Today we are joined by Marketing Assistant Becky Lushey who is here to tell us about her latest read – Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan – for What We’re Reading!
What’s it about?
Set in the international circles of contemporary Hong Kong, Exciting Times follows Dublin-transplant and English language tutor Ava as she navigates the power plays and politics of her not-quite-a-relationship with English banker Julian, and a head-over-heels obsession with her first lesbian love, Edith.
What did Becky think of Exciting Times?
‘I feel like I’d been hearing about this book on Twitter for absolutely ages and always found myself drawn to its gorgeous cover. Then I heard Naoise Dolan on an episode of the Juvenalia podcast and she was so insightful and funny that I knew I had to buy this book. Honestly, it’s one of the best things I’ve read in ages – razor sharp, brutally funny and packed with brilliant dissections of language, class and sexuality. Naoise artfully skewers all of these issues with such a keen eye that it’s frankly intimidating. It’s no wonder that she’s been tipped as one of the hottest new debut authors this year and often compared to the fantastic Sally Rooney. Plus, if you need any more convincing, my copy has some lovely sprayed edges to boot!’
If you liked this, keep an eye out for…
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
Eighteen years old, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl, our dysfunctional heroine is deeply lost and in complete denial about it all. She’s grieving the death of her father, avoiding her loving boyfriend, and flagrantly ignoring her future.
Her world is further upended when she becomes obsessed with Jenny, a stay-at-home mother new to the neighbourhood, who comes to depend on weekly deliveries of pickle-covered pizzas for her son’s happiness.
As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other toward middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur in strange, complicated, and ultimately heartbreaking ways.
