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By Oisín McKenna

The highly anticipated new novel by breakout debut writer Oisín McKenna, author of Evenings and Weekends

Set in Hackney, East London, between the 1990s and 2023, the story follows a cast of local characters in two timelines: focusing on a young Irish woman as she struggles to make a life for herself in 90s London and her son, living with and reckoning with his mother’s decisions thirty years later. Moving, witty and tender, it explores questions of community, belonging, trauma and and how to make a happy, fulfilling life in the contemporary world.

Format: Hardback
Release Date: 02 Jul 2026
Pages: 320
Price: £16.99, £16.99 (Export Price) , €None
Oisín McKenna grew up in Drogheda, Ireland, and lives in London. He was awarded the Next Generation Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland to write Evenings and Weekends – the highest award for an emerging artist in Ireland – and it was developed with further funding from Arts Council England. Evenings and Weekends has been awarded a 2022 London Writers Award, which supports London’s most promising underrepresented writers. In 2017, Oisín was named in the Irish Times one of the best-spoken word artists in the country. He has written and performed four theatre shows, including ADMIN, an award-winning production at Dublin Fringe 2019, and has written for outlets including the Irish Times on issues such as gentrification and the alienation of Dublin’s youth.

PRAISE FOR EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS: -

'A gorgeous, kaleidoscopic vision of London written in shimmering prose I felt compelled to underline. I was deeply moved by its beauty and humanity.’ Coco Mellors, author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein -

'A masterpiece. This searing tale of love, sex and class will resonate for generations to come' Owen Jones -

'Electric and intimate. Bottles the exhilaration of youthful desire and possibility, as well as the accompanying instability' Guardian -

‘I’ve never seen London so vividly rendered: grubby, sexy, suffocating. I couldn’t put it down. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant’ Shon Faye -

'Full of rich observations and emotional detail. A complex love letter to the city.' Vogue -

‘A beautiful, wise book. Impossibly, ineffably beautiful.’ Russell T Davies -

'Compelling, brilliant, hypnotic. An impressive debut, pulsating with energy, humour and erotic charge.' Irish Times -

‘I loved it so much I didn't want it to end. It made me choke up not from tragedy but from the sheer humanity of it' Annie Lord -

'The only beach (or back garden) read for those in the know' Sunday Times Magazine -

'A book you itch to return to' Eva Wiseman, Guardian -

'The book of the summer' Dazed -

'McKenna’s evocative prose paints a love letter to London in all its grimy glory’ Service 95 -

'Tender and addictive. Perfect summer reading.' i Paper -

'Heartfelt, vivid and sexy' London Standard -

‘A love letter to cities and people and heartbreaks. It made me cry’ Eileen Myles -

‘Astonishing. A magnificent read’ Russell Tovey -

'The book insiders will be passing on to everyone this summer' Stylist -

‘Sexy, clever and shockingly alive. I have never read a book that captures what London feels like so compellingly’ Tomasz Jedrowski -

'The aching, swelling humanity of this book swallowed me whole' Saba Sams -

'Zadie Smith-esque in its kaleidoscope of London. Compassionate, intelligent, hilarious' Niamh Campbell -

'A novel brimming with life' Nicola Dinan -

'Stunning. Guaranteed to be one of the books of the summer' Hero -

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