Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Michael Joseph (2017), Edition: 2000, 656 pages
Description
The fast lane is much too slow for Rachel Walsh. And Manhattan is the perfect place for a young Irish female to overdo everything. But Rachel's love of a good time is about to land her in the emergency room. It will also cost her a job and the boyfriend she adores. When her loving family hustles her back home and checks her into Ireland's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic, Rachel is hopeful. Perhaps it will be lovely-spa treatments, celebrities, that kind of thing. Instead, she finds a lot of group therapy, which leads her, against her will, to some important self-knowledge. She will also find something that all women like herself fear: a man who might actually be good for her.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Michelletga
Probably Marian Keyes best book. It has her trademark quirky sense of humour; a bit of romance, an Irish Mammy. But it also has a main character confronting - or not confronting - a drug addiction. Keye's herself is a recovering alcoholic, and the ring of truth within the story is hugely compelling.
LibraryThing member agnesmack
The simplest way that I can describe Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes is that I was impressed by how much it accomplished and yet I didn't like it at all. It's a complicated thing, because a large part of the reason I didn't like it was because the main character's attitude, actions, and state of
I hated how aggravating the main character was but she was aggravating because people in that state are aggravating. As a recovering alcoholic, I'm sure my behavior was just as confusing to other's as Rachel's was to me. I'm sure my denial, my entitlement, and my ability to find really bizarro excuses for my behavior were no better. And yet, it's rather unpleasant to be stuck in this character's head for hundreds of pages.
All of that said, would I recommend this book to a friend? Well, that depends on what you're looking for. A fun little book that lives up to the pastel purple cover and fun-loving stick figure above the title? Yeah, that's not here. Do you want answers to those, "What the hell were they thinking?!?" questions you've had about people whose lives have gone to hell yet can't seem to stop their bad behavior? Well, this book will answer those questions - though I don't know that you'll like the answers.
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denial were SO AGGRAVATING. Like, holy shit, I wanted to shake this woman and never let her go. But then that's the whole reason the author was successful - because she did such a spot-on job of portraying a non-recovering drunk, and then a newly-recovered drunk, and then a relapsed-drunk, and then a comfortably-settled-into-recovery drunk.I hated how aggravating the main character was but she was aggravating because people in that state are aggravating. As a recovering alcoholic, I'm sure my behavior was just as confusing to other's as Rachel's was to me. I'm sure my denial, my entitlement, and my ability to find really bizarro excuses for my behavior were no better. And yet, it's rather unpleasant to be stuck in this character's head for hundreds of pages.
All of that said, would I recommend this book to a friend? Well, that depends on what you're looking for. A fun little book that lives up to the pastel purple cover and fun-loving stick figure above the title? Yeah, that's not here. Do you want answers to those, "What the hell were they thinking?!?" questions you've had about people whose lives have gone to hell yet can't seem to stop their bad behavior? Well, this book will answer those questions - though I don't know that you'll like the answers.
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LibraryThing member MsNikki
An interesting twist on the typical chick lit. Rachel is an addict, and is forced to return home to Ireland (I believe) to detox.
Not a bad read
Not a bad read
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Rachel is living in New York, working a job that really doesn't demand much from her which is good because she's not giving much back, she's addicted to drugs, specifically cocaine and is breaking the hearts of her friends.
It's heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time and while it makes
Yes it's a fair number of pages long but it's also quite a quick read as it drags you in and doesn't let you go to the end. All the time you're rooting for Rachel to have a better life.
It's heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time and while it makes
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you glad you're not like her, you also think about ways in which you are alike.Yes it's a fair number of pages long but it's also quite a quick read as it drags you in and doesn't let you go to the end. All the time you're rooting for Rachel to have a better life.
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LibraryThing member bibliobbe
Rachel Walsh is twenty-something, Irish, living in New York and doing a lot of drugs. She ends up in hospital having her stomach pumped, so her family whisks her home to Ireland and puts her in a rehab centre. Rachel thinks she is heading for some sort of posh spa. She’s not, of course, but
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because this is a Marian Keyes book, there is a lot of posturing and self-learning before Rachel discovers the depth of her self-loathing and learns to accept her addiction. Of course, there’s also a man who loves her and leaves her because of the cocaine. As you might expect with this author, you know what will happen by the end. What is it with Marian Keyes? And why do people think she is a good writer? Number 23 in the Top 100 and it’s predictable and trite from beginning to end. To quote one of Ms Keyes’ characters, this is not knicker-meltingly good reading: it’s shite. Show Less
LibraryThing member LaBibliophille
Fun, with some serious overtones. It's part of a series of books by Marian Keyes about th Walsh sister.
LibraryThing member Bonni208
I really struggled with how to rate this book, as well as how to tag it.
The cover contains a review from the Boston Globe that reads, "Hilarious... a coming-of-age journey of love and self-discovery... propelled by its unforgettable heroine." On the back, Newsday calls it the perfect "beach
This is a story about addiction and the desperation and associated self-absorption. Keyes is a great story teller and I was engaged throughout the entire book. Though it is touted as a light comedic beach read, I found it to be much heavier than described.
More than 75% of the book takes place in an addiction recovery facility. The tough-love psychological approach used there helps the addicts face their weaknesses head on and admit their helplessness.
I didn't find myself laughing during the book, nor did I think her relationships would fit into the category of romance for me. That being said, this difficult to categorize and poorly marketed book did tell a good story and seemed to deal realistically with the subject of addiction.
The cover contains a review from the Boston Globe that reads, "Hilarious... a coming-of-age journey of love and self-discovery... propelled by its unforgettable heroine." On the back, Newsday calls it the perfect "beach
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read."This is a story about addiction and the desperation and associated self-absorption. Keyes is a great story teller and I was engaged throughout the entire book. Though it is touted as a light comedic beach read, I found it to be much heavier than described.
More than 75% of the book takes place in an addiction recovery facility. The tough-love psychological approach used there helps the addicts face their weaknesses head on and admit their helplessness.
I didn't find myself laughing during the book, nor did I think her relationships would fit into the category of romance for me. That being said, this difficult to categorize and poorly marketed book did tell a good story and seemed to deal realistically with the subject of addiction.
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LibraryThing member jules72653
I'm loving Marian Keyes! This was so funny in places! Rachel expects rehab to be a plush spa experience. Ha!
LibraryThing member risadabomb
This has to be my favorite Marian Keyes' novel. I adore the character Rachel, so funny and real. Absolutely lovely story.
LibraryThing member stonelaura
British, sort of chick lit but maybe a little heavier (literally at almost 600 pages in a small sized paperback). Pam McCullough recommended this book as “really funny” and “delightful,” but I think it’s a lot heavier than that. Unlike Cruise and Phillips, who concentrate on the girl/guy
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romantic elements (which is, of course, why they have romance stickers on the spine) this book deals with Rachel’s drug and alcohol addiction as the main focus of the book. She does have a relationship with Luke, the eighties rocker-dressing hunk, but the book really focuses on how her addictions affect the relationship. At least 400 pages of the book takes place in the “Cloisters,” the rehab facility she enters after landing “in hospital” after an accidental overdose. Keyes is funny but the book is not a straight romance/chick lit. I kept wondering if I should recommend the book to Kristin, or if she’d view it as a whack over the head. Show Less
LibraryThing member dgardiner
One of my favourite books. Hope they make it into a good movie, not a dud
LibraryThing member MarenLM
This is the first book by Marian Keyes that I've read, and I've come to realize that I should have started with the first book on the Walsh-sisters. Despite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I felt that Keyes described so well what went on in Rachel's head, and that I really learned a bit
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about how the mind of an addict works. Topping that off with a great sense of humor - excellent! Show Less
LibraryThing member sarahjanesandra
I picked this book up looking for a quick, easy, light read. I found the main character hard to like and it took a very long time for me to start to care about what happened to her. It was a very heavy subject matter for what I expected to be light and carefree. I don't know enough about addiction
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and addiction treatment to evaluate it that way. Show Less
LibraryThing member karensaville
A fun read about a young woman brought back from New York by her parents and put in a rehab clinic in Ireland. An easy read as with all Marian Keyes books.
LibraryThing member Ms.RaqueL
I really like the way Marien describe characters, situations and conflicts. The book is funny and sad at the same time. I couldn't put it down and we never know how it is going to end. When I finished reading this book, I felt starting reading it again at the same minute.
LibraryThing member ngenatie
Rachel's Holiday turned into my own holiday from the easy reads I like to take on vacation with me. I was pulled in and had my eyes opened up to Rachel's world of rehab and recovery. Marian Keyes did a great job of helping me understand the addicts point of view.
LibraryThing member angelitamay
I loved this book! It read like a memoir and I didn't want it to end.
LibraryThing member lahochstetler
Marian Keyes is a very funny writer, and like so many of her books, this one manages to deal with a serious subject and still be tremendously entertaining. The serious subject here is drug and alcohol addiction. In New York Irish ex-pat Rachel Walsh's life devolves as she develops cocaine and
Keyes has an amazing ability to bring humor to horrible situations, and this is a book to read when you need a pick-me-up. The ending is a bit unbelievable, but the book is by and large light and fun reading.
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alcohol addictions. After losing her job, her boyfriend, and her best friend, Rachel finds herself back in Ireland in treatment. Refusing to believe that she is an addict, Rachel agrees to treatment only because she thinks she might see celebrities. What follows are Rachel's comic misadventures as an addict in denial while in treatment, interspersed with the story of how she became an addict. Keyes has an amazing ability to bring humor to horrible situations, and this is a book to read when you need a pick-me-up. The ending is a bit unbelievable, but the book is by and large light and fun reading.
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LibraryThing member inkcharmed
Probably my favorite Marian Keyes.
LibraryThing member ufjunkie
Rachel Walsh's family sends her to what she believes is an exclusive rehabilitation center, but it doesn't turn out to be the vacation she'd dreamed about.
I think the most difficult thing about this book was the fact that I didn't care about any of the characters. Rachel, the drug-addicted
What I did like was the portrayal of Rachel's struggle to come clean. I also liked how she tackled her denial.
Overall, it was kind of meh.
I think the most difficult thing about this book was the fact that I didn't care about any of the characters. Rachel, the drug-addicted
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twenty-something, was a mess. I pitied her, but I didn't care about her. Neither did I bond with any of the other patients in the treatment center. As much as Rachel claimed that her boyfriend Luke, was an amazing guy, he seemed very cold emotionally as well as sexually demanding. Her bff, possibly the only likeable person in the book, showed up rarely. The nun who was in charge of Rachel's rehabilitation was a bully. Because I couldn't get close to the characters, reading this was like watching a train wreck.What I did like was the portrayal of Rachel's struggle to come clean. I also liked how she tackled her denial.
Overall, it was kind of meh.
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LibraryThing member MarieAlt
I waffled between five and four stars for all of ten seconds before deciding on five, simply because of my sheer inability to be rational about this novel.
I fell in love with Rachel, and I have no idea why. If I hadn't picked this up at a library sale when my impulse control was at it's lowest, I
In fact, my first thought on opening the book on a whim a year after putting it on my shelf (not an uncommon phenomenon) was "oh, nice typeface." Rachel's story was convincing and compelling, if only because the reader is so well grounded in her mental state—she's all over the place emotionally and never seems to notice, but you still get a sense of who she really is under all the drugs. And even knowing that she's in more trouble than she thinks she is, Rachel's done a thorough job of hiding from herself, so as bad as it is, you're almost as shocked as she is when confronted.
Even that wouldn't be enough to give in five stars in my mental rating system, but when Rachel is forced to remember her early childhood, I abruptly found myself in tears. I haven't connected so strongly to a character in I don't know how long. And I don't know why it's Rachel, either. If I were anyone in this novel, I'd be Margaret, the 'brownose' But for Rachel, I spent much of the second half of the novel in tears for her, and was so proud of her recovery. Bizarre, but this unexpected total empathy is exactly why I read, and I haven't experienced it for a while.
I fell in love with Rachel, and I have no idea why. If I hadn't picked this up at a library sale when my impulse control was at it's lowest, I
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wouldn't have it at all. There's literally nothing about this book, from the cover, to the genre, to the jacket copy to make me think I'd enjoy it, or that it was my kind of book. Because it really isn't.In fact, my first thought on opening the book on a whim a year after putting it on my shelf (not an uncommon phenomenon) was "oh, nice typeface." Rachel's story was convincing and compelling, if only because the reader is so well grounded in her mental state—she's all over the place emotionally and never seems to notice, but you still get a sense of who she really is under all the drugs. And even knowing that she's in more trouble than she thinks she is, Rachel's done a thorough job of hiding from herself, so as bad as it is, you're almost as shocked as she is when confronted.
Even that wouldn't be enough to give in five stars in my mental rating system, but when Rachel is forced to remember her early childhood, I abruptly found myself in tears. I haven't connected so strongly to a character in I don't know how long. And I don't know why it's Rachel, either. If I were anyone in this novel, I'd be Margaret, the 'brownose' But for Rachel, I spent much of the second half of the novel in tears for her, and was so proud of her recovery. Bizarre, but this unexpected total empathy is exactly why I read, and I haven't experienced it for a while.
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LibraryThing member foolplustime
I've read this one before but I purchased it recently for a re-read because I've always thought of it as my favourite of Marian Keyes' books. It probably still is.
I've said before and I'll no doubt say again that when Marian Keyes is good, she's brilliant and that brilliance lies in the honesty of
It's littered with Irish vernacular, which I really like.
What I'm not a fan of - and it's just a question of personal taste - are the "chick-lit"-ee bits: those obligatory parts of the genre which those who don't read it thinks constitutes its whole. There aren't many of them and they don't detract too desperately, but personally, I could have lived without them.
So, yes. I'd recommend it.
I've said before and I'll no doubt say again that when Marian Keyes is good, she's brilliant and that brilliance lies in the honesty of
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her characters. She understands what being an addict is. The pacing of the book is excellent, gradually filling in what brought us to the present situation even as that current is moved along. It's the same structure she's used in her most recent (at the time of writing) The Mystery of Mercy Close, but that feels disjointed and heavy handed in comparison to this one.It's littered with Irish vernacular, which I really like.
What I'm not a fan of - and it's just a question of personal taste - are the "chick-lit"-ee bits: those obligatory parts of the genre which those who don't read it thinks constitutes its whole. There aren't many of them and they don't detract too desperately, but personally, I could have lived without them.
So, yes. I'd recommend it.
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LibraryThing member jodes101
It was a great read, just the thing when you are on a holiday (luckily not the same type as Rachel). Marian Keyes is a master at making you feel like you could be one of the gang and that her characters could become your best friends even if they are all a bit nutty because thats the type of
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friends I like to have. Rachels Holiday may initially come across as one of Keyes typical style of story but quickly becomes deeper and quite sad and poignant at times the issue addiction is dealt with using a clever mix of comedy and what I can only guess is in depth research. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cynical_Ames
Tried to read this as a teenager but I remember feeling too embarrassed for the main character to finish it.
LibraryThing member Dawn772
An interesting story about addiction but it was too long, filled with superfluous details which I started skimming. Still I was drawn to continue even though the rehabilitation process overshadowed the romance. Rachel's family checked her into a rehab center because of her drug addiction.
Subjects
Awards
Whitcoulls Top 100 Books (35 — 2008)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
656 p.; 5.04 inches
ISBN
0241958431 / 9780241958438