Rachel's Holiday
by Marian Keyes
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2210)
Read in April, 2008
This book was as awesome as I expected, based on Krystal's high praise of it. Watermelon was pretty good, but this was way better. I'm not sure if it's better than Lucy Sullivan though. I haven't read the author's essays apecifically about her alcholism, but I can only assume that she drew on some of her own experience with addiction to write this. It's fascinating to experience the transformation of Rachel with Rachel. To learn things as she learns them, to see her experiences through her ...more
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As I mention in my review of another Keyes work, I read the Sullivan books out of order, and, as a result, may have developed a slightly different sense of the characters. This may have coloured my view of this book.
I had two main complaints about this novel. First, to a great extent, the theme has been beaten to death since going into rehab became chic. If Sandra Bullock has made a motion picture about something, it is not new. (Don't get me wrong, I love her, but "edgy" she is n...more
I had two main complaints about this novel. First, to a great extent, the theme has been beaten to death since going into rehab became chic. If Sandra Bullock has made a motion picture about something, it is not new. (Don't get me wrong, I love her, but "edgy" she is n...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Julie by:
No onerecommends it for: Everyone, Chick-Lit Fans, You reading this right now
The book had a slow start; it starts of with a lot of flashbacks to her life before the treatment centre. But what I loved most was the journey the reader goes through with Rachel as we watch her experience in rehab. As with the other Keyes books I've read, there's her witty humour that makes you laugh out loud. Also, with the main character; Rachel, I found my self really caring about the character, to the point I was almost screaming at her because she wouldn't admit she had a problem, to almo...more
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Read in January, 2006
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I am loving this book. I'm halfway through after a day, and am finding it hard to put it down so I have something to read for tonight. The first book I read of Keyes was Lucy Sullivan is getting married, and though a lot of people didn't like the book, I absolutely adored it, then I read Watermelon, and was just let down hard. I didn't get the characters really, it just seemed to be a lot of back and forth what should I do....I ramble on about these things, because Rachels Holiday is another ...more
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Marian Keys is the novelist that I turn to for my fluff novels. Her books are fun, mindless, silly and sometimes shallow and I guiltily eat them all up!
This one was different.
It had the same qualities the other ones did, but this one, whether intentional or not, set itself apart from her other books.
It has been years since I have actually read this book but it left an impression on me. Maybe it’s because I went into it with such low expectations as far as depth or content, I can’t be...more
This one was different.
It had the same qualities the other ones did, but this one, whether intentional or not, set itself apart from her other books.
It has been years since I have actually read this book but it left an impression on me. Maybe it’s because I went into it with such low expectations as far as depth or content, I can’t be...more
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Read in July, 2008
OK, but this is probably the last Keyes I read. Her writing is amazing, but there's just something a little sprawling about her books that doesn't work for me.
Sometimes I wish I had her mind though. Like w/this line "To my horror, I tripped on a My Little Pony and went lying. But like a video fo a dynamited tower block being run in reverse, I managed to spring back up..." That just seemed like such a clever image to me.
It's about an addict and she starts off the book in seriou...more
Sometimes I wish I had her mind though. Like w/this line "To my horror, I tripped on a My Little Pony and went lying. But like a video fo a dynamited tower block being run in reverse, I managed to spring back up..." That just seemed like such a clever image to me.
It's about an addict and she starts off the book in seriou...more
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Read in March, 2008
Whatever Mairan Keyes is selling....I'm buying. Rachel's Holiday was wonderful and touching. It is a talent to take subjects that are so seriouse and bring laughter and humor to them. What a quirky, fun sense of humor Marian must have. This book delved into the world of addicts. It was honest, insightful, and very human. I felt a great attatchment to Rachel (the heroin). I would laugh with her, and then find myself crying over her heartache. I think I understood her. She had a lot of si...more
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Read in February, 2008
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Has a copy to sell/swap
While MK writes in her usual hilarious manner, this novel touched on the very serious topic of drug/alcohol addiction. It was interesting and most definitely entertaining but I felt that she pigeonholed Rachel's character to an irritating degree. The psychological analysis of Rachel's childhood was far too pat and I didn't believe that she could so readily accept her tenure as an addict. I enjoyed this book mainly for MK's typical sharp wit and rollicking anecdotes but overall I believe that thi...more
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Read in September, 2008
This book was good, but nothing spectacular. It took me awhile to finish it, but I'm not sure if that was because I wasn't that into it, or that reading it coincided with my move. It's a chick lit book with addiction and recovery at its central theme, but of course a love story is pretty strong throughout. I wish the author had gotten more in depth with the addiction issues, it was all pretty shallow and superficial. Like she was just starting to scratch the surface and then the book was over. I...more
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Read in January, 2005
I'd like to give this 3 1/2 stars but no half stars on GR so I'll round up to give Rachel 4, he he.
I don't read much chick lit (although I love love love the Bridget Jones books) but it seems Marian Keyes is top shelf in the genre. This was a really funny book (it made me laugh out loud at least once, which is not something that I do with very many books)with a nice big heart and some meaningful things to say.
The addiction rehab process was presented in a seemingly realistic way (or probabl...more
I don't read much chick lit (although I love love love the Bridget Jones books) but it seems Marian Keyes is top shelf in the genre. This was a really funny book (it made me laugh out loud at least once, which is not something that I do with very many books)with a nice big heart and some meaningful things to say.
The addiction rehab process was presented in a seemingly realistic way (or probabl...more
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I read my first Marian Keyes when one of her books was sent to me by the book club and I was too lazy to go to the shop and swap it. So, I read it, and was pleasantly surprised.
She writes heroines that aren't exactly of the most loveable variety. In the case of this book, Rachel is a drug addict who is in denial about her addiction for the greater part of the story. She gets sent to rehab, where she feels superior to everyone and everything. Being chicklit, the story obviously has a happy, sap...more
She writes heroines that aren't exactly of the most loveable variety. In the case of this book, Rachel is a drug addict who is in denial about her addiction for the greater part of the story. She gets sent to rehab, where she feels superior to everyone and everything. Being chicklit, the story obviously has a happy, sap...more
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Marian Keyes stands out in Women's Fiction because of her ability to capture the elusive characteristics that make emotionally clumsy but good hearted women interesting. In other hands, this sort of material (single girls, job woes, family problems) comes off as either stupid or a Bridget Jones rip-off. Somehow, Keyes rises above all that and crafts characters that are interesting, likeable, and often clever -- even when they're doing very silly things. I usually like her... and I don't normally...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone....especially those with addictions !
Belly laughs with pathos. It was a couple of weeks after I'd read this book,that I found out it was based on the author's own alcohol addiction & attempted suicide, which gives some idea as to the serious underlying theme. However, it's written with such a light touch that you barely register the darkness - the blurb on the back cover sets it up nicely "How did it end up like this ? Twenty-seven, unemployed, mistaken for a drug addict, in a treatment centre in the back arse of nowhere w...more
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Read in November, 2007
i've read everything by marian keyes at least three times over. this one is no exception. it's chick lit at it's best! anyways, though it's not the best of her books, apparently it's being made into a movie. i've always wondered when she'd get a movie deal out of all her books. they all could potentially be fun, heartwarming and poignant movies if done right. or they could also be terribly predictable garbage if done wrong. rachel's holiday doesnt really cover new material, but it's still a grea...more
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recommends it for:
Anyone
Probably one of the best chick lit novels I've ever read. Despite the funny copy on the back of the book, the one thing a reader can be sure of is that Keyes will take her characters to a black place. She is mercenary in her treatment of her heroines. In this title, Rachel is a drug addict who crashes in NYC, necessitating that her nice Irish middle-class family stage an intervention. Themes discussed include addiction of all sorts, obsession with pop culture, and family identity. Quite goo...more
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Read in February, 2008
I think this was my favorite of the Walsh sisters books so far. I say this every time I write a review of Marian Keyes' books, but I love how she can turn fairly weighty subject matter into an endearing and funny, if sometimes predictable, story. This book was particularly touching to me because I am interested in mental health and addiction issues (yes, I watch Celebrity Rehab - though not least for Dr. Drew, whom I love) and I think Keyes did a great job with the real issues that addicts face.
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Read in July, 2008
This sort of book is normally not my cup of tea as it tends to show the shallower side of women but this book was really good, as Rachel grew, maturing and learning to accept herself for what she was. I didn't like the end as much as I would have liked to see her shed all her old baggage and start a completely new life with nothing of the past but it was not to be. Nevertheless, if Rachel learned that she couldn't have everything she wanted, I guess I can accept that as well. Very enjoyable.
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Read in April, 2008
In Rachel’s Holiday Rachel Walsh learns just what it means to have too much fun in this lively drama about addiction and recovery. She is broke up in relationship wise and at the same time, unemployed. When she wakes up in a hospital emergency room, she finds she's been diagnosed as a suicidal drug addict. This novel isn't a how-to on overcoming addiction with self examination, along with some comedy, the treatment results personality changes that is the key for recovery.
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