BOOKS
Dublin author Catherine Prasifka discusses her stunning debut novel None Of This Is Serious, a powerful exploration of social media, body image and toxic relationships. INTERVIEW KATE BRAYDEN PHOTOGRAPHY: MIGUEL RUIZ
SOPHIE’S CHOICES
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avigating social media during a global crisis is something most of us are now familiar with, for obvious reasons. The subject sparked the imagination of Dubliner Catherine Prasifka, and feeds into her debut novel None Of This Is Serious, focusing on a twenty-something woman with a chronically unstable life. Student life is ending for Sophie and her clique of friends. She feels left behind as they go on their separate paths, with
her best friend overshadowing her, and a manipulative identical twin effortlessly getting by. As if that isn’t stressful enough, Sophie’s been in love with the frustrating Finn for as long as she can remember, before she meets Rory, who is suddenly available to her from the safety of her screen. Gradually the character’s world shrinks and becomes a consistent cycle of endless scrolling. From toxic relationships and poor self-image to female friendships, None Of This Is Serious touches on all the worries familiar to millennials and Gen Z. Prasifka initially studied English Literature at Trinity College Dublin, before heading over to Glasgow to complete
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an MA in Fantasy Literature. During the pandemic, she commenced her quest to get published. “Writing a novel is something I’ve always wanted to do, but it’s a hard path,” says Catherine. “When I graduated, I figured I’d get a job in a field I don’t particularly care about, gather some life experience, and then write an interesting book people could identify with. Then life wouldn’t give me experience! I was already writing before the pandemic, but lockdown drove me to work on the book seriously. There was nothing else to do. “I didn’t have that many connections in the publishing world. I didn’t really know the difference between an editor and an agent. No one would really tell me! I was
