‘Evenings and Weekends’ by Oisin McKeena

I was completely captivated by the characters Oisín McKenna has created in Evenings and Weekends. His protagonists live in the gritty reality of London during a heatwave over one weekend in 2019 (think of the carefree days before COVID). North and South East London become characters in themselves.

We met Ed, he is working as a courier. Maggie, his pregnant girlfriend, is a Fine Arts major, but since graduating has found work only in cafes. They moved to London from a suburban town to pursue dreams that have never quite got off the ground, struggling on low incomes. Can the prospect of moving back to the suburbs to raise a family be their salvation?

Phil is in an open relationship with Keith, his housemate. Keith has a permanent boyfriend, Louis. Phil doesn’t really get along with Louis and wants Keith to himself.

He is also Maggie’s best friend and knows a secret about Ed's past but is finding it difficult to let her know. 

Thrown into the mix is Phil’s mum, Rosaleen. Life has never felt real to her, as if she has been living someone else’s life. Recently diagnosed with cancer she cannot bear to tell Phil, though she has told her older son.  

Among its many themes this tale looks at the emotional commitments of a modern urban group of friends and family. It explores the nature of queer identity and how difficult it is to be truthful to yourself. McKenna uses an interesting thematic device of a whale that has beached itself in the Thames, seemingly attracted by the bright lights of the city. A momentous event that captivates the city. Will it survive? Will our characters survive similar personal events over one momentous weekend?

I highly recommend this uplifting account of a group of friends and relatives who are attempting to find their next step in life.

Evenings and Weekends
ISBN 9780008604189
Harper Collins
Available in store and online mid-August.