I’d avoided Marian Keyes’ books, wrongly assuming they were shallow chic-lit given the way they are marketed. But I was impressed by her on a book review (celebrating 25 years since Rachel’s Holiday was published) & immediately downloaded a copy of the novel.

And not disappointed.

Keyes illuminates drug-addiction in a way that is funny, clear-eyed, compassionate & psychologically convincing. She does this masterfully through an unreliable 20-something narrator, Rachel, who relates her story of partying in New York and of being sent back to Ireland by her family to holiday in a rehab centre. Rachel is funny, feckless & relatable. Here’s a typical excerpt:

« I put my hair up, I took it down, I put it up again. I took it down again. I finally decided to put it up and leave it.
Just before I left, I took it down again.«

Wonderful effortless-seeming writing, unforced humour, a cast of recognisable people, and a chance to walk in someone else’s (uncomfortable) shoes. ( )

This just difdn't work for me.

FROM AMAZON: '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 with an empty Valium bottle in my knickers....'

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 hot 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, gymnasiums and rock stars going cold turkey - plus it's about time she had a holiday.

Saying goodbye to fun will be hard. But not as hard as losing the man who she realises, all too late, might just be the love of her life.... ( )

Rachel es una entusiasta consumidora de drogas "recreativas". Según ella, no por adicción sino por pasatiempo. Al fin y al cabo, hoy día, ¿quién no toma de vez en cuando un ácido, una raya o unas pocas pastillas? ¿Qué mejor para olvidar las tensiones del trabajo y disfrutar un rato de la vida? Pero, en una de esas, se le va la mano, y tras una noche de excesos se atiborra de tranquilizantes para dormir a pierna suelta y empezar fresca una nueva jornada laboral. Para su sorpresa, a la mañana siguiente no despierta en su habitación sino en la cama de un hospital, después de un lavado de estómago y a punto para ingresar una temporada en una peculiar clínica de rehabilitación.

Oh man, when I first read this book I loved it but it doesn’t quite hold up in 2022. Still enjoyed the story and the characters but I was constantly jolted by casual problematic quips about race, gender, body size, rape and an oddly sympathetic handling of domestic violence. ( )

I've been trying to remember when I first read Rachel's Holiday and I've come to the conclusion that it must have been when it was first published in 1997 as I clearly remember looking forward to Marian Keyes' next book, Last Chance Saloon, being published because I had loved Rachel's Holiday so much. In fact, I've always thought that this book was my favourite Keyes. Did I still think that after my reread? Well, read on.

Rachel Walsh is 27 and living in New York, away from her family in her native Ireland. You might think this means she has her life together but in fact her life is a mess, lurching from drug to drug, drink to drink. Rachel is a bit of a catastrophe but a fun-loving, somewhat likeable one. She shares a flat with her best friend, Brigit, and has a boyfriend who gets her hot under the collar but one drug-fuelled night too many sees her returning to Ireland to enter The Cloisters, a rehab centre that Rachel, in her haze, expects to be full of Jacuzzis, saunas and swimming pools.

Rachel's Holiday is THE most wonderful book. It's full of humour that had me laughing out loud on so many occasions. Keyes has such a dry and witty way of describing people and situations that just chimed with me. But there is a serious story underneath Rachel's surface, that of addiction and the effects not only on the addict but on those around them. Rachel and her fellow 'inmates' at The Cloisters go on such a journey, both physical and emotional, that it's impossible not to feel for them. I was so moved and at one point tears sprang into my eyes as I realised there was more to one of the characters than I (and Rachel) had at first realised.

At 600 pages you might imagine the story would dip in the middle, or not keep the reader's attention. Wrong! I was fully embroiled in Rachel's story from beginning to end and if it had been longer I would have been rejoicing. I'm certainly thrilled to know that we’ll be hearing more from Rachel in Again Rachel, out February 2022.

So is it still my favourite Keyes? Yes! Rachel's Holiday is superb in every way. It's emotional, it's sexy, it's hilarious, it's thought-provoking and thoughtful, and it's real. I LOVED it! ( )