ANNOTATION #3: RELATIONSHIP FICTION

The Vacationers 

Emma Straub 

2014

292 pages

Riverhead Books

Synopsis: The Post family is going through changes. Jim stares down a life in early retirement while the transgressions that ended his career threaten his 35-year marriage to Franny. Daughter Sylvia just graduated high school and son Bobby seriously needs a new career. Together with Franny’s best friend Charles and his husband they all travel to Mallorca for a two-week summer vacation where tensions build, bonds are tested, and secrets can’t stay hidden for long. Get ready for lots of eye-rolling, some of it “aggressive.” Ultimately hopeful this story examines the web of relationships between seven flawed but redeemable characters. 

Relationship Fiction Appeal: The Vacationers revolves around the dynamics in an impressive range of relationships, from spouses to siblings, best friends, a girl and her crush, parents and children, and the significant others of nuclear family members. I particularly appreciated the interaction between the two significant others on the edge of the circle who shared nothing in common besides not wanting to go on vacation with the Posts in the first place. Conflicts are driven by the emotions (regret and uncertainty are high on the list) the characters confront, rather than events outside their borrowed vacation house. Plane trips bookend the story and in between the reader is sequestered with the Posts and their friends on the beautiful island of Mallorca away from their normal lives, adding a romantic element. While the ending isn’t capital H-happy we do get a sense of balance restored and bonds that stand up to the tests of life. 

Pacing: True to the genre The Vacationers proceeds at a leisurely pace that mirrors the lazy days of a summer vacation on an island in the Mediterranean. Each chapter follows the events of one day of their vacation and the reader knows exactly how many days are left before the trip home. Although the characters have impending emotional decisions and consequences in their future, their time on Mallorca is one of contemplation, not action. 

Frame/Setting: Straub describes the elegant vacation house and unique island with descriptive warmth. She shows us local sights and provides copious details about the cuisine (tapas!). We visit the local market with Franny and a secret beach with Sylvia. The particular challenges of the island for our American characters, like poor wifi and driving a manual transmission on steep narrow roads, provide humorous and relatable moments. 

Story Line: Wyatt and Saricks claim of relationship fiction that, “These are novels of high drama, inner conflict, and domestic disrepair played out on a small, intimate scale, reflecting the trials and concerns of everyday life” (p. 196). aptly describes The Vacationers. Each of the main characters examines and ultimately works through their own inner conflict before they go back to their lives with a different, and hopeful, perspective. 

Read Alikes: 

The Wangs vs. The World, by Jade Change 
  • The flawed characters that make up the Wang family are facing uncertainty after the loss of the family riches. A brash and whacky cross country road trip ensues during which the family must come together. 

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout 
  • Pullitzer Prize winner Strout is a go-to author for relationship fiction fans. In this book family dynamics and an atmospheric small town will appeal to fans of The Vacationers.

 A Deadly Inside Scoop, by Abby Collette 

  • For readers willing to branch out into a cozy mystery offer this first in the Ice Cream Parlor series featuring a tight-knit family and charming best friends

 The Expatriates, by Janice Y.K. Lee 

  • Lee brings together three flawed and complex American women in the expatriate community of Hong Kong for this heartwarming tale in a foreign setting

Non-Fiction: 

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion by Jia Tolentino 
  • Straub suggests in The Vacationers, “The Posts were masters of self-delusion, all of them” (p. 71). In this series of essays, readers can explore how we come to see ourselves clearly, or not, in our modern lives.



Reference:

Wyatt, N. and Saricks, G. (2019). The Reader's Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. (#3). ALA Editions.

Comments

  1. Taylor BurgerMarch 14, 2021 at 1:38 PM

    Relationship fiction is such an interesting thing. I honestly did not know anything about this genre before this class and I thought you did a great job of describing the plot and appeals. The immense amount of character development sounds interesting and like there was a lot going on in the story. Did you feel overwhelmed by the amount of characters? Did you have experience with relationship fiction before this annotation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abigail SmithMarch 14, 2021 at 5:03 PM

      I wasn't really familiar with the genre term "relationship fiction" before and had not really read any, although I agree with Wyatt and Saricks that literary fiction also often deals with relationships and personal development and emotions so it can be a thin line. I like a story with a lot of characters, it really changes the pacing for me; even when not a lot of action is happening if the story is switching between different character viewpoints I find myself more engrossed wanting to follow up with that character now and this one now, you know? I did read Elin Hildebrand's The Castaways at the beginning of the semester after I had been skimming Genreflecting and was picking my genres because I saw the book mentioned and it sounded good. It follows six characters and I couldn't put it down! Now I want to read all of her books.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 14, 2021 at 8:45 PM

    I'm not going to lie, reading a book with so many different relationship problems sounds stressful to me! The setting of Mallorca and the perspective of Charles and his husband sound interesting, but I'm worried that I may end up too frustrated with the characters to enjoy a book like this haha. I do love the cover! Maybe the mess of relationship fiction just isn't for me 😅

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erin CataldiMarch 18, 2021 at 10:31 AM

    Excellent job on this annotation - you really did a wonderful job on the appeals - they really added to your summary. Great work and full points!

    ReplyDelete

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