Evenings & Weekends: to Cities, its People and Heartbreaks

- a novel by Oisín McKenna.

Another stunning debut! How some people write the most magnificent first novels, I don't know but I'm glad it isn't a crime. A myriad of stories held in an ode to the cities and towns they live in; their lives and thoughts within it. Moving, sensual, assured and polished.

The book is set in a hot, and I mean HOT London weekend. A group of characters related in one way or the other. A pregnant Maggie, in her 30s, grieving a city she loves but can no longer afford. Her boyfriend Ed, lost, confused and a secret history with her best friend Phil. Phil's mother who just can't seem to tell her son the latest update on her life. Phil, on the other hand, in love with his housemate and lover Keith, who has a boyfriend.

Sound messy? McKenna has structured it perfectly.

The writing enamors you- vulnerable and poetic. The characters are written with so much realism to them; they're flawed and experience shifting dynamics throughout the book with themselves and each other. The representation of queerness in contemporary times feels authentic too- sexy, nuanced!

The novel also captures what I can relate to about London- in all its gloomy and medieval feel, the city holds a certain magic, a certain sense that there is always something happening, something more to obsess over and fall in love with.

'What emerges is an empathetic portrait of millennials trying to build lives for themselves amid social, political, and ecological change.'