The Vacationers: A Novel

By Emma Straub

"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)

An irresistible, deftly observed novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Modern Lovers, 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: May 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781101618042

Emma Straub

Emma Straub lives in New York City. She is the author of a short-story collection, Other People We Married. Her first novel, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures, is published by Picador.

Reviews for The Vacationers

[froxgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Screwed up Manhattan family of four goes on summer vacation to a villa in Mallorca, Spain for two weeks. They are joined by the son's way older personal trainer girlfriend and the mom's best friend and his husband. What could possibly go right? Not much for most of the time, but in a sublimely amusing way. Magazine editor Dad, sixty, gets fired for tumbling into an abortive affair with a board member's seductive twentysomething daughter. Mom finds out when he crawls home jobless and in shock. Daughter, headed to freshman year at Brown U. in the fall, has a crush on her Mallorcan Spanish tutor. Son is in debilitating debt due to a dumb business decision and has to humbly beg for a bailout. Everyone in the vacation party resents son's overly critical, super-fit girlfriend. The married male couple are stressed out, awaiting news on the decision of a birth mother in their pursuit of fatherhood. Mallorca casts its spell.Quotes: "It was the classic Euro look - shiny and well-groomed to the point of New Jersey.""Jim didn't know it was possible to see actual wavy lines of anger around someone's head, like a cartoon come to life, but there they were, clear as day."

[baystatera · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Vacationers is the perfect beach read for people who like their escapist reading to take them to a villa in Mallorca (Spain) on a family vacation with two generations of family, along with a long-time family friend, all suffering individually and/or as couples from first-world problems. Sun, sexy Europeans, Scrabble, and great meals are all included. Emma Straub, you can take me on vacation again anytime!For full review, visit the Bay State Reader's Advisory blog.

[decaturmamaof2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't like this book so much at the beginning - all the characters annoyed me. Then, it sort of grew on me, and I really like how Straub balances the characters out. The personalities are full-fleshed and real.

[karenvg3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this story of a family vacation packed with the ups and downs of real life and how a family deals with adversity. It was a fun light read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[wellreadcatlady · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Vacationers is a fluff read. It is a mediocre daytime soap opera that should only be read after a long, intense, and interesting book. I clearly didn’t have high hopes for The Vacationers, and rightfully so, but it was what I needed it to be, something short and easy. The focus is on the Post family going to Spain, the son is bringing his girlfriend, and the wife is bringing her best friend and his partner. Jim, the father, is a cheat. He cheated on his wife Franny with a much younger woman and there is tension that is affecting everyone on the trip because of what he did. It’s drama and cheap entertainment, every man is a cheater and/or a piece of shit in The Vacationers, it becomes comical. So read it if you want to do some light, flowy reading, just don’t go in expecting a masterpiece.

[jillrhudy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dead realistic about the messiness of relationships and children and the staggering investments we put into them, without being depressing. In fact, we are supplied with an 18-year-old character to get depressed for us and yell at all the dishonorable adults (falling hideously short of her Austen/Bronte ideal) that they suck. Interesting scenes and scenarios. Relatable, earnest characters. Kept me reading long into the night. I'll probably have forgotten the whole thing in two weeks, except the part where Franny puts the book down on her thighs, which was the nearest thing to horror--but it was well done.

[anissaannalise-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I chose this to read as a diversion during a weekend fast. It was a quick read (I got through in a less than day) and I liked the beginning and end more than the middle. Jim and Franny Post decided to vacation for two weeks in Mallorca as a last family holiday before daughter, Sylvia leaves for college. Their son, Bobby and girlfriend, Carmen are along for the trip as well as Franny's BFF Charles and his husband, Lawrence. The setting, a loaned house of Gemma, a friend of Charles's, is spectacular and so is Mallorca in general. Enter, Joan (pronounced Joe-aahn) to tutor Sylvia in Spanish, while they're on island and the cast is basically complete. What follows is all sorts of revelations about tension between Jim and Franny care of an affair and Jim's unplanned retirement. Sylvia's on a quest to vanquish her virginity due to a hookup between her former BFF and her crush, some tertiary angst over a drunken indescretion at a graduation party much discussed on social media. Bobby is in financial trouble and a dead end relationship with Carmen. Charles and Lawrence are anxious in varying degrees about becoming parents. Of all the characters, I liked Charles and Lawrence best. They weren't perfect but it was nice to see their beginning a family juxtaposed to the weather worn Posts family. The middle of the book felt like it lagged a bit but it's a vacation sort of book so it felt like that kind of lull. I did like the ends for everyone and it didn't bother me that it ended more hopeful than it began. In the end, the Posts left more baggage behind than they took with them so I think it was a good vacation.

[narshkite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delightful. Straub writes about people I know, and does so with grace and love while also exposing all the warts. There is an Austen-feel to her books too. She writes about human relationships and celebrates the bonds of familial love (even when your family drives you crazy), things modern publishers would relegate to "women's literature," while commenting slyly on issues of class, imperialism, societal strictures stemming from age, gender, sexual orientation, beauty, money, ethnicity, and other semi-immutable characteristics. The book is not perfect, many of the characters required a bit more fleshing out for them to seem like more than plot devices, but I left this read refreshed and satisfied and happy. That is a win!

[purseproblm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book. The Post family is headed on a two week long vacation with friends to Mallorca. This book is all about relationships. Husbands and wives, between siblings, between friends, and new acquaintances. The writing and development of each relationship struck me as honest and extremely plausible. None of the stories was wrapped with a pretty bow, but with the end that the real world would give too. The Setting and writing were a joy, and I now feel like I should go back and read Ms. Straub's backlist. This was a summer read at it's best.

[valnewhope · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

uninteresting characters, predictable storylines...disappointing

[alphawoman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book relatively quickly. Didn't particularly like any of the characters, the daughter being too smug, the son an ass, the father just uninteresting. The mother, Fanny, with all her quirkiness was probably my least disliked, though she was privileged and perhaps justifiably so. Couldn't figure out why Joan, the tutor was a dick. Maybe because he was so beautiful. But, I suppose it was left to our imagination. A family in crisis but everything works out in the end.

[itchyfeetreader · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Emma Straub describes and brings her characters to life exceptionally well. At first glance all are very trite and not unexpected; Franny the mother is over-bearing, Jim the father is dealing with the fall out of a mid-life crisis complete with infidelity, Sylvia the teenager is petulant and alternates between internet and sex obsessed, Bobby has brought his much older girlfriend who is a gym bunny along for the ride whilst Charles and Lawrence the gay best friends are in the midst of attempting to adopt (which no one knows about). However, Straub does a great job of getting beyond those stereotypes and really makes them multi-faceted and real. Unfortunately, what she can not do is make them any the more likeable. Much of the dialogue can only be described as whiny and there are seemingly pages and pages of reflection and navel gazing. Scenes that should have warmed me to the characters (Franny’s failed attempt at impressing the local tennis star being just one) frustrated me beyond measure. I feel like I would have much preferred it if the focus of the novel had been Carmen and her back story or even the detail of Charles and Lawrence’s life as these were margianally the most likeable characters. I read this whilst in the heat of a Mallorcan afternoon and did very much enjoy the touches of Mallorca that came from the page to the novel however felt that Straub could have done more to embed the sense of place – ultimately the villa and the island became nothing more than a blank back drop to the unfolding self -involved dramas of the Post family which is a shame given the wonderful landscape available to her. A final word – the vivid yet succinct descriptions of the food the family ate was a highlight for me and left me more than hungry!

[mav1n1libby · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audiobook of this and I didn't love it. I just found it a little bland. I finished it last week and I can barely even remember what it was about. It's a family that goes on vacation with issues, and some of the secrets come out. It's one of those that they hint that something is wrong, like the husband had cheated on the wife, so you get hints about it for a while before it comes to light. In the end, everyone is happy. Even though he cheated, they get back together, which annoyed me because even in the book, when it's the husband's perspective, he talks about how nice it was to be with a much younger woman. Maybe I missed the point along the way. The gay couple got a child. The young girl got banged and then ignored. I don't know...I feel like the women weren't treated very well in this book, yet they were content or happy. This just didn't click with me and maybe I missed the message of the whole book. I loved Emma's other book "This Time Tomorrow" so I was really hoping to love this one as well.

[pegmcdaniel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Emma Straub is a new author for me. Since this novel had gotten rave reviews, I read it to see why. I feel it deserves only 3 Stars. I had a hard time relating to any of the characters. They each had their own crisis and were dealing with it as flawed individuals do.I like Ms. Straub's writing style and she manages to inject humor just when you aren't expecting it. She certainly made the vacation island sound inviting with its beaches, mountains, tapas, tennis courts, and the rental house. But instead of appreciating being able to afford a vacation like this, the characters argued with each other, they complained about everything, secrets came to light, and we got to see how messy some families really are.

[flydodofly · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Do books get written to be read on vacations? Possibly. If they are well written, they may even help reduce stress and such and provide hours in a parallel universe, just that much different to make it look more interesting or less challenging.

[teeth_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This novel was not one of my favorites! It was basically about a family on vacation and some of the members had cheated on their significant others and it all comes out to one another on their vacation. The story line is slow and the characters are not particularly likeable! I would not recommend this book.

[yvonne.sevignykaiser · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Read for our neighborhood book group. Our book group was underwhelmed with this book.

We could not find one redeemable character in the story and if that was the authors intent then she was successful.

I listened to the audio version.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

fiction (human comedy of errors). Members of a family friends group vacation in Mallorca. I stopped around page 88--the writing was ok but I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. Somewhat droll but also somewhat dull.

[cinderh_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Pretty uninteresting story about a dysfunctional family. It sounded interesting and full of drama, but fell flat. The characters didn't jump off the page and I didn't care how they ended up resolving their problems.

[micahmom2002 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ok book. I enjoyed it overall but found a couple of characters unlikeable.

[sheila1957 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Posts and their friends go to Mallorca for vacation. Truths come out. People grow up. This is funny and sad and so realistic. I like that Jim and Frannie have to decide what to do with their marriage. I like their solution. I also liked that their son and daughter grow up during this time. She's fine but their son--unbelievable! I would read her again.

[novelcommentary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second Emma Straub novel I've read after finding All Adults Here a pleasant read. That one reminded me of Anne Tyler, her ability to catch the idiosyncratic family dynamics. This one ,written in 2014, tells the story of the vacation taken by Post family, Jim and Franny celebrating 35 years of marriage and their youngest daughter Sylvia about to go to Brown. Their older son,Bobby, is joining them with his girlfriend Carmen to spend two weeks in a beautiful air bnb on the Greek island of Mallorca. They will also be joined by Franny's oldest friend, Charles and his husband Lawrence. The twist to this seemingly perfect getaway is that Jim has just been fired from his job at the magazine for having an affair with a 23 year old. The trip was already booked, only Sylvia has overheard some of the yelling at home, so the unfolding of the novel will also be the determination of a marriage. There are other subplots : Bobby's older girlfriend/personal trainer has trouble fitting in, Sylvia about to enter college a virgin wants to remedy that, and the gay couple may be getting selected for the adoption of a baby. As I summarize this I am reminded how quick the read was because you do get interested in the characters and admire the observational details of the author. The writing is cleverly broken down into each day, one through 14, so it feels like you are on the vacation with them as the point of view spirals trough all of the 7 characters. I liked All Adults Here better but this too was a pleasant read by an author I will continue to explore.Lines:He was always astonished at how slowly people moved at airports—it was like being held captive in a shopping mall, all wide asses and deranged children.Islands, being harder to get to, naturally separated some of the wheat from the chaff, which was the entire philosophy behind places like Nantucket, where children grew up feeling entitled to private beaches and loud pants.Mallorca was a layer cake—the gnarled olive trees and spiky palms, the green-gray mountains, the chalky stone walls along either side of the road, the cloudless pale blue sky overhead.when Jim and Franny would drag him along on their trips to Maine or New Orleans or wherever, staying in crumbling vacation houses with mismatched forks, Bobby made his disgust for the unclean known. He detested antique furniture and vintage clothing, anything that had had a previous life. It was why he liked Florida real estate so much, Jim thought—everything was always brand-new.Yes, it was true that Franny had gotten thicker in the last decade, but that was what happened unless you were a high-functioning psychotic, and she had other things to think about. Franny knew plenty of women who had chosen to prioritize the eternal youth of their bodies, and they were all miserable creatures, their taut triceps unable to conceal their dissatisfaction with their empty stomachs and unfulfilling lives.Feet first, that’s what they liked to say. Every time they repainted a ceiling or fixed the crumbling 1895 wires in the basement—feet first, that was the only way they were leaving the house.It was the classic Euro look—shiny and well groomed to the point of New Jersey.In the photo on the CD cover, Penya (she assumed) looked like a creepy hitchhiker, in the same way that Neil Young looks like a creepy hitchhiker.Families were nothing more than hope cast out in a wide net, everyone wanting only the best.No one in Florida did. Swimming was for the tourists, splashing around in a way that would never equal the calories in a single Cuban sandwich.

[klack128-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was just okay for me. I think I liked it more in theory than in execution. I enjoyed the various stories of the characters, and seeing them all interact together. The interactions between family -- the secrets kept, lies told, and things that your family observes that you can't see in yourself--all hit home. The characters individually, though, didn't come alive for me. They all felt like there was something missing, and I didn't feel particularly invested in or close to any of them. It was like they were purposely kept at a distance, and the shift between various characters' points of view in the span of a couple of paragraphs only added to that feeling for me sometimes. All in all, it was a decent book, but not as great as I had hoped it would be.

[porch_reader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Post family and their friends spend two weeks in a borrowed house on Mallorca. What seems like it could be a relaxing, slightly boring vacation is made much more interesting because everyone comes on vacation with their relationships in a state of upheaval. Parents Franny and Jim have been married 35 years and recently hit a bump in their relationship. Their older son Bobby joins them from Miami with his girlfriend Carmen, with whom he has never developed a close bond. Younger daughter Sylvia is heading to college in the fall and trying to figure out who she is in her family and without them. Friends Charles and Lawrence have the most stable relationship, but are introduce a new wrinkle into their relationship. This small group of characters is almost constantly in conversation, gradually dealing with their problems in a way that seems utterly real. Straub explores all angles of relationships, bringing an eye for detail and nuance that sets her novels apart.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 3rd book that I have read by Straub in the last 4 months. She writes well about the today's family filled with gays, straights, old, young etc. In this book we have 7 people coming together in Mallorca for a 2 week summer vacation at a private home. Franny and Jim are a couple from Brooklyn who should be celebrating their 35 anniversary. Jim, however, had a major lapse and had an affair with a 23 year old intern at the magazine where he had worked for 30 years. Her Dad was a board member and the result was his firing. Franny is furious and is dealing with it. Their daughter Sylvia is an 18 year old ready for her 1st year at Brown. She deals with the usual stuff. Bobby is the eldest son at 28 living in Miami with is 40 year old personal trainer Carmen. Finally there is Franny's life long gay friend Charles who is there with his younger husband Lawrence. Straub throws them all together like a chef making a stew. She uses 3rd person narration with each of the characters combined with witty prose so that it is a good read. There are many plot points and interactions. The characters are not all likable and the ending was a little too simple. Straub is a solid writer who can make 300 pages pass very pleasantly. Having just read 3 of her books, I will take a break from her and wait for her next.

[carriewuj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The Posts were masters of self-delusion, all of them." When this family of 4 (Franny, Jim, Sylvia and Bobby) head to Majorca to vacation at a time of major transition in their lives, humorous things happen and the reader is in on the joke. Franny and Jim are at a crisis point in their marriage -- Jim has recently cheated on Franny with an intern at work and was forced into early retirement at age 60. Sylvia is starting college at Brown in a month and longs to leave high school social dynamics behind. Bobby, at age 30 is in debt and has been working at a gym with his cougar gym-rat girlfriend Carmen, rather than the real estate business in Miami that his parents think he does. To round out the crew, Franny's best friend, Charles and his husband Lawrence join them. They are on the short list to adopt a baby. All this tension and intrigue and humor swirls around during the 2 week stay and finally hits the fan on Day 10. The author has a very detached tone toward the Posts, often making them the butt of an inside joke with the reader. But there is some sympathy and poignancy too as love in its various forms works its magic. "Families were nothing more than hope cast out in a wide net." and the Posts all seem to be hoping for the best outcome. The audio narrator had a snarky voice which grated sometimes, but overall, this was a funny, light vacation read. More like 3.5 stars

[lauralkeet · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Franny and Jim Post organize a two-week vacation in Mallorca for their family and throw in a couple of friends. Their daughter Sylvia is 18 and preparing to leave for college. Son Bobby, in his late 20s, brings his girlfriend Carmen, whom no one likes. Franny's lifelong friend Charles and his husband Lawrence also join them. They have been hoping for some time to adopt a child, and the waiting is almost unendurable. Jim recently lost his job after having an affair with a much younger employee of his firm. So naturally things are pretty tense between Franny & Jim. Bobby is having financial difficulties but doesn't want to tell his parents. Sylvia just wants her independence and can't wait to move into her college dorm. The group assembles at an idyllic vacation home, which another friend has made available to them (really? does that ever happen?). Franny can barely stand to be in the same room with Jim, or even in the same house. Carmen tries hard to fit in, and actually succeeds on some level, but she and Bobby spar over their financial woes. Charles spends most of his time with Franny, much to Lawrence's chagrin. Sylvia falls for her Spanish tutor.There were plenty of situations and details that felt contrived, or were just plain inaccurate, beginning with the likelihood of finding a perfect vacation spot, free of charge, due to a personal connection. Sylvia is enrolled at Brown University, as are four of her high school classmates. Really? Those are some odds, considering Brown accepted only 8.5% of the more than 30,000 applicants for the class of 2019. And then one morning Lawrence needs to make a phone call to New York, and decides that's okay because it would be five p.m. there. No, no, no, no, no! Spain is 6 hours ahead of New York! How did the editor miss that?I read this book during the summer, when I was off from work, and despite the aforementioned issues, it suited my mood perfectly. If I'd read it at any other time, I would likely have been disappointed. Read this for what it is: a very light summer/beach read about relationships. Expect sun and scenery, a few sex scenes, and plenty of drama and dysfunction. Do not expect literary excellence, and you'll be okay with it.

[nhnick · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fluffy, light read that was good on an airplane, but I've read better.

[amandanan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely delightful read. Would be perfect for a beach/pool read. Who doesn't love a good ole' family vacay full of drama? I'm sure a lot of people will find this book lacking -- no great character depth, no fleshing out of anything, really. But, I think Straub hit the mark with an easy read, beautiful scenery descriptions and delicious drama. Hat-tip to Riverhead Books for timing the release perfectly.

[jbarr5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Vacationers by Emma StraubSylvia a is done with high school and now she wants to do something for the summer and is thinking of going on the family vacation. She can practice her Spanish there.Book also follows James and their parents in Spain. Jim has lost his editorial job, something to do with a younger female, his new assistant. They accepted his resignation with the magazine and now he has nothing to do.Frannie-his wife will give them 2 weeks time in Spain to decide what to do with him...It's their 35th wedding anniversary also...Frannie's gay friends are also there with them...liked the book for the travel and all the people involved, from different age groups and with different set of problems.Lots of secrets, Sylvia makes a list of things to do before college...lots of infidelity...Love the travel descriptions. I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).