The Rachel Incident so well written a coming of age story that completely drew me in.The characters the dialogue was perfect.the people come alive the dialogue a wonderful read.#netgalley #therachelincident

This coming of age story resonated with me so so much and I will be thinking about it for a long time. The book perfectly portrays the trials and tribulations that are your 20s. Perfect for fans of Coco Mellors or Sally Rooney.

Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book!

Reading the description of the book, I thought I would enjoy this, and was invited by Netgalley to review an advanced copy.

I did not enjoy the first third, but am not of the age that I understand metrosexuals. I do get finding roommates that you have nothing in common with to save money while in college and enjoyed parts of it. Once ensconced in the characters, I was able to enjoy the rest.

It is a good read if you have an open mind, and the character development is key. The ending was very well done.

Rachel is coming of age in Cork during the recession in the early 2010s, with an English degree and vague publishing aspirations. Most importantly, her best friend James is by her side. Here’s the thing — I know that synopsis could be about so many coming of age books. But this book felt different. Gorgeously written, and so full with nuance that I felt empathy for characters I’d judged pages before. I adore Rachel, Carey, James, and their orbit. In Rachel’s story, I felt keenly the stark difference between the under-heated, disheveled, beloved shared apartment of my early 20s and my day-to-day even now. Heavy topics — recession, abortion, infidelity, complex relationships, depression, coming out — are handled with delicate humor and grace. Cannot recommend enough.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

“A brilliant….novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three.” [taken from Knopf]

I both enjoyed and disliked this book and my complicated relationship with it feels a reflection of the novel as a whole. Is it because Rachel’s capricious, wistful neediness reminds me of a past version of myself? Likely. But I pointedly did not like James (to be clear not “Carey” but *the* James). He was needed for the story but his own journey, his static “I am the sun” persona, was unsurprising and trying. Or is that only because I relate to those traits too?

This book has all the pieces you’d expect- a setting in conservative Ireland, the gambles of putting a name to one’s sexuality, promiscuity, friendship, recession, crisp and witty story telling. It’s a coming of age that is relatable even with an unreliable narrator. I rooted for Carey, I felt embarrassed by and connected to Rachel, and mostly I felt quieted by the mere fact that so many of our experiences are not ours alone.

The Rachel Incident is expected to be published June 27, 2023.

Funny, insightful, and real. Full of interesting relationships, self awareness, and what it takes to grow up.

The Rachel Incident is a case of a not right now book because I just could not get into this one. The writing is great, but for me the main characters were not relatable. There are so many rave reviews - but this was a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to preview The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. I didn't know what to expect when I received a recommendation from the publisher based on my review of Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I loved that book with all my heart, so I took a chance on The Rachel Incident. I'm very glad that I did!

As a 40 year old woman, I related so much to Rachel unflinchingly looking back on her 20s and the events that shaped her future. Everyone felt real; the best friend/roommate, the professor and his wife, the flaky boyfriend...I felt like I knew them in the way that Rachel knew them. I appreciated that although Rachel clearly has main character syndrome (didn't we all in our 20s?) that she doesn't cut herself much slack. I could see so much of myself in her and the way I felt about myself at her age.

I don't have much else to say other than to strongly recommend this book, especially for those of us a few years or decades past our 20s.

I thought THE RACHEL INCIDENT was a great read -- a quiet, polished, and unexpectedly thought-provoking coming-of-age drama centring the character of Irish uni student Rachel Murray and the significant (and variously intimate) relationships she develops with three different men during her last year of undergrad study in Cork. It so beautifully captured that uniquely-twenties excitement and idealism for the future, despite the contrary feeling of being constantly overwhelmed by the limitless possibilities ahead of you, despite feeling constantly on the brink of something but unable to take any meaningful steps forward because you haven't figured out quite how the world works yet.

Rachel was an imperfect yet sympathetic character, whose tendency towards accidental self-destruction struck many familiar chords. Her friendship with James, the focal point relationship around which this entire book moves, was compelling and all-encompassing, but I found his individual development lacking in a way that was enormously disappointing. His character was of equal significance to hers, his own romantic relationships and sexuality forming one of the book's most important plot threads, but his voice, though extremely funny and aware, wasn't nearly as strong. I also think there was so much left unsaid between the two of them by the end of the book that it sapped some of the emotional pay-off.

It was an enormous relief to me that Caroline O'Donoghue didn't do the obvious thing of turning the whole 'academic scandal' plotline into an over-the-top soap opera; this made Rachel's experiences more realistic and relatable, and I suspect it will afford readers a better opportunity to genuinely connect with her as a character. The political engagement, likewise, was unexpected but so sensitively accomplished; in particular, I will never not love a plotline, a book, an author who speaks so frankly and uncompromisingly about abortion, about choice, and about the realities and difficulties attached to being a woman in a world that men have gotten stupidly used to being in charge of.

My main criticism (and the reason I can't bring myself to give this five stars) is because there was something about the tone of the book that held me at a remove from the real human feeling of it. Which isn't to say the writing was bad, because it wasn't: this was a superbly well-written book. I suppose I just mean that the telling of the events was much more straightforward and much less emotive than I would have expected. A lot of reviewers have been comparing this to Sally Rooney's novels, which is absolutely fair and right -- but whereas Rooney's novels always leave me in bits on the floor by the end of them, I just couldn't make the same emotional connection here.

I need more O'Donoghue books asap, her writing is funny and convincing and just clicked with my brain. What makes this an even better coming-of-age story is that Rachel looks back with sharp self-awareness as she narrates from 10ish years in the future. So it's not just about what it's like to be young but what it's like to have grown up and to understand the things you couldn't understand before.

The Rachel Incident is a coming-of-age story about Rachel. Rachel is working in a bookstore while finishing up her senior year at university. She is living with her closeted roommate James, infatuated with her English professor Dr. Byrne and dating Carey a loveable but unreliable man.

The characters are all engaging and humanly flawed, the relationships are rich and complex. It was a pleasure to read about Rachel as she navigates her way through the sticky life situations and relationships that young adults endure. The story was funny and heartfelt, a total enjoyment...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for and advance copy.

4.5 stars

*I received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I knew I would like this book before even starting and I definitely wasn’t wrong! Caroline O’Donoghue has such an amazing way of building character relationships that you can’t help being drawn into, with the sort of intensity that makes it difficult to stop reading. The friendship between Rachel and James was loving and supportive, but often toxic, and really made this book for me.

It’s a novel about being in your late teens/early twenties, and all the uncertainty that comes with trying to discover where you belong and what you want. It reflects on the importance of friendship and how this can sometimes overshadow what’s best for you, and does this in such a tender and relatable way. It also shows different perspectives on sexuality and tackles a wide range of difficult topics with sensitivity.

Such a compelling and emotional read and one that I’ll definitely be thinking about for a long time.

Okay okay okay, to me Caroline O’Donaghue can do no wrong. She is hilarious and I will sit and listen/read everything that she produces. Like, can you do the eulogy at my funeral? Just to make everyone a little bit up and about? Okay thanks.

Anyway, The Rachel Incident is one of those stories that you can imagine happening to every other 20 something girl and their best friend. I mean, maybe minus the *cough cough* incident, Rachel and James are best friends, work together, live together, are everything to each other and I love it. They live in conservative Ireland and whilst their lives get tangled in the questioning of their morals and what is accepted in society, the story continues to come back to their strong friendship. Through relationships, careers, family dramas and drunken nights, O’Donoghue has a way of writing like the story is about you. It’s not, the story isn’t about you, or me, but I had to kinda stop and think, I did have a blue sweater & a boyfriend called James… Is this me? No, it’s not.

I heavily endorse this book and if you are fan of Caz and Dolly and the likes, you will enjoy this fictional journey.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheRachelIncident which is coming out in June.

I think this was a case of wrong book, wrong person because I just could not get into this one. There are so many rave reviews - this one was just a miss for me. The writing seemed chaotic, I didn’t particularly love the main characters, and I wanted to DNF this one many times. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one early - it just wasn’t my taste.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy.

Oh my goodness, the ending of this book, saved this book. I almost DNF'd it several times, as I didn't really get into it, until about 65% in. The one thing that kept me reading was the unbreakable bond and friendship between James and Rachel. Their relationship was so pure and so sweet. Even though the first part of the book was giving the readers the background story, it felt pointless; I didn't understand the direction or how these seemingly isolated incidents were going to carry through. Miraculously, the second half of the story somehow tied everything together, but it was the getting there that was a bit painful. I truly loved the ending of this book though and how everything turned out in the end. Everyone seemed to get their deserved happy ending. I was so relieved that Rachel finally got herself together and reconnected with old friends. Sometimes the difficult journey is worth the end result!

I struggled with this one in the beginning and for quite a bit (probably the first third) until I was settled in and began enjoying the story. I loved the depth of the relationship Rachel had with James (the friend). You spend a lot of time inside Rachel's head and this is more stream of consciousness storytelling than anything. That can be tricky to pull off, but I thought this was done very well in that regard.

#THERACHELINCIDENT by #carolineodonoghue is a bit like Jersey Shore but Irish. There are heaps of excellent catchphrases and quips, haphazard adulting and tons of misadventures; this book is peak 2009. I loved 2009. To be young and broke and living it up with your best friend as you both make a go at city life is something that a girl who works in a bookstore will always cherish.

This may be my first favorite read of the year and it hasn’t even come out yet! The #netgalley link landed in my inbox this month and from the instant I met James and Rachel (as Sabrina) I was swept away. The friendship between the closeted gay guy and six-foot tall Glamazon is beautifully rendered. From their attempts at securing love - one with a married English professor and the other with an invisible man from the north - to their attempts at saving money (i.e. making a list of all the people they can ask money from), their moments together are at once poignant and hysterical. I paused so often to share laugh out loud lines to my husband. Life does catch up to them, eventually, but the lightness and levity maintains throughout; I so enjoyed seeing how life turned out for these two kindred souls.

Many thanks to @aaknopf and @netgalley for providing an eARC for review. I’m beyond grateful I got to read this one early. #THERACHELINCIDENT comes out 6/27/2023.

Wow. This book was utterly beautiful. Captivating prose, intricate characters and steeped in rich Irishness, The Rachel Incident is on track to be a modern classic. An effective illustration of what it means to be a young person forging a path in a climate of uncertainty and bleakness, this story is powerfully relatable in both its honesty and emphatic self-awareness.

Let’s start by saying, The Rachel Incident took me on a JOURNEY. Beginning at the end, O’Donoghue ferries us twelve years into the past, to Rachel’s youth, her houseshare with her best friend, James, and her courtship with her lover, also called James.

Rachel and James, two best friends who meet whilst working at a bookshop in Cork, are victims of a fallen economy, a broken job market and a general direness of national spirit, developing a platonic codependency that (while beautiful in many ways) should probably be severed in the interest of their own individual progression.

The Rachel Incident examines how we’re constantly changing and that we will survive without the things we thought anchored us. We tether ourselves to new people. New experiences. New places. New realities. 5/5 stars!!

“It was easy, now that I understood passion properly, to see why you would move heaven and earth to secure it.”

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc! I was initially intrigued by the synopsis and am so glad I got the opportunity to read this. It’s one that will stick around for a while. Rachel, a young college student, and James, her magnetic best friend, have the kind of friendship that makes your heart hurt. The political themes mixed with their own personal experiences was done so beautifully. I loved the writing, the characters, and thought it did a wonderful job of showing the evolution of friendships and relationships as life goes on. Easily a 5-star review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Knopf Doubleday for this ARC. O’Donoghue’s tone is reminiscent of Miranda July. Rachel’s character is blunt and incredibly complex, making her much more in tune with what runs through one’s head rather than what is said out loud. As a reader, you witness her intrusive and inappropriate thoughts, complex relationships, and messy life. The niche literary references throughout added a very personal touch to the book and you were really able to witness Rachel grow as a character and literary geek. The one issues I seemed to repeatedly encounter throughout the book was differing between the past and present, especially in the beginning. The transition was see less in the writing but it would have been helpful if the time shift was indicated with more than a paragraph separation. The characters throughout the book had incredible depth and all served as an antagonist and a protagonist in one another’s stories- this can be an incredibly difficult balance. O’Donoghue tackled it beautifully, creating intricate relationships where everyone served a different role in one another’s worlds.