The Vacationers by Emma Straub has been listed on several
Best of Summer Reading lists this season. It is a funny, touching and, at times,
painfully honest story of the Post family’s vacation and the truths and secrets
that are exposed when they are crammed together in a rental house for two weeks
in Mallorca. Each member of the family, which includes a couple who are close
friends of the Posts, is facing adversity or tough decisions when they land in
the warm Spanish paradise. The close quarters and language barrier forces the
group to confront each other and their own inner demons while basking in the sun
and feasting on Spanish delicacies. This is a humorous and character driven
novel that will appeal to fans of Cathleen Schine.
While you’re waiting to get The Vacationers, you might try
one of these five novels that also feature families on vacation:
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan - Three generations of women converge on the family
beach house in this wickedly funny, emotionally resonant story of love and
dysfunction.
The Red House by Mark Haddon - Richard, a wealthy doctor, invites his estranged sister
Angela and her family to join his for a week at a vacation home in the English
countryside, which results in a symphony of long-held grudges, fading dreams,
and rising hopes.
Shorecliff by Ursula DeYoung - Spending the summer of 1928 in a big house on the Maine
coast with his 10 older cousins and a gaggle of aunts and uncles seems like a
dream come true to lonely 13-year-old Richard. But as he wanders through the
bustling house, Richard witnesses scenes and conversations not meant for him
and watches as the family he adores disintegrates into a tangle of lust,
jealousy, and betrayal.
Swimming Home by Deborah Levy - A mysterious woman who
suffers from mental illness suddenly appears at a vacation villa where two
families are staying and her interactions with them reveal secret details about
their past and tensions within their relationships with each other.
Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann - Nick and her cousin, Helena, grow up
sharing sultry summer heat, sun-bleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on
Martha's Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. Years later, at the brink of the sixties, they
have returned to Tiger House with Ed and Daisy, their respective children.
While wandering on the island, Ed and Daisy discover the victim of a brutal
murder. Soon everything starts to unravel as secrets come to light, and nothing
about their lives will ever be the same.
