IRISH AUTHOR LOUISE O’Neill launches her second book in Dublin this evening.
It’s the hottest literary ticket in town, and one that everyone’s talking about. But why?
Louise O’Neill? Am I saying that right?
Yep, that’s her.
O’Neill is a 29 year old writer from Cork, who has already reached critical acclaim with her first book Only Ever Yours.
She’s been described as a “radical teen author” and the “best young adult fiction writer today” by The Guardian, writes firmly on feminism and issues affecting women and has drawn comparisons to Canadian author Margaret Atwood.
Only Ever Yours
O’Neill’s first novel takes place in a dystopian world, and focuses on the relationship between two school friends. It’s about obsession with looks, weight, the opposite sex, food and eating.
The Telegraph gave it 4.5 stars and hoped that it would be “read widely and teenagers of both sexes will see the clever humour in the fictional ‘Guide to the Rules for Proper Female Behaviour’ written by the Original Father, the creator of O’Neill’s futuristic world”.
The Guardian asked:
Are you a feminist? Do you enjoy getting angry at very sexist things? Then this book is for you!
And this new book?
Word of O’Neill’s debut novel has spread slowly and surely, on Twitter, in classrooms, and between people of all ages, despite it being a ‘teen novel’.
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Her new offering ‘Asking For It’ looks at rape culture and ‘the male entitlement to the female body’.
She’s already said that the book will “infuriate a lot of people because it’s going to push those buttons”, talking about date rape and the issue of consent and what the book might encourage some people to admit to themselves.
Asking for It launches this evening in Eason, O’Connell Street and will go on sale tomorrow.
