A review by georgiasbookescapes
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rachel is living in London these days. And yet she is still sometimes known as the student who allegedly had an affair with Professor Fred Byrne when she lived in Cork, even if she never did sleep with him. This book is about what really happened. This book is about many things. It’s about two best friends, Rachel and James living in Cork during Rachel’s uni days in their early 20s, trying to gain an English Degree during the 2000s recession and later abortion rights for Ireland. 

If you want to delve into a story that reminds you perfectly of your uni days, this book is perfect. I was a little slow in the first chapter to figure out the story to come, but I absolutely adored this book! I felt like I was best friends myself with Rachel and James as though I was living with them in Cork. Beautifully written, it has that flavour of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends with two young people becoming friends with people in an older stage of their life living in Ireland, fear not if you’re not a Rooney fan - the writing and story is still distinctly its own. For Rooney fans - it has that same beautiful feeling of being in your 20s in Ireland.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Patheon, Vintage and Anchor Publishing for this ARC!