“Loads of the girls in work are like her. Real sensible types, all from down the country. One of them wears her county jersey every casual Friday and then throws on a pair of earrings for going to the pub afterwards.”
According to authors Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, that’s one of many descriptions of what an ‘Aisling’ is.
Described as a ‘small town girl living in a notions world’, Aisling is a heart-warming girl from the country that moves up to ‘the big smoke’. We all know one, whether from college or work or even one of your own friends. Based on the popular Facebook group with the same name, Oh My God What A Complete Aisling is akin to the Irish version of Bridget Jones.
She works a 9-5 job at PensionsPlus and goes out every Saturday at home with her best friend Majella, who’s lost more phones than she can count. It’s double vodkas and diet coke while she’s in the local at home, or a Coors Light in McGowans of Phibsboro if she stays up for the weekend.
After seeing all her friends and half the town of ‘Ballygobbard’ get engaged or married, Aisling has had enough. She’s been with her boyfriend John for as long as she can remember, and there’s no sign of a ring on the cards.
A trip to Tenerife with John turns out to be the holiday from hell, so she flees to Dublin in search of something to turn her life around.
All of a sudden, her life has turned upside down. She decides to move up to Dublin for good (“because that N7 would have your heart broken”) and finds herself living with Sadhbh from HR and her friend Elaine. Aisling is thrown into the deep end of oversized smock dresses and vegans, a world she’s never seen before.
She heads to Berlin with her new housemates, exploring underground bars and the life of hipsters. She couldn’t be further from Tuesdays at Coppers, but she gives it her all and embraces her newfound life.
The number one bestselling book isn’t just a humorous tale of Aisling’s trials and tribulations, but one that can only be described as wonderful and scarily relatable. A death in the family throws Aisling off course, and her broken heart is one she has trouble mending.
The Facebook group the book is based on has over 48,000 members to date. Since the book was released last August, the authors have signed a two-book deal to continue Aisling’s tale, showing that readers want more of Aisling’s life.
Breen and McLysaght are right- we all have an Aisling in our life. Maybe we’re the Aisling in our group. It’s a book that will have you rolling on the floor, but might make you shed a tear. Because while we’re laughing, we’re laughing with Aisling, not at her. She’s the kind of girl you wish you had as your best friend.