One of the most moving debuts I've ever read! A poignant exploration of trauma and the way it impacts our relationships; with ourselves, with others and with the world around us. Gritty and unflinching, but Walsh also manages to retain a certain tenderness in validating the Fiadh's experience.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc.

Parts of this could have been my past, not any part that I'd like to return to given the option. Why were her friends so so awful?
Usually a lack of speech marks doesn't bother me but this book was a bit more confusing for it, a bit disjointed.

Also, without giving anything away, I'm team Fiadh. Men are grot.

“Leaving home was hard. Returning is impossible”.

I tore through Belfast author Aimée Walsh’s debut title, Exile, which centres around one young woman, Fiadh, whose life is turned upside down in just one night.

For party girl Fiadh and her friends, nights out in Belfast pass by in an exhilarating blur of cheap vodka and crowded dancefloors as they celebrate the end of exams and the start of university.

Unfortunately, her exam results aren't exactly as planned, and in a quick change of heart, Fiadh heads away to college in Liverpool to study English.

Sure enough, there are some issues settling into the new university community, but quickly enough, things begin to look up for Fiadh.

That is until a night at home in Belfast halfway through the first term changes everything for her.

It doesn't take long for anyone and everyone to hear about what happened, and gossip abounds.

Fiadh, unable to cope with her trauma, begins to freefall, and life quickly spirals into a chaos of missed assignments and isolation as she heavily relies on alcohol, drugs, and one-night stands to ease her pain.

Through Walsh’s vivid prose and excellent use of local dialect Exile is pitch perfect. It is a stunning, though often uncomfortable, debut novel. 4⭐

Many thanks to the publisher for kindly providing me with an advance copy via Netgalley.

Exile is the debut novel from Belfast writer Aimée Walsh and it’s a coming-of-age-but-make-it-car-crash tale that I found very compelling, if tough to read at times.

Fiadh is a young woman on the cusp of adult life. She loves a good messy night out (or in) with her best friends in her home town of Belfast. When her final school exam results don’t go exactly to plan, and with something niggling at her, she decides to move to Liverpool to study English there. It’s difficult settling in there, not least with a comically miserly landlady like Mrs Cooper, but things are beginning to look up for Fiadh until a night at home in Belfast halfway through the first term changes everything for her.

This book takes off like a rocket around the halfway mark and becomes very hard to put down. The ending is Shakespearean, I thought it was magnificently done.

There are a lot of messy, drunken nights out to contend with along the way, and some scenes that make for difficult reading (cw: sexual assault). You really want someone to swoop in and rescue Fiadh and just give her the help she needs.

It’s an emotionally fraught tale set in the 00s, of wild youth, friendship, betrayal and loneliness, and it explores the tumultuous period in life where you transition from school to university, which can be lonely and traumatic for some. If you enjoyed Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation, or Michael Magee’s Close to Home, then I think you will love this. 4/5⭐️

*Many thanks to @johnmurrays for the lovely #gifted hardback copy. An honest review as always.

Fiadh’s life is in freefall after the unimaginable happens to her, by one of her best friends. As her life turns to chaos, those around her try to understand/help her, but to no avail.

WOW. I went into this book completely blind and it honestly blew me away. It is hard-hitting, gritty, and raw. Set around 2007-2009 (I estimate by the music choices and pop culture references) this book gave me so much nostalgia to being a teenager in the noughties. Pretty much every band/song mentioned were those that filled my mp3 player growing up.

The protagonist starts off as a very relatable, average teenager who is leaving school, and goes on nights out with their friends on the weekends. But one disastrous night out results in Fiadh experiencing the most traumatic event of her life. The rest of the novel follows her trying to deal with/run away from her trauma, until she resigns to live with the pain of what has happened.

This was a fantastic debut for author Aimée Walsh, and I will 100% be looking out for her next book. She brought the cities of Belfast and Liverpool to life in this book, and her analysis of female friendships was spot on. Immaculate, I give this 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @johnmurrays for the ARC via @netgalley .

The stories coming from the north are on fire! Loved this book, a very spiraling read but one I adored and was constantly rooting for Fiadh, magical writing.

i mean jesus christ

i feel like i need a month to take this in. an absolutely unflinching and extremely raw depiction of the before and after of when one of the worst things that can happen to you happens.

as someone who has also had this happen to me reading it back honestly felt somewhat cathartic; it’s incredible writing to get into the mind of a survivor like that. i am genuinely dumbfounded.

a story of a group of friends going off to university and the aftermath of an event that changes the trajectory of their entire relationship, i found it difficult to read at times but that was honestly because the writing was so real to me that i felt uncomfortable in the best way possible.

i will read everything aimee walsh ever writes in the future. one of the most exceptional things i’ve ever read.

Exile is set around a group of Belfast friends in their school years,and as their paths diverge as they head to University. Exile is told from Fiadh's point of view as she struggles with the aftermath of a night out. Something which could destroy her friendship group. An impulsive decision leads her to Liverpool for university and on a path of destruction as she tries to escape the truth of what happened that night.
Exile is a raw and gritty story that at times is difficult to read

🚬 REVIEW 🚬

Exile by Aimée Walsh
Release date: 23rd May

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

📝 - Fiadh is on the line between being a child and an adult. As she finishes school in Belfast and heads off to university, she’s left grappling with her identity, feeling outcast and unsure of herself. Just as she thinks things might be settling into place, the things she can’t quite remember from a night out back home send her into a spiral, causing destruction across her whole life.

💭 - This was a very captivating read, I think I got through it 3 sittings. Fiadh encapsulates the anxious, insecure teenager starting university where she knows no-one, and shows just how a single awful event can bring down your life. While I did definitely enjoy this one, I feel there was even more scope for diving into Fiadh’s character, giving some more understanding to her personality and previous experiences. Nonetheless, definitely an enjoyable one and I’d recommend picking it up! Will keep an eye out for any future works from Aimee Walsh…

#debutnovel #exile #aimeewalsh #bookreview #northernireland #fiction #books #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #kindle #netgalley #newrelease #arc #advancereaderscopy

Heartbreaking, tender, and very familiar in the literary fiction trope I think the litfic girls are going to love this.

Ugh I did not enjoy this one. I gave it three stars on NetGalley cause it wasn't badly written or anything, but I just was not into it: I felt like I never really knew Fiadh as a character, it kept going off into tangents, and it ultimately became a bit of a slog. A shame because I would absolutely love to find more millennial female-orientated fiction set in other parts of the UK than London but this did not work for me at all!

“Exile” by Aimée Walsh is a captivating journey into the tumultuous world of Fiadh, a Belfast girl grappling with the complexities of youth and the relentless pull of home. Walsh’s narrative grips you from the start, immersing you in Fiadh’s raw and unfiltered reality as she navigates the turbulent transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Through Walsh’s vivid prose, Fiadh’s struggles and triumphs come to life, painting a poignant portrait of resilience in the face of adversity. From the haunting aftermath of a life-altering event to the fragile bonds of friendship, “Exile” delves deep into the intricacies of human emotion, leaving a lasting impact on readers long after the final page.

Walsh’s masterful storytelling and keen insight into the human condition make “Exile” a compelling and unforgettable read. With its authentic characters and heartfelt exploration of themes like loss, resilience, and the search for belonging, this debut novel is a testament to Walsh’s talent as a writer.

“Exile” is not just a book; it’s an experience—a journey that will linger in your thoughts and stir your emotions. A must-read for anyone seeking a gripping and thought-provoking tale that speaks to the complexities of the human spirit.

I did enjoy this book. At times raw, passionate and compelling.

The only part I struggled with was the language at times. I love books from my native Scotland and love books written in that Scottish dialect and I'm sure that's how other readers will have enjoyed this

All in all a difficult story, well told

I absolutely loved this.

I’d not loved the last few books I’d read and this was a perfect palette cleanser for me.

As someone who went to university in the late 00s the depiction of the period was vividly nostalgic. I could feel it and I could smell it in such a visceral way.

It’s also a dark and gritty little novel with lots to say about what it’s like to be a young woman and the perception of truth and lies.

I love a messy young woman story and this was a great one. I’ll never get sick of this kind of story, especially in its darkness.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thank you to John Murray Press and NetGalley UK for the eARC of Exile in exchange for an honest review. I found this debut dark and impactful, with the character of Fiadh being the star of the show of this book. The way she was written was intimate, like I was reading about a friend, and that made me want the best for her, especially because of what she was going through. Also, Exile deals with tough themes in a very thoughtful and sensitive way, and for this reason it's an important read albeit probably a heavy one for most. This book was a bit repetitive, which is why it didn't get a higher rating, but this doesn't take away from the fact that I recommend it to anyone who finds the blurb interesting and who usually likes literary coming-of-age novels dealing with darker themes. I look forward to reading more by Aimée Walsh.

Please check the content warnings before reading.

Exile by Aimée Walsh is set in Belfast and Liverpool and follows a group of friends as they begin their first year at university. Fiadh cannot remember what happened on a recent night out. That doesn't stop everyone else from talking about it. No matter how hard she tries, Fiadh can only remember snippets. Does she even want to know the full details?

I loved the use of Belfast dialect throughout; it really added to the sense of place. My heart was racing the deeper Fiadh descends into alcohol and drug use (this is mentioned in the blurb) as I felt more and more uncomfortable. I can't imagine I am the only reader who will feel this way, which is a testament to Walsh's writing and character development. At times, I had less of a grasp on Aisling, Danielle, and Andy's actions. Them being less fleshed out characters is in keeping with the narrative, though, as Fiadh feels her friendships slip away from her.

To discuss how Exile ends risk giving too much away, but it is skilfully done. Exile is dark, yet also humorous. Aimée Walsh has written an assured debut. I look forward to reading whatever she publishs next!

Raw and gritty storytelling at its best and worst. Exile tells of a bunch of Belfast girls between school and adulthood. They meet up for a last hurrah following their final exams. Told from the main character Fiadh's POV, the reader learns she is the only one of her peers going away to university. In Liverpool, struggling to find herself, her life spirals out of control in a round drink, drugs and self-harming because she feels lonely and isolated from all she's known before. Inevitably her university days end in calamity and she's forced to crawl back home to Belfast to try and make something of herself or perhaps she needs to go somewhere else to do that .....

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

I seem to recall at some point seeing this book compared to the TV series ‘I May Destroy You’ and I think, on the whole, it’s a pretty apt comparison. As with the show, it’s largely a succession of scenes of people getting drunk or high - or them experiencing the next-day effects of their partying - in a decidedly repetitive, and somewhat pointless and uninteresting way (at least for this reader). Flat cardboard characters (I struggled to tell the protagonist’s female friends apart), insufficient depth, a rather bland writing style and a promising, albeit not exactly original, premise which unfortunately wasn’t well executed. Maybe I've read too much recent Belfast literature; both Rachel Connolly's Lazy City and. Michael Magee's Close to Home tread extremely similar ground in part, both literally and more figuratively. The ending of Exile is skilfully done, I’ll give it that, but had I not committed to writing a review of the book I might very well not have got there in the first place. Under different circumstances, I'm not sure I'd have persisted - looking back, there seems quite a lot of unnecessary, inconsequential waffle in the first half of the book. I suppose one could argue it's all 'setting the scene' for later events but it didn't really work for me. I would have been pleased to gain fresh insight into and new perspectives on what ends up revolving around a relevant and important topic, but unfortunately this book didn’t provide that for me.

I really enjoyed this provocative, raw and sometimes dark book. I wasn't sure how it was going to end but certainly wasn't expecting the turn of events. Well written, great pacing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

If I'm being completely transparent this book was just very average to me. It is a perfectly fine novel in its genre, but really nothing more than that.
Exile is a character study of Fiadh and her trials and tribulations into adulthood. Something really traumatic happens to her, she spirals, the clichè lives on. I do think this book was interesting enough to keep my attention, but I did feel like it was lacking in a lot of areas.
I do think the depiction of SA and its aftermath was done well in this book, so I will commend the author on that as that is no light topic to handle.
I wasn't a huge fan of the way it was written. Sort of in this nonsensical prose where it took you ages to figure out what on earth she was talking about. Jumping from topic to topic place to place but not in a way that felt complete.
It also used no speech marks, but not in a sally rooney way, more in a doesn't make sense way. I also thought the overuse of slang was just not my cup of tea at all.
The side characters felt really one dimensional, especially her uni friends. I would've loved to have seen these characters be a bit more fleshed out.
I did quite like the turn the plot took at the end, but it still left me unsatisfied and with questions.
Ultimately, I think if you like literary fiction you will probably like this. It's not amazing by any means, but it's not terrible either.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this arc!