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A review by travelseatsreads
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
'With deep affection & recollection, I often think of the Shandon bells'
When I saw this book was set on Shandon Street, the very same street where I spent most of my childhood & proudly called home, I knew I had to read it! The story follows Rachel Murray, her housemate, James Devlin & her boyfriend, James Carey as they navigate their final years in college. The Rachel Incident is a messy yet tender portrayal of what it means to find yourself as an adult & those vital friendships which make it all just about bearable.
We get to be a fly on the wall of that damp & cold house as their whole lives begin to implode as they all collide with the worlds of Dr Byrne & his wife Deenie. What follows is an entangled mesh of drama & heartache which will haunt each of our protagonists long into their lives, far after the dust settles.
What I found made TRI so special was the absolutely exquisite writing. There are so many depths & layers to the story & how she tells it that kept me questioning whether this was a coming of age memoir or indeed a fantastic piece of fiction.
The book is also bursting with so many nostalgic pop-culture moments such as The Late Late Toy Show, the demise of The Celtic Tiger, Will and Grace & the mountain of Cork references that it almost felt like sitting down with a friend at the end of a night out in your pj’s, curled up on the couch swapping the sca over two steaming cups of tea. And I think anyone who is also from Cork will happily admit that Caroline captured the unique essence, quirky idioms, playfully sarcastic nature of all Corkonians along with the genuine warmth that just oozes from the city.
Caroline has a unique talent of writing morally questionable & some may argue unlikeable characters that somehow feel like your very best friend who you want to pull close to your heart & protect from their very silly & often infuriating mistakes. While not necessarily an easy read as subjects such as reproductive rights, sexuality & infidelity are dealt with, it still somehow manages to remain a complete comfort of a book that I never wanted to end.
When I saw this book was set on Shandon Street, the very same street where I spent most of my childhood & proudly called home, I knew I had to read it! The story follows Rachel Murray, her housemate, James Devlin & her boyfriend, James Carey as they navigate their final years in college. The Rachel Incident is a messy yet tender portrayal of what it means to find yourself as an adult & those vital friendships which make it all just about bearable.
We get to be a fly on the wall of that damp & cold house as their whole lives begin to implode as they all collide with the worlds of Dr Byrne & his wife Deenie. What follows is an entangled mesh of drama & heartache which will haunt each of our protagonists long into their lives, far after the dust settles.
What I found made TRI so special was the absolutely exquisite writing. There are so many depths & layers to the story & how she tells it that kept me questioning whether this was a coming of age memoir or indeed a fantastic piece of fiction.
The book is also bursting with so many nostalgic pop-culture moments such as The Late Late Toy Show, the demise of The Celtic Tiger, Will and Grace & the mountain of Cork references that it almost felt like sitting down with a friend at the end of a night out in your pj’s, curled up on the couch swapping the sca over two steaming cups of tea. And I think anyone who is also from Cork will happily admit that Caroline captured the unique essence, quirky idioms, playfully sarcastic nature of all Corkonians along with the genuine warmth that just oozes from the city.
Caroline has a unique talent of writing morally questionable & some may argue unlikeable characters that somehow feel like your very best friend who you want to pull close to your heart & protect from their very silly & often infuriating mistakes. While not necessarily an easy read as subjects such as reproductive rights, sexuality & infidelity are dealt with, it still somehow manages to remain a complete comfort of a book that I never wanted to end.