The Vacationers

By: Emma Straub

Narrated by: Kristen Sieh

An irresistible, deftly observed novel about the secrets, joys, and jealousies that rise to the surface over the course of an American family's two-week stay in Mallorca.

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. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.

This is a story of the sides of ourselves that we choose to show and those we try to conceal, of the ways we tear each other down and build each other up again, and the bonds that ultimately hold us together. With wry humor and tremendous heart, Emma Straub delivers a richly satisfying story of a family in the midst of a maelstrom of change, emerging irrevocably altered yet whole.

©2014 Emma Straub (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Delicious...richly riveting.... The Vacationers offers all the delights of a fluffy, read-it-with-sunglasses-on-the-beach read, made substantial by the exceptional wit, insight, intelligence and talents of its author.” (People, four stars)

“Set down on the idyllic island of Majorca in the Mediterranean Sea, the Posts confront that universal complaint of vacationing families everywhere: There is nothing to do but get on one another’s nerves. Still, that’s plenty of activity for Straub to spin one beguiling scene after another, exposing spots of annoyance slathered with sunscreen. Much of the comedy springs from the tension between being required to have the best time in the world and wanting to stab someone with an ice pick.... In these pages - so funny, so wise and, yes, even so sweet - she’s created the best feel-good story of the summer.” (The Washington Post)

“Emma Straub puts the fun back in dysfunction.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

Good performance!

Not much point here. As others have said, whiny, entitled characters. I kept waiting for a twist.

Engaging beginning, but interest declines

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I am not an editor, but I wish the initial narrative lived up to the rest of the book. I did not finish this book. I read too much to ask for a return credit. I kept hoping it would pick up and develop, but it only got more boring as it went along.

Would you be willing to try another book from Emma Straub? Why or why not?

I probably would, as I liked the descriptive prose of Majorca and travel in general. I just wish the main character had sustained the initial interest.

What aspect of Kristen Sieh’s performance would you have changed?

The reader was okay enough, given the lameness of the last half of the book. I wish it could have concentrated more on the main character's career and food, etc.

Could you see The Vacationers being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Not relevant. I do not watch movies.

Any additional comments?

I had very high hopes for this novel. I love novels that take place in other countries. I just fel that about halfway through, the author gave up or something and did not follow through with the character developments. Such good characters, too! It just was not adequately completed. I would have liked more about the gay couple, for example. It was hard to see why the older gay man even liked the married woman so much s she was pretty boring and unlikeable.

Just ok

The performance was good to listen to but the story was just ok. Nothing special and I was not wowed.

It's OK. Typical privileged story.

Another whining tail of privileged vacationers' selfish encounters, inconsequential and banal. Fortunately it's a quick read.

Fluffy beach read

I chose this book because it was in Mallorca and hoped to learn some local color. There were almost no details about the island: it could have taken place anywhere.

It was a quick, light beach read….. immediately forgotten. But will written and well narrated.

interesting family

Any additional comments?

an interesting family drama, full of lies, love and hope. It is one that I enjoyed, I would also like to see this in movie form.

Funny, serious and real life!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it was a really good read, all the characters were believable.

What does Kristen Sieh bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She does ALL the voices so well!! It is hard to do a man's voice and Kristen did a great job! I will be looking for her narration from now on.

If you could take any character from The Vacationers out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Probably, Franny because she was vibrant and I could appreciate all her feelings.

Fast & fun

What did you love best about The Vacationers?

A highly entertaining read — clever & witty enough to occupy me for a day. Some readers apparently thought these characters were too predictable, but that predictability served the satire as far as I was concerned. And along the way, as in the best satires, I got to internally ponder questions that interest me like: what's it REALLY like being rich and owning a townhouse in Manhattan; do I need to spend some time in Majorca; can marriages survive infidelity; how do children deal with their parents and vice versa; what should you do with a 30 something son who's a lunkhead; should 55 year olds have babies; do people need to lose their virginity in Europe before starting college, why didn't I do that?, how do you cook a meal with very little in the cupboard; how do type A people who are fired for not being able to resist that provocative intern suddenly handle all that free time? You know - the serious stuff.

What did you like best about this story?

the shifting POV

Entertaining Rich White People Probs

I was looking for an easy book that had great descriptions of travel and food; this one delivered. As a person of color, I find it easy to listen to books about it rich, white people problems sometimes. I don't have to think very much and I can try to imagine having easy problems that resolve on a Mediterranean Island.

Perfect beach read!

An average easy-read!

Nothing unusual, nothing new. An easy to read book that goes by the numbers. Everybody comes on vacation, has a problem, goes home fixed. Not a lot of suspense, not a page turner.