Ava

Ava is the main character and first person narrator of the novel. At the start of Exciting Times, Ava is 22 years old. She has just completed her college degree and moved away from her home in Dublin, Ireland. Feeling restless and sad in her hometown, Ava hopes that relocating to Hong Kong will resolve her internal troubles.

However, teaching English to elementary students in an unfamiliar country quickly proves unsatisfying to Ava. She lives in a squalid flat with two roommates she does not like. She cannot afford an apartment of her own, and feels persecuted by her managers at work. Furthermore, she doubts her own authority to teach English grammar when she herself does not always understand standard British English.

Therefore, when Ava meets and starts seeing a wealthy, attractive banker named Julian, she readily attaches herself to him. Julian makes it clear that he does not...