None of This Is Serious - by Catherine Prasifka (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

'Extraordinary' Naoise Dolan
'Seriously good' Louise Nealon

PICKED AS 'ONE TO WATCH' FOR 2022 BY IRISH TIMES, STYLIST AND IRISH INDEPENDENT

Dublin student life is ending for Sophie and her friends. They've got everything figured out, and Sophie feels left behind as they all start to go their separate ways. She's overshadowed by her best friend Grace. She's been in love with Finn for as long as she's known him. And she's about to meet Rory, who's suddenly available to her online.

At a party, what was already unstable completely falls apart and Sophie finds herself obsessively scrolling social media, waiting for something (anything) to happen.

None of This Is Serious is about the uncertainty and absurdity of being alive today. It's about balancing the real world with the online, and the vulnerabilities in yourself, your relationships, your body. At its heart, this is a novel about the friendships strong enough to withstand anything.

Review Quotes

An extraordinary novel. None of This Is Serious brilliantly explores the impossibility to "come of age" in end times, where screens are so contiguous to experience that no-one is ever truly online or offline. She writes truthfully and with affectless nuance about the labyrinthine workings of friend groups and the defences women scramble for in a world that still hates us--NAOISE DOLAN, author of EXCITING TIMES

A Rooneyesque novel about the tumultuous transition from adolescence to adulthood among university friends-- "Sunday Times"

As we adapt to our increasingly online lives, Catherine Prasifka's debut is the antidote we never knew we needed. We meet Sophie, Prasifka's ultra-relatable protagonist, at a precarious time in her life: leaving university. What happens next is a worthy reminder that Instagram /= reality-- "Glamour, Best Books of 2022"

Balancing visions of the apocalypse with a Gen-Z everywoman's daily grind, None of This Is Serious is an astute portrayal of how the minutiae of our personal lives inevitably loom larger than global issues

Inevitable Sally Rooney comparisons await. But Catherine Prasifka's debut, about a group of friends trying to launch themselves into the real world after university, has more in common with the concerns of Patricia Lockwood's No One Is Talking About This. Delving into the shrinking divisions between the online and offline world, it explores the all-consuming influence of the internet on a generation-- "Evening Standard, Best Fiction Books to Read in 2022"

Prasifka's novel will take you on a journey to the potential end of the world . . . with sharp dialogue and an undulating take on our perpetual need to be connected online . . . for those who appreciate the works of Naoise Dolan-- "Russh"

Wow . . . Hits the nail on the head of how dysfunctional relationships with the internet impact real life connections. A book about a crack that's as addictive

None of This Is Serious is such a compelling novel, and Sophie is such a relatable character - reading her story felt like one of those meaningful and immersive conversations you can only have with a stranger at 3am in the toilets of a dingy club, all hearts laid bare. At times agonisingly close to the bone, Catherine Prasifka's debut novel is an exquisitely unnerving portrayal of who we are and how we live--KATIE HALE, author of MY NAME IS MONSTER

None of This Is Serious is brilliant - so devastatingly precise about being a young woman living in Ireland and online today, moving deftly between sharp, hilarious observations and heartbreaking, enraging moments--CLAIRE HENNESSY, author of LIKE OTHER GIRLS

[A] funny, endearingly heartfelt debut-- "Daily Mail"

A beautifully written original take on how we're all guilty of taking refuge online as the world around us becomes increasingly confusing-- "Stylist, Fiction Books You Can't Miss in 2022"

A stunning, searing vision of modern neurosis and female experience in the online age, with characters so boldly done they jump out of the page and follow you around the room. You'll come away from it punch-drunk and staggered--J.R. THORP, author of LEARWIFE

Edgy . . . [Prasifka] has a painfully raw and acute gift for catching the way things are-- "Sunday Times"

Fortunately, [Prasifka] doesn't need any sprinkling of Rooney's fairy dust; she makes her own magic. In the seriously good None of This is Serious, the 26-year-old author conveys what it's like to be a young woman today navigating life in Dublin and online . . . She is an astute observer of the social dynamics of her generation-- "Irish Times"

I absolutely LOVED this novel. Beautifully crafted--EMMA GANNON, author of OLIVE

I inhaled None of This Is Serious. I've been waiting for a fictional story that reflects the all-consuming influence that the Internet has on my life. None of This Is Serious is that story. A compulsively readable, fresh and painfully accurate description of the way we live now. Don't let the title fool you. It is serious. Seriously good--LOUISE NEALON, author of SNOWFLAKE

About the Author

Catherine Prasifka was born in Dublin in 1996. She studied English Literature at Trinity College Dublin and has an MLitt in Fantasy from the University of Glasgow. She has competed in both the European Debating Championships and the World Championships. She is obsessed with learning about how stories work and has ruined nearly all of her favourite books and movies by overanalysing them. She works as a creative writing teacher in Dublin. None of This Is Serious is her first novel.
@prasifcat