This book has a rich cast of characters that all feel so real, flawed and complete in their personalities and relationships. in the very beginning you're porbably going to be like "who are all these people?", but you get to know all of them so intimately that at the end you can't even imagine ever not knowing them - I loved it! It is so perfectly descriptive of the times we're living in and you're just following along, and the beautiful writing makes it even more enjoyable. It's definitely a perfectly executed "more vibes than plot book" (which is my absolute favorite).

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC,

This book had moments of brilliance, but also entire sections that could've been completely omitted. The moments of brilliance were really just the author waxing poetic about contemporary life and the thoughts of 30-something city dwellers like myself, which I found spot on, poignant and relatable. Unfortunately I felt the book had not enough dialogue, and too many characters with the point of view jumping around without notice or commitment, making it difficult to follow the loose plot at times. It was also kind of low on plot, and was more of a character study and societal observation. But if I’m reading a character study I frankly need there to be less characters explored. All that to say I generally enjoyed this book, despite some perceived flaws.

This book follows an interconnected cast of characters as they navigate their young adulthoods.

The writing in this book is lovely, and the characters are easy to connect to and to root for. The characters are well defined, with compelling backstories and rich relationships with each other. A book with multiple perspectives is difficult to balance, and I think this book only sometimes pulls it off. The changing focus made the book a little hard to get into; as soon as I was invested in a character we would change. I also am not sure how well integrated the older characters are into the narrative. I was definitely more focused on the trio of Ed, Maggie, and Phil than I was on Phil's mother, Rosaleen.

Beyond the brilliant pacing and tight language, I was most delighted to find lines that would have read as cheesy and trite in any other book, but in Evenings & Weekends was touching. It was like I was granted permission to take such vulnerable notions seriously. I am a hard judge of first lines and I immediately adored the first line of this book. For the readers that judge more on a book's tearjerking capacity...yes, I cried. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Based on the description I should have loved this! But ultimately it fell flat for me. I think its biggest problem was far too many characters and perspectives. This made it hard to keep track of all of them and really hard to connect with any of them in a meaningful way. Overall enjoyable but forgettable.

beautifully and painfully mundane.

despite the description there’s quite a large cast of characters to follow, and there isn’t much plot.

I don't know how to write about this book. It felt, in a way, written for me (even though it definitely was not.)

I picked this up right after finishing another book and thought, "I'll just read for a few minutes." McKenna's description of late youth in a sweltering city was absolute perfection. It brought me right back to my final "young adult" years in New York City.

I'm not sure that Maggie and Phil's relationship was the center, but it was for me. I want every book to be about the precious friendship between a woman and her gay best friend. The unfaltering love, the protectiveness, and even the jealousy.

I loved loved loved this book and am so honored to have been able to read an ARC

This was a stellar debut and I raced through it following the complicated, messy romantic and familial relationships of 3 young adults living in London during a heatwave in 2019. As the heat rises through the weekend so does the tension as the main characters come to turning points in their lives. I loved this! I loved the whale in the Thames and the character development and I was invested in each person and wanted to know how their lives were going to progress. I definitely see the Sally Rooney comparison and agree. Very well done !!

EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS by oisín mckenna paints a kaleidoscopic view of modern london and the many lives bustling inside. over the course of one weekend, mckenna focuses on a handful of interconnected relationships smoldering with tension as they experience love, lust, heartbreak, and the agony of self-discovery.

mckenna effortlessly strikes a balance between earnest and heartfelt without feeling corny and overwritten. instead, each character is smart and lush with complexity. mckenna’s authenticity made each character uniquely compelling — i was just as invested in a young, queer couple as i was with a terminally ill mother nearing the end of her life.

EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS is both timely and timeless, a rare experience achieved by delicately handling each characters’ humanity and driving them with provoking and perceptive narrative. mckenna reminded me how powerful fiction can be when mastered in this way.

for fans of SIRENS AND MUSES and ALL THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT, EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS is a must-read this summer.

5/5 ⭐️ OUT JULY 16

thank you @marinerbooks for the advanced copy on @netgalley !

This is one of my favorite reads I've picked up in 2024 so far! And one where I believe the Sally Rooney comparison is valid! I've found that a lot of books are marketed to her audience the moment an Irish or UK author sets out to write a fictional novel that explores complicated relationships -- both familial and romantic.

Like Rooney, each character's personality is captured in the ways that they interact with the people in their lives, down to the minute details. I found that McKenna was able to weave in political and social commentary pertinent to the times in a way that didn't feel too out of place or unnecessary in a fictional novel. Excited to read more from them!

“For fans of Sally Rooney” will always work on me. Every single time. And this book delivers the slice-of-life plot and complex relationship dynamics that I so love in every Rooney novel.

The backdrop of this story is 2019 London during a brutal heat wave. This book focuses on a group of friends whose lives are all at critical turning points. The characters are very well developed and their paths are perfectly (and messily) intertwined. Can you recall the feeling of how difficult it can be to watch your friends stumble into who they were always meant to be? That is exactly how it feels to read this book. I found myself glued to the pages as I awaited Maggie, Ed & Phil’s next steps.

Did I just spend 10 minutes googling to find out more about the River Thames whale? Yes, yes I did.

The kind of fiction that feels searingly real. McKenna manages to weave together a large cast of characters with depth and fairness and intrigue. Beyond the brilliant pacing and tight language, I was most delighted to find lines that would have read as cheesy and trite in any other book, but in Evenings & Weekends was touching. It was like I was granted permission to take such vulnerable notions seriously. I am a hard judge of first lines and I immediately adored the first line of this book. For the readers that judge more on a book's tearjerking capacity...yes, I cried. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

being a left leaning, queer late twenties human being in the modern age is such a unique experience not because these labels are inherently rare but because there is still space to be surprised. mckenna weaves issues like irish/uk politics and climate change to illustrate how pertinent the millennial malaise is. with so many world issues outside of the cast of characters' control, it's easy to see why any one character wouldn't want to put their heart on the line. i felt like i knew what each character's beliefs and intentions were by the end which doesn't happen often when there are so many people to keep track of. however, this was a nice surprise. i really just wanted each person to choose happiness and i got that here without repercussion. instead, kindness prevailed.

I thought this was a stellar debut and tore through this in a day or two. The lives of the characters were a bit of a mess in the way that most late 20-early 30 something lives are, but I enjoyed watching them try to figure out what they wanted and learn how to reach for it.

Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna (out July 16, 2024) was a recent read, and my first five star book of the year. I don’t know what it is about Ireland, but damn do they know how to write a novel about the human condition and love over there (honorable mention to all Sally Rooney books)! McKenna discusses all forms of love, love between family, between friends who become your family, and love for yourself in taking your hopes, dreams, and desires seriously and giving yourself space to accomplish them. I very much relate to the feeling of incapability to fully express the depth of your love for your loved ones. Reading Evenings and Weekends came with the realization that, while we might not be able to open our brains and let our loved ones peek inside to prove our love, love and the act of loving is often much more simple than that.

3.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book felt like a glimpse into normalcy and how messy life can be regardless of age.
One of my reading goals for the year was to read more contemporary fiction. The genre can be so real and raw while telling important stories.
Evenings and Weekends was an easy read but it fell a little flat for me. The introduction to the book and its characters was a bit messy in the beginning. You have to fight through a few chapters to get the gist of the characters and when the story has transitioned to their view. Just when you get comfortable picking up who you’re reading there’s a side character thrown in occasionally. You follow Ed, Maggie, Joan, Rosleen, Phil, Keith, Callum, Holly, Ali, Debs, Louis, and a few other side characters. All of them add to the story and are vital to the authors message.
There isn’t a particular pin-pointable plot, in my opinion. The concept of the book reminds me of when Dumbledore would pull memories and put them in the pensive for viewing. These memories are just a little extended. You’re following a cast of characters for a small segment of time, essentially jumping in one weekend and leaving the next. The end isn’t the end of the characters, just the end of the time period being told. The story got a little lost in the long winded flash backs of Phil’s childhood memories. They added to the context but also required some of their own context.
I did find the characters relatable. Struggling with money, relationships, sexuality, identity, family, and more. Oddly enough, I found myself relating to Rosaleen (The 60 year-old mother of 2). Always overthinking and missing someone deeply who didn’t get to experience life with me.
In the end, I did enjoy this novel but was left wanting more.
TW: Homophobia, Rape, Parental Loss, Pregnancy Loss

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley.

Oisin McKenna's Evenings and Weekends is an excellent character study. The characters here feel very real and fleshed out. Both good news and bad news, really, because they are not the most likable characters. This combined with the general lack of plot left me wanting.

I loved the setting and atmosphere of this book. It was almost the main character. However, I didn't really click with any of the actual human characters. There were a little too many of them to keep track. I almost started a spreadsheet but reading for pleasure shouldn't be so much work. I think if the book had a narrower focus it would have worked better because I didn't feel like I knew enough about some characters to care about them but they kept reappearing.

I felt like better use of the whale would have helped. It didn't really go anywhere thematically that made sense to me.

Forgive me for making comparisons, but I had a bit of a flashback to the breakfast club while reading this novel. Without spoiling anything, this novel concerns a group of disillusioned millennials during a heat wave in London in 2019. Perhaps it was the set up of this novel, or perhaps it was the way in which these characters were portrayed, it just has that same vibe of listening to people tell you where things are going wrong in their lives, you can't fix them--because they're fictional, but they feel so real and you just want to reach out and reassure them that things will change as time progresses.

This novel doesn't shy away from discussing sex, sexuality, or engaging in the Zeitgeist of late 10's millennial culture, and I found that quite refreshing. This work is clearly by and for Millennials. Or for people who might know one of those artsy folks in the city who just can't seem to figure out the trajectory of where life is heading versus where it should be or deserves to be going. I'd classify the characters as exhausting in a relatable way, and yet they're still endearing. I genuinely think this book is prime material for discussion in literary circles and I hope my review will implore you to give this novel a chance.

Thank you to the author and Mariner books for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The characters in this book are so vividly rendered that you feel like you know them, which is both marvelous and tricky - I read at night before falling asleep, and one evening in the midst of this novel I switched to reading something else because I was just not in the mood to hang out with these exhausting people. The younger generation in this novel includes some of the friends you have in your twenties, especially as a queer person, that you just want to sit down, your hands on their shoulders, and shake them slightly while telling them, "please, get it together, for your own sake and for the sake of everyone who loves you, please, oh my god," which makes this a bit of a frustrating read but also makes the conclusion that much more profoundly satisfying in a way that real life with people like this is sometimes(/often!) not.

Oisin McKenna is great at writing the agonies of being a human being in their twenties and on the other side in their fifties/sixties, which makes me very interested in seeing how he'd tackle the forties. One thing I loved about this novel is how completely secondary everybody's jobs were, to the point that I often forgot what they all even did for work - this may be why most of them are broke, but, same. Overall this was an immersive, somewhat overly crowded experience, but an unforgettable one. McKenna has real talent and I'll be interested to see what he writes next.

My thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the ARC.