Sometimes, a novel comes along which is timed perfectly to tap into modern culture. Maria Duffys debut novel Any Dream Will Do is one such novel, exploring our obsession with social media and how we can sometimes be fooled by what we are seeing on those screens in front of us.
The novel is told through the honest, witty voice of single thirty-year-old Jenny Breslin. With an emotionally distant/deranged mother (who acts more like a teenage rebel than a mother), a boring bank job, an awful boss, a lacking love-life and friends who seem to be living the perfect family life, Jenny turns to Twitter for company, where she establishes stronger friendships and a better social life than she has in the real world. Far from fiction, this is something which happens every day and through her characters, Maria Duffy explores the implications of social networking on our relationships and friendships.
When Jenny drunkenly invites three of her Twitter friends to spend a few days with her in Dublin to meet up in person for the first time, her assumptions about the people she has got to know virtually are turned completely upside down, leading her to re-evaluate her own life and realise that perhaps it isnt that bad after all.
Any Dream Will Do is a funny, heart-warming novel which sparkles with rich Dublin wit throughout. With Jenny Breslin, Maria has created a Bridget Jones for the social networking generation Jennys disastrous love-life, endless, toe-curlingly embarrassing incidents, the brilliant Mammy Delaney and the anticipation of a white Christmas keeps the pages turning and the plot building to a surprising climax.
From the seasonal, eye-catching cover to the touching personal acknowledgments at the end, this is a debut of which the author should be very proud.
*
Linda Smith walks her dog Rudy every day, but with the temperatures rising, and Rudy’s age, a simple walk takes a little more preparation than just grabbing the leash.
Not logged in