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The Rachel Incident

A Novel

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The Rachel Incident

Written by: Caroline O'Donoghue
Narrated by: Tara Flynn
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About this listen

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A USA TODAY BESTSELLER A brilliantly funny novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three “O'Donoghue deepens the familiar coming-of-age premise with riveting moral complications."—People

"If you’ve ever been unsure what to do with your degree in English; if you’ve ever wondered when the rug-buying part of your life will start...if you’ve ever loved the wrong person, or the right person at the wrong time…In short, if you’ve ever been young, you will love The Rachel Incident like I did.”—Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times best-selling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.

When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a reading at their local bookstore, with the goal that she might seduce him afterwards. But Fred has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected, bourgeois wife. Aching with unrequited love, shot through with delicious, sparkling humor, The Rachel Incident is a triumph.

©2023 Caroline O'Donoghue (P)2023 Random House Audio
Coming of Age Literature & Fiction Fiction Witty Funny Ireland
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What the critics say

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: VOGUE, ELECTRIC LIT, SHE READS • FEATURED AS A SUMMER READING PICK BY GOOP, NEW YORK POST, NYLON, SCARY MOMMY, AND NEWSDAY

“Exuberant, bitingly satirical….Recalls the fiction of both Sally Rooney and Anne Tyler as the author interrogates the dynamics of power, from academia to publishing houses to bedrooms….O’Donoghue steers us toward reckonings large and small, her hand steady on the tiller….A gratifying, accomplished novel.”—Hamilton Cain, The New York Times

"O’Donoghue [has] got my full attention....The Rachel Incident offers a tender reflection on those 20-something friendships that leave a permanent imprint....One of the many lovable things about this novel is O’Donoghue’s kindhearted perspective on the awkwardness of the college years....Profoundly satisfying....O’Donoghue has found a way to tell this story in scenes both heartbreaking and funny. She illuminates these Irish lives with a light all her own."—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

"Who knew the financial crisis could be so … fun? Don’t get me wrong, The Rachel Incident gets into some heavy themes–class, sexual identity, abortion, to name a few–but this book navigates a young Irishwoman’s chaotic early 20s, during a specific economic moment, with a cozy warmth that had me laughing out loud throughout. This is one of those catch-yourself-smiling-without-realizing-it books–and one I think I’ll go back to, the next time I just want to feel like it’s all going to be OK."—Miles Parks, NPR

What listeners say about The Rachel Incident

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    4 out of 5 stars

Deeply complex, heartfelt and funny.

Loved the characters and the world of this book. The narrator brings it all life. Will listen again! One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

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Perfection!

such a great book! I really enjoyed how it probed hot button issues without being heavy-handed. The narrators accent was beautiful and made me enjoy the story even more.

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Loved it

I loved the human side of this story, the characters and unpredictably. The narrator had a perfect voice.
One of my favourite audiobooks this year alongside Eleanor Oliphant is just fine.

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Loved it

A great listen, highly recommended if you enjoyed Sally Rooney (but I’d say this is more accessible and funny)

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raw and remarkable

There is a realness in the writing that makes this book stick to your bones long beyond finishing it. Rachel and both Jameses are characters that you can dare to dislike in moments because they are so loveable and so realistic. Haven't we all had those relationships that exist between unspoken boundaries? The narrator was the perfect choice, too. Hope to see more come from the author. Shelving it next to "Normal People" as an overall favourite.

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Intelligent look at relationships in your twenties

I think this is a great look at surviving your twenties and all the loneliness, desperation and bad mistakes that accompany it. It was definitely elevated above your standard "chicklit" with intelligent story, dialogue and meaning, but at the same time, it was very readable.

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I laughed, I panged, I relished

The writing is beautiful, the characters are palpable and the audio narration is perfect for this Irish woman’s story. My favourite of the year so far.

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