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The Happy Couple

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The Happy Couple

By: Naoise Dolan
Narrated by: Ayoola Smart, Bert Seymour
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About this listen

 'A brilliant contemporary novel' Colm Tóibín
'I am fully in awe of Dolan's talent' Douglas Stuart
'I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it' Marian Keyes
'Dazzling. Not a word is out of place' Katherine Heiny

Meet Celine and Luke. To all intents and purposes, the happy couple.

But Celine's more interested in playing the piano, and Luke's a serial cheater.

And as their big day approaches, the complicated lives of the wedding party begin to unravel. A fed-up bridesmaid, a lovesick best man, guests and family members all find themselves searching for their own happily ever afters.

From the author of Exciting Times, this is a sparkling ensemble novel about love and marriage, fidelity and betrayal.©2023 Naoise Dolan (P)2023 Orion Publishing Group Limited Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Smoking Tobacco Greek Mythology Ancient Greece

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All stars
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I finished it hoping for it to get more interesting but it felt a bit shallow and pretentious. Sadly the narrator was dull which did add the the melancholy. I was hoping a wistful holiday read but it was lame.

Pretty boring

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I couldn’t finish the writer’s first novel, however, this follow-up had a maturity and a depth of meaning that meant I finally made it to the end. I’ve read some of the comments about it not being very interesting and I agree to an extent, it’s striving to be a novel that is profound and illuminating whilst dealing with fairly mundane issues. It never quite gets there, but it’s an interesting and absorbing ride nevertheless.

Vast improvement on her debut

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Didn’t go anywhere. Lost interest Amd should’ve returned it. Boring really with no exciting content

Just not that interesting

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I have the book and listened aswell. I think in audio the short chapters come across much better, because the performance emotes the exasperation from the character. I liked that it had different people reading for the male and female characters. Struggled with the change in accents, just for flow purposes in the female roles and Archie (male role read by a woman)

Overall good story, like the language/lingo used, it sounded like a younger generation in their 20's. Loved that it felt so Irish in England.

The very short chapters

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A subtle, well-written love story that defies traditional archetypes. Told through the lens of five intriguing characters, this novel examines our relationship with the idea of love and the expectations that we have. Full of insights into modern dating and heteronormativity, the range of LGBTQ+ characters really adds depth to the idea of a wedding between a man and a woman.

Thoroughly recommend for readers who enjoyed Sally Rooney’s novels or Naoise Dolan’s previous novel, Exciting Times.

A thoughtful examination of relationships in the 21st Century

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I didn't like this book, it felt pretentious. however, the narrator made this book so much worse. I appreciate characters had both English and Irish accents, but please choose one accent for the in between times. I think I might have enjoyed the book had it not been for such an irritating narration.

Pretentious

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Naoise Dolan has woven an utterly unique and compelling story - her characters are so relatable and contemporary. She totally gets the times we live in and how we try to survive. Love her work.

Utterly compelling

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Dreary story, monotone narration. I abandoned this about an hour in, and had I used a credit would have wanted it back.

Couldn't finish this

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Similarly to Exciting Times, this was witty and sharp. I love how you get to experience the same situation through different characters’ lenses. I really enjoyed this!

Bloody loved it!

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I did enjoy the general themes of LGBTQ, relationship issues, etc but it was a bit bland in general

A bit bland

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