Though they are meant to be celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary, Franny and Jim are unsure if their marriage will survive the trip. All of these relationships are on shaky ground, and none know what kind of life will be waiting for them when they return. Joining them are Charles and his husband, Lawrence, who are in the process of adopting and anxiously waiting for that phone call. Her characters are distinct but recognizable in ways that remind readers of their own families, friends, and selves.Īs the family sets off for the Balearic island of Mallorca, we meet Franny and Jim their 18-year-old daughter, Sylvia a grown-up Bobby, now 28 and his even more grown-up girlfriend, Carmen, a 40-year-old personal trainer the Posts are none too happy to see their son still dating. It’s not necessary to have read these stories to enjoy The Vacationers, but Straub has spent quite a lot of time with the Posts, and it shows. In the novel, we spend 14 days with the Post family, but Straub, in Other People We Married, her first collection of short stories, has already written about a younger Franny Post, her best friend, Charles, her husband, Jim, and their son, Bobby. What separates The Vacationers is just how well Straub knows her characters.

Like many summer books, it’s a quick read and its tone is often light and humorous and like many readers, its characters are looking for a brief escape into another world. Emma Straub’s novel, The Vacationers, is definitely what you’d call a “summer read.” The swimming-pool-blue cover, with its floating figures in bright red bathing suits, looks right at home on the edge of a beach towel.

The vacationers emma straub review