‘A startling diasporic debut fiction for 2024 from a brilliant young Belfast voice‘
– Exile (Publisher Quote)
[ About Exile ]
Endless nights out in Belfast pass by for Fiadh and her friends in an exhilarating blur of cheap vodka and crowded dancefloors as they celebrate the end of exams and start of university. But when Fiadh wakes up from a night she doesn’t remember… everything changes. Soon, everyone knows what happened to her; it is impossible to stop the rumours from spreading and the gossip from spiralling out of control. Helpless, she begins to freefall.
Thrown into university life at Liverpool, assignment deadlines are missed, classes are skipped, friends’ messages are ignored. Lost between a strange new city and a place that no longer feels like home, will one night cost her everything?
[ My Review ]
Exile by Aimée Walsh published with John Murray May 23rd and is described as ‘taut and tender… a devastating exploration of the repercussions of one half-remembered night from a major new voice in Northern Irish fiction’.
Set in the 2000s, Exile is a very raw coming-of-age tale about a young woman, with dreams and ambitions, whose life is upturned forever on a night out. Fiadh was born and bred in Belfast. She had a great bunch of friends, and the craic was mighty. These were young women who dreamed of bright futures and exciting days ahead. Hanging out in the pubs and clubs and partying hard were second nature and, as their final school exams loomed, they all considered their options.
With an idea to study English Literature, Fiadh gets a place at a university in Liverpool, whereas all her friends go to Queens. She is nervous but excited at the prospect of this grown-up adventure that awaits her. Against her parents’ wishes she catches the flight with a lump in her throat but also with a sense of new beginnings. As her decision to accept this place was very last minute, Fiadh was unable to secure student accommodation, so she was booked in as a lodger with a strict landlady, Mrs Cooper.
Fiadh struggles to fit in at the beginning of term. Her Northern Irish accent sets her apart but in time she slowly finds her tribe. On a return trip to Belfast, a traumatic incident takes place, one that causes Fiadh to question herself and what she has become. She returns to Liverpool but is unable to process what happened. Her new friends are concerned for her, but none of them know her well enough to raise too many red flags. When she meets up with her old friends, doubt is cast over her and she no longer feels like she belongs.
Fiadh is in trouble. Her mental health and self-worth are in free-all and there is no one to soften the blow. Fiadh’s story is heartbreakingly depicted. She was a young woman with a life of wonder ahead of her. She had a great relationship with her friends. They had the chats and were always there making sure that everyone was safe and taken care of. One night, one scant memory, one devastating moment was enough to destroy a young woman.
The dialect in Exile is very much in the local vernacular, really adding that authentic layer to the novel. When Fiadh and her buddies are having the laughs, the jokes and the manner of speech are all very local, all very real. The divisions that exist in Northern Ireland are highlighted and handled excellently as Fiadh has friends from across the divide and, as a young woman, religion really doesn’t bother her. Her life up to her college years was one of enjoyment and getting the most out of every minute, but now everything has changed.
Exile is not an easy read as Fiadh’s story progresses. Early in the novel the banter is very funny and the antics of the girls is pure entertainment but when the story takes a darker turn, there is a sense of discomfort and heartbreak. Aimée Walsh raises multiple relevant issues, primarily that of the importance of consent, the importance of friendship and the importance of home. Fiadh’s story is one of tragedy and regret. It’s realistic depiction of the pain and damage caused is very vivid and is remarkably written, with nothing wasted. A challenging coming-of-age story that will pull at every heartstring, Exile is a stunning portrayal of a shattered dream and of a life that was suddenly splintered, a very powerful debut.
**Thank you to Elaine Egan (Hachette Ireland) for a copy of Exile, in exchange for my honest review
[ Bio ]
Aimée Walsh is a writer from Belfast. Her short stories have been longlisted for the London Magazine Short Story Prize and published in Extra Teeth. Her non-fiction and book criticism has appeared in The Irish Times, The Observer, RTÉ Culture, Dazed, Refinery29 (US, Germany, Australia, and UK), and The Independent (UK, Spain, and Ireland), amongst others. Walsh holds a PhD in Irish Literature and Cultural History. Exile is her debut novel.
X ~ @thereadparts
