Rachel's Holiday
British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022
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4.2 • 194 Ratings
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- €6.99
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- €6.99
Publisher Description
A MUST-READ FOR FANS OLD AND NEW, REDISCOVER THE FUNNY AND HEARTWARMING 1.5 MILLION COPY, NO. 1 BESTSELLING PHENOMENON
'Fleet-footed, bracingly honest, funny, sexy, heart-breaking' JOJO MOYES
'A huge international phenomenon' BBC RADIO 4 BOOKCLUB
'Irresistible. Pitch-perfect, bitingly funny' DAISY BUCHANAN
'The voice of a generation' DAILY MIRROR
'Extraordinary' IAN RANKIN
'A true modern classic' NINA STIBBE
FEATURING INTRODUCTIONS FROM LISA TADDEO, DAVID NICHOLLS, NINA STIBBE AND MORE
___________
Meet Rachel Walsh.
She's been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her adoring boyfriend, Luke.
But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn't quite part of her plan.
She's only agreed to her incarceration because she's heard that rehab is wall-to-wall jacuzzis, spa treatments and celebrities going cold turkey - plus it's about time she had a holiday.
Saying goodbye to fun and freedom will be hard - and losing the man who might just be the love of her life will be even harder.
But will hitting rock bottom help Rachel learn to love herself, at last?
_________
Find out what's next for Rachel in the deliciously dark and fantastically funny sequel Again, Rachel - AVAILABLE NOW
***THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***
FAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE RACHEL'S HOLIDAY
'Marian's writing is the truth. With big laughs' Dawn French
'A giant of Irish writing' Naoise Dolan
'Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are' Louise O'Neill
'Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way' Cathy Rentzenbrink
'One of the most honest writers writing today' Pandora Sykes
'Compassionate, tender, incisive writing' Lucy Foley
'Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul' Nigella Lawson
'Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius' Sali Hughes
'Irresistible, profound. Keyes's comic gift is always evident' Independent
'Joyful. Keyes' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself' C.L. Taylor
'A born storyteller' Independent on Sunday
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Marian Keyes’ customary brilliance is on full display in this insightful novel, which tackles the meaty subject of addiction in a compelling and unexpected way. Rachel’s Holiday centres around a shabby rehab clinic in Ireland, with flashbacks to a hedonistic New York party scene. Irish party girl Rachel— shambolic, hilarious and struggling to accept the label "addict"—is sent home to sort herself out, but not before being dumped by the swoon-worthy Luke. While the recovery plot (and the potential for a rekindled romance) reels you in, it’s in the writing of character where Keyes is most skilled. Her protagonist is self-pitying, self-destructive and self-obsessed, but one we are cheering for the whole way in this story of addiction told with humour and heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Irish by birth but a trendy New Yorker for the past eight years, Rachel Walsh learns just what it means to have too much fun in this lively drama about addiction and recovery. Rachel enjoys cocaine, alcohol and meeting men in bars, especially men wearing tight leather pants. She can match anybody's hilarious anecdotes about a Catholic childhood, but recently her life's gone awry, and God has become "more like a celestial stand-up comic" than a "benign old guy with long hair." When she wakes up in a hospital emergency room and finds she's been diagnosed as a suicidal drug addict, she's enraged. She's also broke and unemployed, and her boyfriend has abandoned her. As a final indignity, her father takes her back home and books her into Dublin's Betty Ford-like clinic, the Cloisters. Famous for a clientele of rock stars, it should be a glamorous spa, but it isn't. Quarters are spartan, clients do housework and group therapy is humiliating. It could be worse, though, and there's one good-looking fellow-inmate who might, or might not, be a lifeline post-Cloisters. This novel isn't a how-to on overcoming addiction but an examination, often comic, of treatment that is expected to result in personality changes necessary for recovery. Smart-ass Rachel actually becomes a beguiling heroine after learning to wake up and cook eggs at about the same time in the morning she used to fall into somebody's bed in New York. Clever badinage ("the only way to get over one man is get under another") unfortunately sometimes gives way to phrases like "pantie-meltingly gorgeous." The narrative is overlong, and the characters rarely speak--they yell or shriek--but, overall, Keyes's stylish wit keeps readers attentive, and her take on addiction is insightful and compassionate.
Customer Reviews
Rachel’s Holiday
A brilliant read, well written with a few laughs along the way 😂, just the way it’s written ❤️. I enjoy books on fiction as well as the odd true stories.
It was only after reading other reviews about the book, I discovered that this book was out 20 years ago🙈, I’ve only just read it and it’s 2023!!😅 I did it arseway’s as I had already read Again Rachel a few months ago, first. So, better late than never I guess!! I will have to read the rest of the series on the Walsh family and their shenanigans😉😄
I only starting reading Marian Keyes books in the last year. I got back into reading books during the pandemic, my comfort cushion( I’ve always enjoyed reading books) Anyways here’s to more great reads 📚😊
A great read
A book that stands the test of time, great characters that can be both liked and disliked at the same time.
Ready for Again Rachel
I highly recommend Rachel’s Holiday. I read it years ago & was delighted by it again all these years later.
What amazing insights into addiction and it’s impacts on all the important relationships & the person, told with fabulous good humour & great craic.
Thanks Marion.
All set now for “Again Rachel”