A not-too-serious, solid debut

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This article was published 04/03/2023 (1333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Young Irish writer Catherine Prasifka makes her international debut with a first novel that is strikingly contemporary, often funny, sometimes a bit frustrating but always entertaining.

None of This Is Serious is all about Sophie, a 22-year-old Dubliner, who has just completed her arts degree and now faces the question of what she’s going to do for a living. She lives with her middle-class parents who she believes favour her twin sister, Hannah. Sophie has always felt inferior to Hannah.

The novel begins with a party hosted by Sophie’s best friend, Grace. There are a few of these parties in the book — lively and authentic, with every person seeming distinctive and three-dimensional. Sophie is the first-person narrator, and here is her description of adjusting to that first gathering:

“I’m watching the party as if behind glass, each person totally estranged from me. I’m repeating ordinary party questions in my head over and over again. Hi, what are you up to now? Hiya, oh yeah, I’m fine. How were finals? It’s giving me a headache. Every time I try to force words out of my mouth, the timing feels off and I choke. No one notices except for me.”

Sophie is adept at using all kinds of online communication, and much of the novel shows her texting or seeking information both directly and surreptitiously through her phone.

A day after the party, “Grace sends me a photo of her house post-party, saying her dad’s counted the empty bottles left behind and is shocked that there are thirty-seven,” Prasifka writes. “She sends me the eye emoji, which in this case means that she hasn’t told him that she’s hidden thirty more bottles in a bag in her wardrobe…”

Meanwhile, what is described simply as a huge crack has appeared in the sky above Dublin. It lingers for days and is cause for national concern. “People are calling it a climate catastrophe; a hoax; the worst disaster in a hundred years… I flick through the profiles of journalists on Twitter, trying to confirm things my friends have put up on their Instagram stories.” The crack lingers for the duration of the novel and, eerily, may remind the reader of the balloons that the U.S. and Canada have recently fixated upon.

Sophie has no full-fledged boyfriend, but she does feel attracted to Finn, who seems to have no shortage of female admirers. Finn shows interest in her, but so does Rory, though he is not nearly as sophisticated as Finn. Sophie isn’t sure how to handle these fellows, and she relies on Grace to guide her. Unfortunately, Grace can’t always be there to protect her.

Sophie muses on the fact that her childhood is “slipping away,” and that within 10 years all of her current friends may be gone. She knows she has to get a job, but she has problems even getting an interview. Prasifka does detail one interview Sophie has, though she does not quote any of her answers to questions.

That is a rather annoying quirk throughout the narrative: While Sophie directly quotes everyone she meets with, she never quotes herself. Sometimes it is difficult for the reader to determine what she is thinking during the conversation and what she actually says. An example:

“[Rory asks,] ‘Do you like spending time with me?’

“The question strikes a chord inside me, and I’m not even sure why. I consider it for a moment before replying. I do like spending time with him, but it’s not the main thing I like about him.

“‘So maybe we could spend more time together, then?’”

That is Rory answering her. Why does Prasifka not quote exactly what Sophie said?

Though this quirk is repeated throughout the novel, it does not take away any of Sophie’s appeal. You become totally sympathetic toward her, and the entire cast is well worth meeting.

Dave Williamson is a Winnipeg author who was recently honoured by the Manitoba Writers’ Guild which has named its new annual National Short Story Competition after him.