Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 'Kept me rapt until the final page' THE TIMES 'More than lives up to the hype ... Likely to fill the Sally-Rooney-shaped hole in many readers' lives' IRISH TIMES 'Droll, shrewd and unafraid - a winning debut' Hilary Mantel, author of WOLF HALL 'A sharp, smart, witty modern love story. I loved it' David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY When you leave Ireland aged 22 to spend your parents' money, it's called a gap year. When Ava leaves Ireland aged 22 to make her own money, she's not sure what to call it, but it involves: - a badly-paid job in Hong Kong, teaching English grammar to rich children; - Julian, who likes to spend money on Ava and lets her move into his guest room; - Edith, who Ava meets while Julian is out of town and actually listens to her when she talks; - money, love, cynicism, unspoken feelings and unlikely connections. Exciting times ensue. 'I had real fun with Exciting Times. It is a very funny, spiky, Marxist, feminist comedy and it's really mean' Zadie Smith 'A frankly sensational book' Pandora Sykes 'In the tradition of Dorothy Parker, Joan Rivers and Nora Ephron ... I found myself purring with pleasure. ...This is comic writing at the highest level' Craig Brown, DAILY MAIL 'I've been pushing Exciting Times on everyone I know. Some of Dolan's pithy observations of her characters are the best I've read since Edward St Aubyn' OBSERVER Readers are loving this: 'Funny, witty and utterly enjoyable' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A deeply profound insight into a modern relationship and love story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Delighted to have read this gem of a story. It gave and took in equal measure and I laughed and cringed' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Funny and wry and political and smart and it knows exactly how it feels to be 22 and in unfamiliar surroundings' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐