... A rich, sharply witty story made out of the frictions and complexities of young love ... \u003cb\u003eKept me rapt until the final page \u003c\/b\u003e * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI've been pushing \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eExciting Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e on everyone I know\u003c\/b\u003e: it is the perfect blend of caustically clever and emotionally engaging. Some of Dolan's pithy observations of her characters are \u003cb\u003ethe best I've read since Edward St Aubyn\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI tore through EXCITING TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e, a sharp, smart, witty modern love story. \u003cb\u003eI loved it\u003c\/b\u003e * David Nicholls *\u003cbr\u003eTHIS BOOK!!!! It's as \u003cb\u003eBRILLIANT \u003c\/b\u003eas everyone says!!!! \u003cb\u003eI DEVOURED it \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003eit delighted me \u003c\/b\u003ewith its ideas and \u003cb\u003emade me LAUGH so much and gave me hope\u003c\/b\u003e. Naoise Dolan is thrillingly honest about class iniquity, sexism, poverty, the after-effects of colonialism - it's so REFRESHING. I kept seizing on paragraphs and shouting, THIS!! THIS IS THE THING I WAS THINKING BUT COULDN'T ARTICULATE!!! * Marian Keyes *\u003cbr\u003eA wonderfully sharp, comic writer, adept at making wisecracks in the caustic, knock-em-off, knock-em-down tradition of \u003cb\u003eDorothy Parker, Joan Rivers and Nora Ephron \u003c\/b\u003e... [Ava] is Bridget Jones's sour sister, or \u003cb\u003eBridget Jones marinaded in vinegar\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eI found myself purring with pleasure\u003c\/b\u003e. I loved EXCITING TIMES's snap and its bite ... This is \u003cb\u003ecomic writing at the highest level\u003c\/b\u003e, created with such apparent ease that it seems to dance across the page ... At its best, EXCITING TIMES reminds me of \u003cb\u003eMartin Amis's first novel, The Rachel Papers\u003c\/b\u003e. In its icy take on consumerism it's also reminiscent of \u003cb\u003eBret Easton Ellis's American Psycho\u003c\/b\u003e. Like both those novels it seems to be brilliantly in tune with its times. * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eA Book of the Year in \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times \u003c\/i\u003eand a Best Book of the Summer in \u003ci\u003eThe i \u003c\/i\u003enewspaper\u003ci\u003e. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA wily, caustic story about young love ... Sentence-by-sentence, EXCITING TIMES is\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eboth a joy and a triumph\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eI delighted in the brilliance \u003c\/b\u003eof Dolan's deadpan style. * The i newspaper *\u003cbr\u003eThe most talked about novel of the summer * The Sunday Times Style *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA dazzling debut\u003c\/b\u003e... Dolan's writing is precise, acerbic and enviably good, and her characters are perfectly drawn * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking\u003c\/b\u003e... Ava is a most interesting literary heroine ... I rarely find myself rooting for a character as much as I did for her ... A whip-smart, funny and poignant story of modern love, accessible to all. \u003cb\u003eIt should be on everyone's 2020 must read list\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Sunday Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003efresh and funny \u003c\/b\u003edebut about love and self-knowledge ... \u003cb\u003eaffecting and powerful\u003c\/b\u003e * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eWhat sets Dolan apart is her humour. EXCITING TIMES is riddled with snappy one liners and witty interplay. \u003cb\u003eA fantastic first novel\u003c\/b\u003e * Metro *\u003cbr\u003eDolan is a writer entirely in command of her craft ... \u003cb\u003eThe writing fairly sizzles on the page\u003c\/b\u003e... EXCITING TIMES is an acerbic tale of sex and love, set in the social media age * The Herald Scotland *\u003cbr\u003eIncredibly readable * Belfast Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eWith Naoise Dolan on the literary scene\u003cb\u003e, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ethere are EXCITING TIMES ahead\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e * i-D *\u003cbr\u003eThe Irish debut novel \u003cb\u003eeveryone is talking about\u003c\/b\u003e * The Gloss *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI savoured every shrewd line\u003c\/b\u003e * Dazed *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003esharp, witty and ultimately moving \u003c\/b\u003edebut ... Dolan brings a fresh insight into modern love that will inevitably make this \u003cb\u003ea hit among those who love \u003ci\u003eNormal People\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003ewry, stylish \u003c\/b\u003edebut\u003ci\u003e ...\u003c\/i\u003e In this \u003cb\u003ewitty \u003c\/b\u003esatire of the haves and have nots, Dolan explores\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003etender, insightful truths about the vagaries of modern love\u003c\/b\u003e * Esquire *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSnappy, sharp and smart \u003c\/b\u003e[with] \u003cb\u003epainfully funny \u003c\/b\u003einsight that has drawn justifiable comparisons to Sally Rooney * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003eNaoise Dolan's debut is \u003cb\u003ewhipsmart\u003c\/b\u003e, sharp and full of \u003cb\u003edelightfully perceptive \u003c\/b\u003eobservations * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eA bracing book that cuts through the burdens and excesses of the typical love story to deliver the reader to \u003cb\u003ethat rare, real thing: raw thought\u003c\/b\u003e. Naoise Dolan has \u003cb\u003ean uncanny talent for interiority\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eher cool prose accommodates equally well a quickening heart and a mind on fire\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e -- Joshua Ferris\u003cbr\u003eA sharp, witty debut. * Stylist *\u003cbr\u003eWe loved Dolan's evisceration of Insta culture - SAVAGE. -- Cosmopolitan * Cosmopolitan *\u003cbr\u003eWithering, stylish prose that is at times deceptively simple but always flush with caustic wit, I savoured every shrewd line. * Dazed *\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851830870359,"sku":"9781474613460","price":8.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474613460.jpg?v=1710645977","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/exciting-times-9781474613460","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}