Publication Date: 27th June 2023
Genre: Literary Fiction, Coming of Age
3 Stars
One Liner: A mixed read for me
The older Rachel hears about professor Dr. Fred Byrne from her undergrad days and shares her story of the past days. A 20-year-old young Rachel has lived in Cork all her life. She is an art student working part-time in a bookstore. She meets her colleague, James, and soon they decide to become housemates. He is her best friend and a partner in crime.
What starts as Rachel’s crush on him leads to some surprising developments. Soon, the lives of Rachel, James, Dr. Bryne, his wife, and a few other characters are entangled with the economic recession and women’s rights in Ireland.
The story comes from Rachel’s first-person POV.
The book is much more than the blurb (especially the GR version, so don’t be disappointed that it doesn’t play the central role in the plot).
My Thoughts:
How much you like the book will depend on how well you take to Rachel. As you can see, it’s a fairly mixed read for me. I like it in bits and pieces, but as a whole, the book reminds me why I’m so wary of this style of storytelling.
The writing has a charm. It presents the MC very well, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Still, it’s the kind of writing you can sink into, even if the narrator isn’t appealing or interesting.
We’ve been 20 at some point in our lives and might relate to Rachel in one or another or none at all. Yet, the age is where we’d usually make at least one stupid decision, big or small. So, I was curious to see how Rachel’s life would grow and change as she navigated through a vulnerable age range. However, after finishing the book, I’m not really sure about the changes. Oh, there’s potential, alright!
Having an older Rachel talk about her past with the nostalgia and wisdom (?) of a grownup is an interesting concept. Though, here most of it comes as foreshadowing. ‘I didn’t see it that way…’ ‘That wasn’t how it was, I know that now.’ These work only to an extent as somehow the adult version doesn’t feel much different from the younger version.
While I enjoyed the dynamics between Rachel and James (her gay best friend and housemate), it was stereotypical, which soon went into the toxic co-dependency category. That’s fine since the point here is about the mess and not perfection. However, we don’t really know James except what Rachel thinks he is. This does him a grave injustice as he is slotted into a category and pretty much works within its boundaries. I’m sure I’d have liked the book more if it came from his POV. He would be so much more than ‘the gay bestie I can’t live without’.
It’s not until the actual Rachel Incident happens that things pick up pace. That’s when we see the characters being something other than passive about their own lives. But it’s too late, as this doesn’t occur until after the halfway mark. What could have possibly been the central premise begins too late. I was bored with the whole thing by then.
Even the main side characters, Carey, Dr. Byrne, and Dennie, are neatly slotted into their respective roles. Only one of them gets another chance, which I saw coming. After all, the plot was already following a tried and tested approach by then. The events after the Rachel Incident are plot-driven, a sudden shift from being character-driven, but I was more than happy to go with the flow.
The book deals with a few difficult topics (check out the TW at the end). Yet, in moments where I should have had my heart broken for the characters, I ended up feeling very little for them. The story doesn’t linger when it should. It moves on to other events and a couple of time jumps. The point where Rachel actually learns to let go of her dependency on men and focuses on her life moves at 4x speed. This makes it even harder to see the new version of Rachel as we get too much of the older one.
I don’t give a damn about what stupid things Rachel does. Even though she acts like a sulking petulant child at times, she gets cornered when she’s not really at fault. She does what she has to do, which may or may not be right. However, I do wish the plot didn’t take a predictable turn after that. As much as I hate to say it, a certain traumatic incident is simply a convenient plot development.
I’m not Irish, but I’m not new to Irish fiction (though I haven’t read Sally Rooney). I don’t come from a small town, but I fit the age range perfectly. My having nothing in common with Rachel isn’t a problem, as I rarely relate to any of the MCs in the books I read. My issue is that inconsequential things get a lot of space while important issues are breezed through in comparison.
To summarize, The Rachel Incident should have been a book I loved, but it is something I could like only in parts. All my GR friends (until now) have loved the book, so check out their reviews before you decide.
Thank you, NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TheRachelIncident
***
TW: Infidelity, talk of abortion rights, miscarriage.
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