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Summary: Take Rachel's Holiday on Vacation With You
Review: Rachel's Holiday is a delightful book. Marion Keyes has done it again. It's the perfect choice if you are looking for some quality light reading. I see on these pages, everyone mentions which of her books is their favorite. Well, Rachel's Holiday is mine. While Watermelon and Lucy Sullivan were definitely great and funny, in my opinion, Rachel's Holiday is a cut above. We still get the same chatty, humorous tone that makes all of Keyes' novels such a pleasure to read, but this story is a little different a little more daring. Keyes has added the complication of addiction on the girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets that boy or another boy story. Rachel narrates this story with much humor and we see her grow as a person. When we first meet her, she is about to be admitted to the Cloisters, a sort of Betty Ford Clinic in Ireland. She is in denial. She had me fooled. For the first part of the book, she is pretty shallow and definitely mired in her denial, but she grows as a person through her therapy and her friendships with other recovering addicts and finally admits to her addiction and ultimately beats it. In the background is her life in New York that got her in The Cloisters in the first place, and Luke, the hunky Irishman who finally could take no more of her antics. (It wouldn't be a Marion Keyes novel without a perfect hunky guy). Be prepared. This novel has a standard story book happy ending that I felt was just a tad too much. But it's a funny book with charming characters (you can't even dislike Rachel). You'll find yourself sneaking away for a quick fix of this wonderful, funny, breezy novel. Enjoy!
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Summary: What is up with Rachel?
Review: That is how I felt while reading Rachel's Holiday. I had to know what she was going to do ,or say ,next. I enjoyed this book, because not only was it well written and researched, but I truly felt as if I was on the Holiday with Rachel.
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Summary: About time the ordinary woman's voice gets heard!
Review: Ok, someone told me that Rachel (the main character) tends to get really whiney and bratty. Well, I didn't find that at all. I can relate to Rachel with her insecurities and low self-esteem, and though I have never been a drug addict, I still know enough of the reasons why Rachel chose to escape into drugs. While Rachel is in the Cloisters, she still retains her sense of humor throughout one of the most painful periods in her life. Marian Keyes is one of the best modern-day fiction writers. She knows her readers and she knows the average woman with her insecurities and uncertainities. I have found myself laughing out loud in some places as I can relate so well Rachel. If you are a Bridget Jones fan, this one is even better. For one thing, it's longer and it's funnier and sad in some places. After all, who hasn't felt unattractive, fat and still lust after a man? Or have troubled relations with their parents and siblings? This book is a must read for women (and men if they can understand a woman's point of view!). It is a perfect book for those long dreary winter days. Not only is it poignant in some places, it is funny and it does have a happy ending. What more can a reader ask?
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Summary: a long wait for misery and deep understanding
Review: Well, I'm not gonna bore with long dissertations, suffice to say, this book was a long long time coming, and as Ms. Keyes, a writer like myself, says "It was often painful to write." VERY painful at times to read as well,So why write it? For the purging. Whether u are an addictive personality or not, it jolts u into a deeper awareness than I feel years of counseling could do. It is, as Keyes usually writes, multi-faceted and laced with such sexy sexy humor that you don't fall apart crying on nearly every page. Her work has gotten much more maudlin and 'deep', yet this remains a book which I, as a published author, hold tight to my chest in love and thankfulness for the understanding! It DOES lead you to wonder, since isn't all our fiction writing based on fact? Was Ms. Keyes writing this from a 'research based point of view'only, without personal experience? I would be very surprised and impressed. Mixed emotions here about this very lengthy 'read', but well worth it if you need some REAL questions about your emotions and behavior answered! with love and authorship, wendy w.. cleveland
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Summary: Realistic, entertaining and loveable
Review: Rachel's Holiday is the most mature and most entertaining novel from Marian Keyes. It is the story of a middle child who has fought constantly for any love or attention from family or friends. Rachel moved to New York City in search of a new life, and instead, becomes a wild, out-of-control woman always in search of the next party. She meets and falls in love/lust with Luke, an endearing Irishman with a head on his shoulders (complete with the 80s look). Unfortunately, Rachel's search for fun ends up with a trip to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. Rachel is quickly shipped off to Ireland and a drug treatment facility, and that's when the book takes flight. Rachel's Holiday is definitely a coming of age story with a ton of laughter and a ton of tears. Enjoy!
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Summary: Laughed hard AND cried hard!
Review: If you want a book that will make you laugh out loud many times over, and can still move you to tears (I was crying at one point!), with a great storyline, characters, humour, and sensitivity -- READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!!
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Summary: Want to laugh out loud??
Review: If you want an entertaining story you can't do much better than this - it really is laugh out loud, funny but also well written book about a potentially depressing subject. Truly Rachael is a character we can all empathise with on many levels. The ending is straight out of a movie and although a little predictable , lets face it wouldn't life be lovely if it could always work out that way? READ IT! BUY IT! GET THE OTHERS! And watch out for her new book just published in Ireland this week - ' Sushi for Beginners'
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Summary: Laugh a lot, Learn a lot, Maybe shed a tear
Review: In Rachel's Holiday Marion Keyes does what would seem to be impossible; she effortlessly writes a story that is both very humorous and an engrossing tale of addiction. The humor is similar in tone to that in Bridget Jones' Diary. It is very funny, particularly in the first half. Nevertheless, it is what seems to be a very accurate protrait of addiction. Luckily for the reader, the humor keeps the book from being either heavy handed or depressing. The first person narrative is very effective in making the reader understand both the strength of denial and the grip of the addiction on the psyche of the addict. The reader is as surprised as Rachel to find out how much her behavior strayed from the norm when under the influence of drugs. The book is educational without ever being pedantic. (Although the characters do engage in therapy-speak for parts of the second half of the book.) The primary characters are very well drawn. Some secondary characters are gross stereotypes, but that is the exception in the book.
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Summary: Good but is it original?
Review: Marian Keyes is a good writer but her books are all variations on a theme. I liked this book so much I sat down to read both of her others only to find out that they have basically the same plot. Luckly, she makes her stories so interesting that I did not really mind, but I would like to see another version of a story from her, not just girl who is with a good guy, gets caught up with a bad guy and then sees the light and returns to the original guy. Otherwise she had me often in stiches writing really good humour.
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Summary: Rachel's Fantastic Holiday!
Review: Well, it wasn't exactly a fantastic holiday, but it is one that could change her life forever. I found this book to be both hilarious and touching at the same time. I love the characters, especially Luke. The only bad thing about this novel is that Keyes has a tendency to stereotype races, including the Irish. That's a big no-no in my list. However, I have appreciated Keyes's great wit and attention to detail. What a great read!
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