Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna
Set over two hot days in June 2019 in London, Oisín McKenna's debut novel is a surprising and at times frustrating exploration of millennial life
Evenings and Weekends is Oisín McKenna’s debut novel, set over two swelteringly hot days in London. Phil, Ed, Maggie and Rosaleen are the centrepieces of the story – it is June 2019, and each are aching for the weekend, with secrets and dreams that they are desperate to share.
The queers, the artists, their lovers and families, take the stage as McKenna reveals the modern realities of millennial living: being broke, complicated family relationships and generational differences, and the politics of queerness and polyamory. They are woven together into a wonderful, exciting story intertwined with astute social commentary.
The range of characters spanning generations and genders, however, means the particularity of each risks being lost, occasionally blending together. Depictions of some experiences lack realistic substance – the trauma of a major medical procedure, for instance, is underplayed, described in terms of the joy of free healthcare, with the emotional processing an afterthought.
The characters are given identity through detailed inner monologues, which occasionally disrupt the story’s flow. It is perhaps the aim of the style, though; with living in London likened to an orgasm that never happens, the pacing sometimes feels similarly frustrating. But McKenna nonetheless demonstrates a command of writing drama and building tension: the anticipation of the weekend is expertly captured, and it feels almost nostalgic – and thrilling, too.