Author(s): Naoise Dolan

Fiction | Mel M's Book Talkers

Meet the happy couple. Luke and Celine, are in mutual unrequited love with each other, set to marry in a year's time.

The best man, Archie, is meant to want to move up the corporate ladder and on from his love for Luke; yet he stands where he is, admiring the view.

The bridesmaid, Phoebe, Celine's sister, has no long-term aspirations beyond smoking her millionth cigarette and getting to the bottom of Luke's frequent unexplained disappearances.

Then there's the guest, Vivian, who with the benefit of some emotional distance, methodically observes her friends like ants.

As the wedding approaches and these five lives intersect, each character will find themselves looking for a path to their happily ever after - but does it lie at the end of an aisle?

Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times, makes the Marriage Plot entirely her own in a sparkling ensemble novel that is both ferociously clever and supremely enjoyable.

CONSTANT READER STAFF REVIEW: MEL M

Luke and Celine get engaged, but – as you may find yourself asking of similarly questionable couples you know – should they?

The Happy Couple explores this oft-tread ground with a fresh approach infused with Irish wit, memorable characters, and varied sexualities.

Naoise Dolan is like a funnier and drunker cousin of Sally Rooney, with an Austen-ish sensibility for the mysterious and shifting dynamics between love interests both past and present.

I enjoyed how the story kept deepening as it moved through the different characters’ perspectives, culminating in an ending I found satisfying.

Read this if you enjoyed the film The Worst Person in the World!