Ava makes it her mission to get him to admit some feelings for her, purely because it would give her the upper hand. His privilege is the invisible third party in the relationship. Julian, her posh banker boyfriend, has such an apartment – which is just as well, since he also has an arrogance to match his salary. It’s a brilliantly concise summation of her take on relationships, which she sees as a power game, an “ultimately shallow emotional transaction” in which the greatest potential benefit might be that you get to move into an apartment better than anything you can afford on your own. You can pre-order a copy through Hachette.A va, a 22-year-old Dubliner living in Hong Kong, describes herself as “good at men”. In case you're wondering, The Happy Couple is scheduled to land on Australian bookshelves on May 30, 2023. Naoise Dolan is autistic, and in the past she's described how her own experience of masking and mirroring has heightened her awareness of social dynamics, actions, subtext, all things essential to great writing and strengths in her own. If the plot reminds you of Four Weddings and a Funeral, me too. Meanwhile, wedding guest Vivian watches on with enough emotional distance to see with clear eyes.

The way she sees it, her role is to get to the bottom of Luke's frequent disappearances. Celine's chain-smoking sister Phoebe is the bridesmaid, and has no wedding aspirations of her own. Then there's the best man, Archie, who is in love with Luke and without the desire to change that. You have the happy couple: Luke and Celine. The Happy Couple is on route to examine the ubiquitous marriage plot through five characters all linked by a wedding set to take place in one year's time. In fact, given the blurb of the novel, it's almost guaranteed. We expect The Happy Couple will offer up the same keen observations and gendered dynamics that floored us in Dolan's debut. Given the way her main character straddles the line of self-loathing and self-awareness, as an author Dolan's books fall, be it by design or not, into the same category as Ottessa Moshfegh and Sally Rooney. In Exciting Times, Dolan gave us Ava, an aimless 22-year-old who uproots from Ireland to teach English in Hong Kong.

Naoise dolan new book