The Happy Couple

Critics Review

• I pure LOVED The Happy Couple. So witty, observant, wise and funny. Nihilistic about heteronormative relationships but so charmingly done I barely noticed. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it

  Marian Keyes

• Dolan, whose debut novel Exciting Times was a storming success, is sure to bring her sparkling wit and insightful understanding of human relationships to this second outing

  Irish Independent

• Sassy and smart and wickedly funny, Dolan’s voice is uniquely her own. I inhaled every irreverent page

  Ruth Gilligan, author of THE BUTCHERS

• I just finished The Happy Couple and I loved it – an extremely funny examination of modern love, with depth, bite and poignancy

  Daisy Buchanan, author of INSATIABLE

• A cracking ensemble, The Happy Couple is a beautiful sonata about our relationships and a sad fugue for fear and loneliness. The book is a tough, all-engrossing love-test. Dolan’s acerbic humour is unapologetically analytical. She breaks the rule of intimacy with wit and panache that are second to none. I was kept on tenterhooks till the last few pages and my heart wouldn’t stop pounding afterwards. I don’t want to say goodbye to Luke and Celine.

  Kit Fan, author of DIAMOND HILL

• Endlessly funny, endlessly inventive – a bold and stylish novel that slipped down and burned like a shot of something lovely

  Rebecca Wait, author of I'M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY

• A sophisticated character study of a young couple coming to terms with their relationship, in this biting, whip-smart look at modern love and the tangled messes we leave behind us. I am fully in awe of Dolan’s talent. And so glad my twenties are over

  Douglas Stuart, author of YOUNG MUNGO and SHUGGIE BAIN

• The Happy Couple is a dazzling follow-up to Exciting Times. Dolan spins her magic again with humour and insight and the sharpest of prose. Not a word out of place

  KATHERINE HEINY, author of STANDARD DEVIATION and EARLY MORNING RISER

• The Happy Couple is just as satisfying as Exciting Times, and deals with class, money, gender dynamics and bisexuality with similar ease. Set between London and Dublin, it is a beautiful exploration of love, fidelity – and whether either are compatible with marriage

  Pandora Sykes

• The Happy Couple is one of those rare novels that feel like it’s been written just for you. It’s precisely what I love to read: engaging, fast-paced, hilarious, but still tender and moving. Also, is Dolan an actual genius? The pages just sparkle with smartness. It’s a true joy to read, I adored it from the first page to the last

  Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days

• Using daring, exciting sentences and close, sharp observation, The Happy Couple is a brilliant contemporary novel

  COLM TÓIBÍN

• The Happy Couple hooked me the way that heteronormativity hooks its ambivalent protagonists. Dolan’s prose absolutely crackles with wit, humour, and empathy

  Clare Fisher, author of ALL THE GOOD THINGS

• The Happy Couple reminded me of Muriel Spark in its precision of language and emotion

  Emma Forrest, author of BUSY BEING FREE

• Fun, addictive and laced with astute observations

  Vogue

• A deep dive into love, betrayal, monogamy and sexuality. Sensational

  Daily Mail

• One of the most talked about books for 2023

  Stylist

• A funny and perceptive play on the traditional marriage plot that cements Dolan as one of the cleverest, most amusing new writers around. Marriage, it seems, is a laughing matter

  The i paper

• The Happy Couple rises towards an affecting ending that asks what illusions and armour one has to shed in order to feel free

  Observer