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Summary: one of the best I have ever read
Review: Rachel's Holiday is about another sister in the Walsh family written about in Marian Keyes' Watermelon. Rachel is the middle sister, an Irish emigree living in New York with Brigit, her best friend from Dublin. They seem to be having a normal time in NYC, partying away while taking the occasional drugs ....
Then Brigit finds Rachel overdosed on drugs and her family takes Rachel back to Ireland to rehab at a place called the Cloisters. She does not understand why she is there, it's all a big misunderstanding, she's not really an addict, but the Cloisters has a reputation for having celebrities and there should be a gym, sauna, massage .... heck, she'll stay to please everyone and leave in 2 weeks.
Through a series of flashbacks by Rachel and visits from her parents and friends in her group therapy, the true extent of Rachel's problem unfolds to both the reader and Rachel herself. Intertwined in this is her relationship with Luke from NYC and how drugs destroyed it as well.
In short, a great read, written in a fun style, which you wouldn't think you'd get with such serious subject matter.
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Summary: Another Winner by Keyes
Review: I loved this book as much, if not more than "Watermelon". It is a funny, poignant and emotional story of a young woman's battle with drug and alcohol abuse. It does not describe the seemier, down-in-the-gutter aspects of drug addiction that you may expect, but what can happen when "social" use of cocaine and other narcotics can quickly go out of control. One minute you want to shake Rachel for her denial and then you want to hug her and take care of her because she is a genuinely good person who simply can't help herself.I find Marian Keyes writing style to be so very readable and look forward to her new novel.
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Summary: Great book...
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I could not put it down. I love how it turns out and the characters are great. Try it out...you'll love it too..
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Summary: Marian Keyes at Her Best
Review: I couldn't wait to read Rachel's Holiday after devouring "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married," and I was not disappointed. From the very start, Ms. Keyes grabs our attention and maybe a little sympathy for the main character, Rachel. Rachel is in a rehabilitation program after a suicide attempt - however, Rachel is also in denial that she attempted suicide - let alone that she has a drug problem. Through flashbacks and her therepy, we find a lot about Rachel that is as bittersweet as it is shocking and depressing. It is an excellent read and the supporting characters from Rachel's sisters to roommates are all familliar to us. I loved this book until the ending. While I am glad it ended on a happy note - I think it is a little unbelievable - but other than that - a very good read.
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Summary: Amusing
Review: I really like Marion Keyes' books because I always find her protagonists funny, self-effacing, and honest. The more I think about Rachel's Holiday, the more I like it. Rachel's journey through rehab into life without drugs is amusing and touching. Some of the drama with her family was heavy-handed, but it helped the story move along and gave Rachel's addiction a background. It's not as light as her other stories, but was still fun to read.
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Summary: Marian Keyes does it again!
Review: I was introduced to Marian Keye's novels on my honeymoon by a fellow vacationer who happened to be British. She gave me her copy of "Sushi for Beginners", which I highly reccommend, and ever since I have read all of Keye's books. Rachel's Holiday is another great novel by this author.
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Summary: Both funny and serious, both an introspective and easy read
Review: Rachel's Holiday was one of the best books I've read in a very long while. It was one of those books that leads you to a place in a very humorous way, and then offers you the chance to review your own life in a way you might not have before. Rachel has just accidently overdosed, ended up in the hospital, and been railroaded by her family, roommate, and boyfriend into treatment. She can't believe that they think she has a problem, because, of course, she doesn't. Watching her come to grips with what remains of her life in New York, seen in the flashbacks Rachel has during treatment, is both very funny and very sad. We see Rachel come to the realization of what and who she is. We also see the seduction of Lady Denial, and this is very powerful, subtle and eye-opening to the reader. Anyone who has "overdone" any substance may recognize themselves in the aftermath of papering over the wrongs and hurt feelings. All this in a book that is easy to read, mostly delightful, and very honest. I read it in a day, couldn't put it down, and was sorry to see it end. I hope we see another book about this family (Watermelon was the first) so I can see how Rachel is doing. This is a definate keeper!
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Summary: Funny Story about a Serious Problem
Review: This is the first book that I've read by Marian Keyes. I do love her sense of humour. From the first chapter she had me hooked...and laughing. We meet Rachel who is a party girl looking for a good time. She has no idea that her drug problem is more than just recreational and that she is wreaking havoc on the lives of everyone. She is whisked off to a rehabilitation centre called the Cloisters and is fighting her drug addiction with every breath. Denial is her only defense. It is through Rachel's point of view that this story is told. We see the others in the Cloisters who have come there seeking help and the people in her life that have stayed with her throughout her ordeal. There are truly some laugh out loud moments in this book and some serious ones as well. It was interesting and yet entertaining to see Rachel go into treatment with one attitude and come out the other side with a new lease on life. Hooray Rachel, welcome to the adult world where problems lurk around every corner and life treats you to the most unexpected holiday.
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Summary: Another brilliant book
Review: Marian Keyes always delivers a wonderful read. Rachel (Clare's sister from Watermelon) is kidnapped by her parents and given a holiday in Cloisters, an upmarket drug rehab centre. She doesn't believe that she has a problem, but she's determined to receive all the benefits of being in the centre, the sauna and spa, the massages and rubbing shoulders with all the celebrities that dry out there. Only there is no sauna, spa, massages or celebrities. Instead there are drug addicts, compulsive eaters, alcoholics, and tedious meetings to attend. Poor Rachel tells us that she doesn't belong there! Sure she took a couple of illegal substances, but it was a party afterall!!! Slowly through the book we begin to see the extent of Rachel's drug problems as she feeds us little scenarios of her past life and the downward spiral her life was heading. This is a fantastically funny read, with hilarious scenes liberally supplied throughout the book. From the first page l was transported into Rachel's world, giggling and sighing at her antics. I would love to read more about this family!
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Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I can count on the fingers of one hand the authors I can trust to consistently deliver a quality read. Marian Keyes is one of them. I like Marian Keyes so much that I buy her books in hardcover from the UK --- usually at least two years before they come out in the states. For RACHEL’S HOLIDAY I actually read a copy from Ireland which is complete with all the Irish slang, I feel is likely missing from the US version. That said, if you are unfamiliar with Irish slang, the US version will probably be more to your liking. Marian Keyes books take me “away” like few others can. From a boring transatlantic plane flight to a stressful wait in a hospital waiting room, you can trust Marian Keyes to help you forget your worries. And be thoroughly entertained. Marian Keyes consistently tackles controversial or serious subjects with wit and humor (in WATERMELON Claire’s husband announces that he’s leaving her for another woman – the day their baby is born; in THE LAST CHANCE SALOON a group of singles from Ireland living in London tackle issues such as obesity and homosexuality). In RACHEL’S HOLIDAY, Keyes again gives us a serious subject, substance abuse, but presents it in such a way that has readers will be laughing out loud. That’s not to say she glorifies it, but with Rachel’s narration, readers feel the sadness at her situation, and is also caught smiling at the circumstances Rachel finds herself in. Particularly funny was one of the flashbacks where she and her friend Brigit are in a pub in Manhattan and finally figure out instead of the group of men friends who also frequent the place each having a pair of leather pants, they apparently each wear the same pair on a different night. Rachel Walsh (who readers may remember as the sister of Claire of WATERMELON fame), at her family’s insistence after an accidental drug overdose, has returned home to Ireland from New York City where she’s lived for the past few years. Her father has secured her admission to The Cloisters, a substance abuse treatment facility south of Dublin in the Wicklow Hills. Rachel denies she has a problem but figures she could use a vacation. Known as the place where celebrities go to “dry out” Rachel expects to find herself in a luxury spa-like facility, not the stark reality she discovers The Cloisters to be. But the subject matter isn’t the only thing that propels RACHEL’S HOLIDAY from “just another chick lit” novel to an extraordinary read for any woman of any age. It’s the perfectly timed turn of phrase from Keyes via Rachel’s voice. It’s the extraordinary cast of secondary characters. It’s the sense of place. To put it quite simply, this is another outstanding offering from Marian Keyes.
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