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danidamico's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual assault
bratatouille's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rachel is a relatively uninteresting 21-year-old Irish college student who basks in the glow of her best friend, James, and continuously makes poor decisions about the direction of her life and relationships. This is exactly why I adore her.
The Rachel Incident begins in the present day and rewinds to her fateful meeting of James, following through that storyline until it catches back up to, and moves past, where we started. Frankly, this story is much more about James than it is about Rachel. Two idiotic, desperate, and directionless, young adults entangle themselves in throes of lust and passion all while unsuccessfully avoiding personal development and their creeping futures. It’s funny, honest, and a frustratingly accurate representation of addictive qualities found in obsessive friendships and encounters in your early twenties. I read O’Donoghue’s work in a record time of six hours and have only docked it for my struggle to invest in the story at first, as well as the occasional rambling monologues the protagonist would go on. I don’t think this is something I would re-read but I’m glad to have read it. Despite these things, it was captivating when it got there and read like a drama I would’ve frantically tweeted about if showing on Fox in 2015.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual assault
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