Book Review: "Evenings and Weekends" by Oisín Mckenna

Sometimes, I like to read a book or two on my phone as you know and I don't want to sound like I haven't been faithful to my books but I have had this one for about three months on my phone now. It's not something I'm proud of but here we are. Evenings and Weekends is a book filled with 'characters' if you can say that. The writing is often impressively deep and the storyline was definitely interesting enough to keep me reading. So, though it probably won't end up on the 'best of the year' list, it definitely isn't that bad. Let's take a look at how this author wove together character-centric stories to create a larger narrative set in the midst of a heatwave...

The novel, as we know, is set in the midst of a heatwave in London during 2019 and, as we see the state of the Thames we encounter the beaching of whales. The question of whether this is symbolism becomes clearer and clearer as the book goes on. Maggie is 30 years' old and pregnant - she's also considering moving back to her hometown of Basildon because of the chaotic life of the city. I've been to Basildon before and I actually couldn't wait to leave. I'm from the city and I could never live in a place so far from everything. However, Maggie is definitely torn - London has far more possibilities than her hometown and she definitely has these thoughts about whether giving up on city life means giving up on who she is as a person - or rather who she would like to be.

The one character I found quite complex was Ed. Ed is perhaps one of the most intense characters in the whole novel. He is Maggie's partner and the father of her child. He craves a sense of stability and honestly believes that fatherhood is going to give that to him. But, on the other hand, he has a secret. His secret is that he has a past in which he has had sexual encounters with men. This is something that he is constantly scared of coming to the surface - he lives in this constant state of fear. I think this is universal as a theme. Everyone has something about themselves where they are just so scared of being judged that ultimately, it cripples them and their relationships. The author does a brilliant job of making him this complex, deep and meaningful character.

We have a pair of men named Phil and Keith who live together, they live in this dissatisfied temperament, half-content and half-discontented. I was surprised at their intensely written emotions and how the author really made them feel real. Phil is in love with Keith but Keith has a boyfriend and so, we have this complex mess of emotions for Phil. On top of this, Phil also works an office job he absolutely hates. The level of sadness in his life is directly reflective on the atmosphere that takes place in his narrative. Alongside this, Phil's immigrant mother is reflecting on her own regrets whilst coping with cancer.

As everything continues, the secrets they once held close out of fear begin to surface and bubble, causing tension and rifes, causing arguments and causing high emotions at every angle. The author's ability to write these emotions with a grand universality in which anyone who has an ounce of human emotion can feel at least something on the level of these characters is quite amazing. I was surprised I enjoyed this novel to be honest because the moment I first heard of it, I remember thinking that I didn't actually know whether I'd like it. Yet, it turned out to be very good indeed.

I think the only thing that let the book down is that these books are quite common now and there are many that are better and more detailed than this one. Be that as it may, it is still a pretty good book and I am surprised that I didn't read it when I first got it. The novel is rife with high tension and even though there are quite a few characters, they are all equally very intriguing.