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"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.
A Bookpage Best Books of 2012 pick The enchanting story of a midwestern girl who escapes a family tragedy and is remade as a movie star during Hollywood’s golden age. In 1920, Elsa Emerson, the youngest and blondest of three sisters, is born in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin. Her family owns the Cherry County Playhouse, and more than anything, Elsa relishes appearing onstage, where she soaks up the approval of her father and the embrace of the audience. But when tragedy strikes her family, her acting becomes more than a child¹s game of pretend. While still in her teens, Elsa marries and flees to Los Angeles. There she is discovered by Irving Green, one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, who refashions her as a serious, exotic brunette and renames her Laura Lamont. Irving becomes Laura’s great love; she becomes an Academy Award-winning actress—and a genuine movie star. Laura experiences all the glamour and extravagance of the heady pinnacle of stardom in the studio-system era, but ultimately her story is a timeless one of a woman trying to balance career, family, and personal happiness, all while remaining true to herself. Ambitious and richly imagined, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures is as intimate—and as bigger-than-life—as the great films of the golden age of Hollywood. Written with warmth and verve, it confirms Emma Straub’s reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in fiction.
The beloved debut story collection from the New York Times-bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers. In Other People We Married, Straub creates characters as recognizable as a best friend, and follows them through moments of triumph and transformation with wit, vulnerability, and dazzling insight. In “Some People Must Really Fall in Love,” an assistant professor takes halting steps into the awkward world of office politics while harboring feelings for a freshman student. Two sisters struggle with old assumptions about each other as they stumble to build a new relationship in “A Map of Modern Palm Springs.” In “Puttanesca,” two widows move tentatively forward, still surrounded by ghosts and disappointments from the past. These twelve stories, filled with sharp humor, emotional acuity, and joyful language, announce the arrival of a major new talent.
"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.
“It’s ‘Friends’ meets ‘Almost Famous’ meets the beach read you’ll be recommending all summer.” –TheSkimm From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Vacationers, a smart, highly entertaining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college— and what it means to finally grow up, well after adulthood has set in. Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring. Back in the band's heyday, Elizabeth put on a snarl over her Midwestern smile, Andrew let his unwashed hair grow past his chin, and Zoe was the lesbian all the straight women wanted to sleep with. Now nearing fifty, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of the adult world seem to have arrived with ease. But the summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adult lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose—about themselves, and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them—can never be reclaimed. Straub packs wisdom and insight and humor together in a satisfying book about neighbors and nosiness, ambition and pleasure, the excitement of youth, the shock of middle age, and the fact that our passions—be they food, or friendship, or music—never go away, they just evolve and grow along with us.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK! "In a time when all we want is hope, it's a beautiful book to reach for." -Jenna Bush Hager "Literary sunshine."--New York Times "The queen of the summer novel."--Entertainment Weekly "Brimming with kindness, forgiveness, humor and love and yet (magically) also a page turner that held me captive until it was finished. This is Emma Straub's absolute best and the world will love it. I love it." --Ann Patchett "An immensely charming and warmhearted book. It's a vacation for the soul."--Vox A warm, funny, and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family--as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers. When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she'd been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence? Astrid's youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid's thirteen-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most. In All Adults Here, Emma Straub's unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.
Summary of The Vacationers by Emma Straub | Includes Analysis Inside this Instaread Summary: -Overview of the entire book -Introduction to the characters in the book -Summary and analysis of all the chapters in the book -Reader's Perspective Preview of the earlier Chapters: Chapter 1 Jim, his wife, Franny, and his daughter, Sylvia, are all packing their bags to go on vacation in Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands in Spain. Jim has recently retired and is unsure what to do with his free time. Sylvia is happy to be leaving Manhattan. She will be attending Brown University next year. Jim likes to run or walk every day, so today he walks around Terminal 7. Jim also has a son, Bobby, who lives in Florida. Bobby has a girlfriend named Carmen. Bobby, Carmen, and Franny's friend, Charles and his husband, Lawrence, will meet them in Mallorca. The Posts rented a house outside of Palma from a woman named Gemma. On the plane ride, Franny and Jim sit in business class on the plane while Sylvia sits in coach because Franny does not believe children or teenagers should sit in business class. During the flight, Jim walks back to Sylvia. Sylvia covers up the notebook she is writing in. In the notebook, Sylvia has written a list of things she wants to do before she goes to college. Last on the list is losing her virginity. Chapter 2 On the plane, there is a biker gang that makes a lot noise by shouting obscenities at each other. Jim shows interest in them and interest in buying a motorcycle, but Franny finds them annoying. They land in Palma. Franny reflects on how she considers it a major accomplishment that her two children like each other, even though there is a ten year age difference between them. The Posts go into the rented house and explore all of the rooms. Jim reflects on the loss of his job and how Franny has been tense and angry lately. Franny is good at being friendly in public, but always finds fault in Jim. Jim and Sylvia fall asleep in their own beds. Franny goes to the local market to buy food for dinner. Franny thinks about Jim's retirement and becomes angry when she admits to herself that he did not stop working for the same reasons most men do. Franny has a compulsive eating problem. She does not see it as a problem, however, as compared to those who take illegal drugs. Sylvia wakes up and takes a shower......
PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book. The Vacationers by Emma Straub - A 30-minute Instaread Summary Inside this Instaread Summary: • Overview of the entire book • Introduction to the important people in the book • Summary and analysis of all the chapters in the book • Key Takeaways of the book • A Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Chapter 1 Jim, his wife, Franny, and his daughter, Sylvia, are all packing their bags to go on vacation in Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands in Spain. Jim has recently retired and is unsure what to do with his free time. Sylvia is happy to be leaving Manhattan. She will be attending Brown University next year. Jim likes to run or walk every day, so today he walks around Terminal 7. Jim also has a son, Bobby, who lives in Florida. Bobby has a girlfriend named Carmen. Bobby, Carmen, and Franny's friend, Charles and his husband, Lawrence, will meet them in Mallorca. The Posts rented a house outside of Palma from a woman named Gemma. On the plane ride, Franny and Jim sit in business class on the plane while Sylvia sits in coach because Franny does not believe children or teenagers should sit in business class. During the flight, Jim walks back to Sylvia. Sylvia covers up the notebook she is writing in. In the notebook, Sylvia has written a list of things she wants to do before she goes to college. Last on the list is losing her virginity. Chapter 2 On the plane, there is a biker gang that makes a lot noise by shouting obscenities at each other. Jim shows interest in them and interest in buying a motorcycle, but Franny finds them annoying. They land in Palma. Franny reflects on how she considers it a major accomplishment that her two children like each other, even though there is a ten year age difference between them. The Posts go into the rented house and explore all of the rooms. Jim reflects on the loss of his job and how Franny has been tense and angry lately. Franny is good at being friendly in public, but always finds fault in Jim. Jim and Sylvia fall asleep in their own beds. Franny goes to the local market to buy food for dinner. Franny thinks about Jim’s retirement and becomes angry when she admits to herself that he did not stop working for the same reasons most men do. Franny has a compulsive eating problem. She does not see it as a problem, however, as compared to those who take illegal drugs. Sylvia wakes up and takes a shower...
