There's no such thing as a perfect vacation anyway.Ĭarol Memmott's reviews also appear in the Washington Post and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.īy Emma Straub, Riverhead, 293 pages, $26. This is, after all, a summer story that families and friends can debate, and, yes, argue over, while trapped inside claustrophobia-inducing beach bungalows and mountain cabins. But none of this takes away from the novel's easy, breezy fun. Will Sylvia loses her virginity? Will Charles and Lawrence get their baby? Will Jim and Franny find a way back to their once solid marriage? And you just can't help but know that one of "The Vacationers' " couples won't return home together. For those unable to jet off to a Spanish island this summer, reading The Vacationers may be the next-best thing. Yes, most of the vacationers are swathed in predictable storylines. The paper-thin walls of their mountain villa continue to close in as old wounds fester and new ones sting like a bad sunburn. 76,652 ratings7,327 reviews For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. Fine food, good wine, afternoon naps and gorgeous sunsets won't stop these vexed vacationers from slathering themselves in equal parts sunscreen and self-pity.
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