Rachel's Holiday

By: Marian Keyes

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 and 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.

©1998 Marian Keyes (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A lively drama...Keyes' stylish wit keeps readers attentive, and her take on addiction is insightful and compassionate." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Keyes' intriguing, fast-paced account of an addict's recovery features personable characters with realistic blends of humor and imperfections and a heroine who, despite her exasperating self-pity and shallowness, is witty enough to keep readers rooting for her." ( Booklist)
"The story is funny, fast paced, and sometimes intense." ( Library Journal)

Not As Good as I Remembered

I like Marian Keyes, and I remembered Rachel's Holiday as being both funny and intense, chronicling Rachel Walsh's realization of her addiction and her steps to cure it. However, as an audiobook it was only okay: the reader seemed over-earnest and lacked the ability to offer any accent besides her own basic Irish; the long flashbacks and retelling of various unhealthy decisions, made unskippable by the audio format, became boring or unbearable. Luckily, it was abridged, you might be thinking: but the abridgement was truly a hatchet job, leaving several noticeable gaps in the story that an alert editor should have sorted out. Chris's car was stolen? What? Jackie's husband wore a wig? What? Lastly, I was flabbergasted by the note in the conclusion thanking all the "brave men and women" who took cocaine for the purposes of research and reported to the author how it felt so she could use it in her book. What the heck was that? Again, maybe an attempt to be funny, but where was her editor? All in all, a weak "okay" at best.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good listen

I liked this book. But I may have a bit of a bias because so far I have enjoyed all of Marian Keyes work. It is entertaining but also sends a message about the difficulties of family and addiction.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hilarious and sweet!

This is the second time I've read it and it still makes me laugh outloud!!!

2nd try and enjoyed it thoroughly

i think i just needed to get use to the narrators accent .. which is great and once i did i found the story very interesting and kept me wanting to find out if Rachael could beat her habit .. find out why it started ... and how her relationship with the lovely Luke will pan out .. all with a dash of humor

Read the book instead

Read the book instead. I listened over halfway before I realised this is an abridged version. Most of Rachel’s life in New York is cut, missing a lot of funny material, and context. The narrator is an older lady, with a very proper Irish accent, and misses the opportunity to use a Dublin accent/Scouse accent...not a good voice for this material.
Also, several Irish terms are replaced with more US-friendly terms. Sweater/jumper; chips/crisps; sex/ride....in this post-Harry Potter era is this necessary?
I wonder is there a way of getting a UK audible version of this book?

Amazing.

Just reread after 4 years. It is as good as I remember. Meaningful but still funny.

very moving story packed with personality

I enjoyed all the characters and wished to hear more about Rachel and Luke
My husband listened , he also enjoyed the story.

Interesting Listen

What made the experience of listening to Rachel's Holiday the most enjoyable?

I liked that you saw Rachel's life through her eyes, and in the beginning, agreed with her "nothing's wrong with me' opinion. You start to see her problems at the same time she does, by listening to her peers.

What other book might you compare Rachel's Holiday to and why?

It's not the same..but "Running in Heels" by Anna Maxted has the same type of story. The main character has no idea she is anorexic, and neither do you, not in the beginning. It's not until her friends show her (and you) the facts that she finds out.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Rachel hooks up with Chris and realizes quite literally in the middle of it, that it isn't what she wants anymore.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

I couldn't even finish this book. The narration was annoying with an overdone Irish accent and I found the story to be wanting. The main character seemed to find every stupid thing she did while on drugs to be hysterically funny, but I didn't get the humor it the storylines or in the telling of the story.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful