gemma short writings

Every character was tired of their antics. No-one could understand why Celine and Luke were insistent on this wedding. I could not understand why they did not call off the wedding during their year-long engagement (just what did they talk about during that year?!). The frustrations I had with this novel did not in fact stop me from devouring it; I read almost two thirds of it to get me through what has easily been the hottest day of the year so far.

I had highly anticipated this read since a couple of years ago when I read Naoise Dolan’s other work, Exciting Times, and now I am unsure whether or not I am disappointed. From the beginning, from Celine’s point of view, it was clear that Dolan’s style of writing here was right up my street with its unconventional proposal and the unnatural, staccato replies between the pair. I, at first, liked the non-linear story, and the modes of experimentation with storytelling as it ebbed and flowed; it felt reminiscent of the fragmentary style I would practice during my time at university, and was apparent that Dolan was having fun with it.

However, I eventually grew weary.

Halfway through, I was understanding that as a reader I was not being taken anywhere. There was hardly any narrative. With the story being broken down into parts, each one following a different character, there is the unspoken expectation that each will have a purpose. Instead, there is the rehashing of mostly the same few events told from each person’s perspective, and some perspectives did not feel interesting enough to warrant this. The snippets we got into each character’s lives where we only got the one angle were the most compelling.

Although, there is one exception that comes to mind.

When Luke’s chapters first rolled around, I rolled my eyes. A first person account of an aggravating character, who is staying up on the night of his wedding trying to debate whether or not to call the whole thing off, felt like a nightmare.

And it was, at first. There was a ‘woe is me’ nonsense that made it impossible to root for him.

But I took a moment to pause at his account of a past relationship with an old friend of his, which we get long after hearing it from the ex’s perspective. The puzzle pieces fell into place regarding his modus operandi, and while he was still insufferable he was at least more compelling.

The happy couple was definitely an interesting concept with two characters that, for the most part, had a fascinating push and pull dynamic. The struggle I had with this novel was that the characters lacked a feeling of realness, in the sense that I did not buy their existence when they were absent from a chapter.

(Like I said at the beginning, it was a struggle to believe that these characters could organise a full wedding in the span of a year and without talking about their doubts.)

Putting my grievances aside though, there were some real gems in here. Reading the anecdotes of both Celine and Luke recounting falling in love or feeling truly content with their dynamic felt melancholic in a beautiful way. Despite my irritations, I was distinctly sad at understanding just how close they were to working out. If only they could meet each other’s specific needs regarding how they need to be loved. If only they could have grown up a bit sooner.