Reread in preparation for the sequel and it’s just as good as I remembered. Heartfelt, funny, wise and with just the loveliest family of characters, it’s like eating a warm cookie.

Loved this book! Really funny in places but also really moving. Will deffo be buying the follow up to this and will read more Marian Keyes.

I read this a long time ago, but remembered just how much I loved it then. Rereading Marian Keyes novels bought back all my memories of it, all the range of emotions I experienced, about the depiction of addiction, the toll that it takes, the character of Rachel, and her family's response. Despite it being about such a serious issue, Keyes will have you laughing as well as having you in tears. In New York, Rachel does not recognise she has a problem with drugs, she only dabbles in recreational drugs, the trouble is that she overdoses. Keyes memorably charts Rachel's pain and her path to coming to terms with the fact that she has been blinkered when it comes to her relationship with drugs as she enters rehab at Cloisters on her return to Ireland, funded by her family, until she finally begins to address her problems and connect with who she really is. There is a strong sense of authenticity in this novel, in the character of the unreliable Rachel, and the picture of drug addiction, yet the author makes it so much fun, it is such an entertaining and humorous read. A great reread! Many thanks to the publisher for the book.

I have read this book so many times, marian writes about serious subjects and yet manages to inject humour into each serious situation and who better than the Walsh family, lots of Irish sisters each with their own traumas (see other books) and upsets supported by an amazing Irish mammy who cant cook and has her own amazing wit! And a daddy who just wants a bit of peace but has no chance of getting it! The walsh's are the type of family we all probably have or wish we had! Rachaels story tackles drug abuse but it is the journey we go on along with rachael that is so moving and handles so very well that it feels as if you have been through it yourself (even if you haven't) You will always remember this book! devour every book which has the Walsh family in it! Marians demands by fan's for 'Helens story' and "more please..." Inspired her to write two more in 2012! Thats how good they are and the rest of her books are just as good! Cannot praise her enough! MORE PLEASE!

Toch weer een fijn boek om te lezen, maakt me erg nieuwsgierig naar de andere delen.
Hoewel ik dit deel hier en daar toch wat aan de lange/trage kant vind, is het toch zeker wel 4sterren waard!
Nu tijd voor de read-a-thon!

Book two in the Walsh Family series and I really love this family and their dynamics. Having three sisters myself this is very relatable!

This is such a good entry in the series and tackling some issues which for this time period, I hadn't seen in women's fiction.

Four stars.

I'm very pleased there's now a direct sequel to this book.

Este es mi segundo libro de Marian Keyes, siguiendo la saga de la familia Walsh. En esta segunda entrega, que creo que se puede leer sin estar siguiendo la saga, la autora cambia el tono, mas no el estilo, respecto a su entrega anterior. En Rachel se va de vacaciones, la autora mantiene esa frivolidad aparente en su personaje principal y en la percepción que este tiene sobre los demás, pero lentamente da al lector una muy buena idea de la situación y esa frivolidad de comentarios llegan en momentos justos que ayuda a liberar la tensión de la historia que se está cocinando, lentamente.

Para tratar de un tema, que puede ser sensible como la adición, la historia no suena a cartilla, o a mensaje para futuras ovejas descarriadas, y es precisamente por el tono que usa la autora, acompañada de lo que a mí me dio la impresión de contar una historia sincera y honesta, que se vale del recurso del flashback, de lograr una simpatía con la protagonista y un juego de la autora de las emociones, que presenta una historia redonda, sin aspiraciones moralistas y si con mucho sentimiento y reconocimiento de la propia identidad o la falta de ella.

Lo que más me ha gustado de la autora, es la forma en que construye sus personajes, que despiertan empatía, y mucha simpatía, en mi caso con Rachel, un personaje inseguro en casi todas sus facetas, y aun así, no inspira el juicio, sino el deseo de protección, es un personaje sólido, en su construcción, que se deja conocer, lo bueno, lo malo, lo cómico y también lo lamentable, sin que se pierda ese sentimiento inicial de simpatía. Este libro despierta varios sentimientos, pero no es sensiblero y tampoco es un monologo de introspección o la vida decadente de un adicto, es una historia simple, que no simplona, sobre una situación y una visión particular de esta.

I really enjoyed reading this book.
The Walsh family is always interesting.
I appreciate Rachel's POV, it helps one understand what persons in her position are going through and how they reason. It was very enlightening for me, which I appreciate.
Her erratic behaviour did not make much sense to me at first and it truly irritated me. When I finally understood, I did feel sorry for her and was cheering her on as she made efforts to regain control during her 'holiday'. I think that it is an important book to read, and away from the laughter, there is hope for Rachel.
This is my second favourite book in the Walsh Family series.
A very good read that had me laughing and almost crying as I turned the pages.
I read it many years ago, but I still remember and cherish it, and would definitely reread it if I came across it.

I got a copy of this book as I was seeing it everywhere due to it celebrating the 25th anniversary edition. I haven't read any of this author's books before and hadn't realised it was the second novel to feature the Walsh family. Not that, that really mattered as it reads well as a standalone.

Hands up, I take full blame as I didn't read what the book was about when I bought it. Due to the title and the flip flops on the cover, I had expected to be taken off to sunnier climates with beaches, the sea or at least a pool. What I got was a rehab centre!

This is quite a lengthy book at over 600 pages. This wouldn't usually bother me as if I love a story, even a 1000 pages can be too short. I found myself drifting off though and as the story flicked between Rachel's life in New York and rehab, I kept getting lost as there was nothing to mark that the story was swapping from one to the other so one minute I would be reading about Rachel's antics in New York, the next we would be back in rehab. This did affect my enjoyment overall.

The author does get it spot on with how people dealing with addiction lie to themselves. I think it opened my eyes somewhat and made me understand addicts more. Sadly I didn't really find any of the characters overly likeable which in a story like this, I would have expected to. Overall it was an okay read but sadly didn't love it but as I have said previously, I am at fault in some part due to my expectations and not reading the book description.

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 similar feelings and thoughts that I sometimes have.--It's hard to live in this world, when you want to please everybody.--I couldn't put this book down, and yet I knew that I didn't want to come to the last page. Really great.

Marian Keyes has just this innate talent to make dysfunctional families feel so normal and relatable. There is a quality to her writing that allows you to both care about a character even when you don’t like them.

Rachel’s Holiday is anything but a holiday. It’s hard hitting. It’s about addiction, trauma, depression self-harm, distorted reality and lost identity. It is dealing with difficult themes (read the TW!) while managing to give it a tone of lightness and hope through humour and introspective comments.

Her family is definitely something and having a look into it, makes me certain that I want to read from each Walsh sister. I will be picking up all the books in the series, that’s for sure! I will obviously start with the sequel to Rachel’s first!

I've only just discovered Keyes, thanks to my friends here on Goodreads. Thanks!

I've started by reading the Walsh novels in order, which means I'm starting with some rather dated books, written in the 1990s. Taking that into account, although I sometimes squirm, I make allowances.

It's clear from the context in Rachel's Holiday, however, that the author herself, even back then, did not condone things that are now generally understood to be inappropriate, like fat-shaming, stereotyping nationalities, or fixating on fixing one's life by finding the right man.

Here, even the title character makes great strides in understanding what programming she has received that she would be better off without. All that, and a fun, fascinating story, as well. Brava, Marian Keyes. I'm off to check out the next in the series.