Evenings and Weekends: Oisín McKenna’s queer love letter to London
First-time novelist Oisín McKenna discusses his heartfelt vignettes of London, queer love and Millenial life WORDS BY ZOYA RAZA-SHEIKH PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID EVANS As I type this, it’s unusually warm in London – a setting that feels apt for Oisín McKenna’s glorious debut novel Evenings and Weekends, a strikingly beautiful portrayal of friendship, queerness, and relationships in the city.
Within this captivating Sally Rooney-style novel, the Irish author walks us through the complex, tangled-up lives of four main characters: Maggie, Ed, Callum and Phil, who each harbour secrets, feelings and longing for something greater in this bustling, late-capitalist British urban landscape.
And while Evenings and Weekends could easily be described as a love letter to the capital, it’s not always a healthy relationship and, instead, feels variously toxic and one-sided.
Drawing out striking vignettes of murky orange horizons bending under the heat of summer, McKenna traps you in an immersive description of the city: from the cloying humidity of the commute, to the animated post-office atmosphere, to the black mould spread across the walls of a rented flat.
