
Member Reviews

This book is perfect for fans of Sally Rooney. It’s very slice-of-life with realistic characters. There is a lot to digest but I loved it.

Rachel is a young Irish woman living during the recession in 2010. She lives with her gay friend, James but is crushing on her married professor. What happens after that becomes what is later referred to as the Rachel incident.
I liked these characters. Rachel has the typical dry Irish sense of humor that i found was akin to my own. She made me chuckle quite a bit. The book focuses on friendship and personal growth. There is good LGTBQ representation in this one and I enjoyed the overall story.
Pick this up for an Irish literary read that at times will make you laugh

I LOVE BOOKS ABOUT CHAOTIC FRIENDS IN THEIR TWENTIES. This was one of those novels that's not so plot-focused that we lose the nuances of the people we're reading about. I can see how some readers might have the "but nothing happened" frustration, but this was just a really great depiction of a specific time in our lives that we all experience. It has some heavier themes for sure, it's not a lightweight, but I thought it was really well-written and a great read. One gripe is that James was a bit of the stereotypical gay friend, but...sigh. It is what it is.

Looking back on life in her early 20s in Cork, Ireland, Rachel recounts her relationship with her bookstore coworker and best friend James, who insists, at first, that he isn’t gay. When Rachel develops a crush on her professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James tries to facilitate their relationship. But things don’t go as planned, and when Fred’s wife Deenie gets involved, the lives of all four become messily intertwined. Rachel and James try to navigate their emerging adulthoods amidst an economic recession and political uncertainty in the early 2010s in Ireland in this insightful examination of friendship soulmates. Fans of Sally Rooney and Steven Rowley will enjoy this coming-of-age story, narrated by Rachel years after the fact, with generosity and compassion for her younger self.

An Irish "Will and Grace", O'Donoghue introduces us to our titular character, Rachel, as she looks back onto her early twenties where, like many twentysomethings, she had no clue what she was doing or what life had in store. Rachel, and her best, still-closeted/figuring it out, friend James, work in a local bookstore as the former is finishing up her English degree. When her English professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, happens upon their shop, Rachel finds herself compelled enough to devise a way to make Fred fall in love with her by hosting a book event; she didn't, however, intend for the seducing to be done by someone BUT herself. The situation quickly finds itself spiraling out of control with the introduction of Fred's wife and Rachel's short-lived employer, Deenie.
One of the novel's strengths lies in its exploration of the aftermath of the incident, especially in the way it affects the dynamics between these four characters. The unraveling of relationships and the revelation of hidden truths offer moments of tension and reflection that underscore the fragility of human connections. These glimpses into the characters' emotional turmoil provide some of the book's most engaging passages, and I can see how this novel is so frequently compared to both Normal People and Sally Rooney in general. However, while I was hoping to be engrossed in Rachel and James' friendship, which is ultimately the most important relationship in the novel, I found James to be too stereotypical and over-the-top. This clashed with my initial feelings towards James, which were that he would act as a grounding force for Rachel, who was clearly in need of one.
I desperately wanted to like this book, but ultimately I was not charmed by Rachel and her (many) incident(s).

I wouldn’t call this “brilliantly funny” as is claimed in the Goodreads synopsis; I didn’t really consider it to be in the comedic genre at all, as the plot veered towards a bit heavier material. It was, however, a good, complicated and engaging story about friendship, first love, first heartbreak, and loyalty.
Thanks to #netgalley and #knopfpublishing for this #arc of #therachelincident in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. It’s not “light reading.” I don’t even know where to begin. I slept on this to see if I could better formulate my thoughts, but frankly, I’m a bit overwhelmed. This story touches on so many important themes: friendship, love, insecurities, loyalty, immaturity, coming to terms with being gay in the 90s, the economy, anti-abortion laws in Ireland and how they affected actual women, family ties, personal growth, and so much more. I fell in love with these characters and empathized with every one of them. Even though it was told entirely from the POV of Rachel, and despite her immaturity at the time of the events, she tells the story of what happened with such sensitivity and understanding that it’s impossible to feel any animosity toward any of them. Some of their lives were simply tragic, and there was nothing to be done but to offer them grace.
The story begins with Rachel in the present day, explaining her current situation (pregnant and married) without going into too much detail. Someone says something that reminds her of “the Rachel Incident” and it takes her back about ten years to a time when she and her best friend James experienced great heartache. As she retells the story, she pulls the reader into her mindset and relays all of the mistakes made, and alludes to what she might have done differently if she’d been more mature. I felt her pain and her regret, and like her, wished she could go back and change things.
We still don’t know whether she has achieved her HEA, and we won’t know until the very end. And when I read it, it brought tears to my eyes, because she truly walked through fire to get there. This is an epic love story in the vein of Homer’s journey to return home. The difference is that Rachel doesn’t know where her home is, so how can she possibly get there? Plus, she’s really the main obstacle to her own happiness, like most of us are.
There were some wonderful descriptions and observations sprinkled throughout the story. I loved the description of Rachel Murray and James Devlin’s developing friendship when they move into an apartment together. They listened to “Cecilia” on repeat and started singing the song together, “elaborately lip-syncing,” flailing their “limbs in all directions, grabbing onto the song fiercely.” “By the sixteenth “Cecilia,” James and I had given birth to our relationship and it wandered around the house like a sticky, curious foal.” After creating an elaborate scenario based on few facts, now being taken seriously, “I felt like a child who imaginary friend was starting to bite people.” Rachel walked in on something she didn’t want to see and described her reaction as “it was just above ‘glimpsing’ and just below ‘gazing.’”
While describing her attraction to the second James in her life, dubbed Carey because she already had a James in her life, she observed, “My attraction to him came on like food poisoning.” She describes her view of “College I couldn’t gather the roughage to give a sh1t about.” Describing how she and her brother acted upon meeting James: “We, in that way siblings do for outsiders, tried to make a travelling circus out of our childhood.” I didn’t realize that’s a thing all siblings do, but it certainly resonated with me.
James and Rachel work in a bookstore. They “developed a deep hatred of women who bought The Help to read on holiday. ‘They should The Help us,’ James sniped. ‘Their husbands should have The Help-ed the country by not The Help-ing themselves.’” One night, they decided to cook a spaghetti bolognese and overcooked the meat. “It had the consistency of scabs.” I love this description (no setup necessary): “I felt now like we were two sad clowns in a nursery painting.”
Rachel decides not to attend her college graduation, and at the last minute, her mother convinces her to do it. But it’s too late. She can’t rent a gown and she can’t pick up her degree with everyone else. Her mother “pestered the administration office all day to let me go. She invented various problems as to why I hadn’t RSVP’d or booked my rental gown, hinting heavily at mental illness, financial ruin and general poor health. It was incredible how accurately she had nailed my situation while ostensibly lying about it.”
Rachel and Carey have a fight about her relationship with James (which is valid) and Carey tells her, “‘This isn’t about James.’ ‘It feels like it is,’ I said. I was hoping to get Carey on a charge of homophobia, thus clearing me on the charge of being a selfish and stupid person.” This was a particularly heartbreaking scene in which Rachel recounts all of her mistakes and laments her immaturity. On a lighter note, Rachel thinks that “diets were useless. If I didn’t have carbs three times a day I couldn’t finish a sentence, and that was that.” I feel that way too.
Overall, it’s easy to love Rachel even while you’re begging her to stop what she’s doing. She represents that part of us that couldn’t make good decisions to save our lives when we were young and immature, yet felt worldly and holier-than-thou. Her friendship with James is a beautiful thing, a thing that allows James to live his truth and forget worrying about what people think. But her insecurities are always tripping her up, whether it be a fear that James will drift away from her or the stronger fear that Carey will grow tired of her and leave. She lives too much of her life in fear of being alone, a very effective way to push people away, but it’s not until she spends some time alone that she learns her own value. Over the course of the story, everyone changes for the better. It paints a hopeful picture of what we can do with the support of a good friend and the courage to be ourselves and take chances. I’m still reeling from a story that only covers about ten years, but feels like it covered a lifetime. If I feel this way after reading it, I can only imagine how O’Donoghue feels after writing it. I’m glad she did.

The Rachel Incident is my favorite book I read this month. Rachel was such a fun and lovely character to follow and I enjoyed the many relationships we saw her through. I felt outrage, joy, and sadness while reading this book and what else can I ask for with literary fiction?
I can't recommend this book enough to women young and old (maybe even some men). If literary fiction about finding yourself in life and love are interesting to you then you need to pick this one up!
Thank you so much for my copy of The Rachel Incident, I will be giving it to all of my friends to read.

such a fun and well-told story. the characters are drawn so precisely and realistically, and the friendship between rachel and james was so well=written and really reminded me of the friendship with my best friend which was lovely. truly truly enjoyed

The Rachel Incident is a quirky coming-of-age story set in Ireland during the financial crisis. I'll pretty much read whatever Caroline O'Donoghue writes at this point. Her characters are lovely and she weaves a beautiful story of love, self-discovery, and acceptance with this one. I'll be telling all my friends to grab a copy.

Every novel is about friendships these days, but this one got it right. Donoghue's writing is so precise and sharp and SO funny. Fans of Sally Rooney, rejoice, there is an author to put alongside your books on the shelf.
It focuses on small decisions and the spirals they create in our life, but never for a moment weighs you down with that message. Cannot recommend it enough!

A lovely novel with a coming-of-age quality that still manages to feel fresh. It's a character-driven story that somehow managed to make me feel nostalgic for the setting despite never having stepped one foot in Ireland.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue!

The Rachel Incident, is a wonderful story about friendship, love, and everything that falls in between of growing up. It’s books like this that remind me what it was like to be in my twenties again, and learning the way of the world. While attending her classes at university, Rachel develops a crush on her English professor, Dr. Byrne. During this time, Rachel finds out that Dr. Byrne has written a book. Rachel then sets up a book signing and lecture by Dr. Byrne at the bookstore that she works at. James helps Rachel set up the book signing, and we even meet Dr. Byrne’s very nice wife, Deenie Harrington. It is after this book signing that things start to become very complicated for Rachel. Unplanned pregnancy's, In sum, there were just too many insignificant details that just didn’t come to fruition. An example is Rachel’s height. We are reminded again and again of just how tall she is, but this detail doesn’t really tell us anything about Rachel as a character and doesn’t really advance the plot in any meaningful way. The ending felt rushed and too perfect. I wish the author had let some of the more interesting plot points simmer a little more, and really let the readers sit with them. For example, when Rachel is aware that everyone in Cork knows, to some degree, that Rachel allegedly had an affair with her former professor. This point needed to be stretched out. Readers needed to feel the isolation Rachel felt, how deeply uncomfortable she was. We zoomed right past this and next thing we knew she was moving to London. There were moments where I thought this book had a lot of potential to be something more interesting and impactful (Dr. Byrne would rather his wife think he’d gotten Rachel pregnant than just admit that he was bi, or Rachel’s miscarriage experience), but they didn’t land as the author didn’t take the time to let readers sit in them.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Random House/Knopf

All of these Irish authors convince me more and more each year I need to move to Ireland! A lot of people compared this novel to Sally Rooney's work, which I find as an odd comparison. Though both deal with complex characters and their interpersonal relationships, but I consider the writing style very different.
I am a fan of unlikable characters, but the characters in this story were not so unlikeable but more so just lacked the complexity that I enjoy in a literary character. Possibly this is due to the only character truly being fleshed out was Rachel due to her being a self-insert for the author.
I was hoping that since I heard this novel had a lot to do with the character growing in her 20s that it would hit home for me, but it sadly didn't. Thought I did enjoy how it encapsulates the awkwardness of your late teens and early twenties, I just wish it had given us more.

Your twenties are much harder than anyone talks about. That first decade of adulthood is tough on different people in different ways. At twenty, Rachel struggles with love, loyalty, money, and navigating her way to adulthood.
The Rachel Incident is set in Cork, Ireland, where Rachel studies English Literature and works in a bookshop. She meets fellow bookseller James there, and they become fast friends and move in together. When Rachel develops a mad crush on her professor, James helps her devise a plot to capture the professor's attention, but nothing goes as planned.
Rachel had an upper-middle-class upbringing, but her family has since fallen on hard times. In 2010 Ireland, she's not alone in feeling the pinch. With finances that no longer match her social position, she doesn't know her place. She can't afford to go out like her friends do, but she can't say no.
She makes one bad decision after another, but that's what you do when you're twenty. It would be nice if she had someone stable to advise her, but her friends and family are as chaotic as she is in their own way. She and James, in particular, are fiercely loyal to one another but seem to encourage the worst in each other.
It's a fun, fast-paced read, different from what I've read recently. The characters are compelling, although not all are likable. I recommend this book for people in their twenties or who remember their twenties. Chances are you'll relate to Rachel or root for her. You may also cringe thinking of some of the decisions you made when you were young.
I received this advance copy of The Rachel Incident from Knopf and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this as an ARC through NetGalley.
I absolutely loved this story. It was so well-written, engaging, and relevant, and I felt deeply connected to the characters and their lives. I am was shocked by the turn of events towards the end, and felt like the ending wrapped things up nicely without putting too much of a bow on it. This was a believable and intelligent novel. I highly recommend reading this and will gladly read more works by the author.

I love a good coming-of-age story. Instead of plot-heavy, this story seemed like a character study of messy people. I liked that the story was of Rachel reflecting on her lived experiences which also makes it so it could be an unreliable narrator. It felt like the perfect mix of Sally Rooney with Dolly Alterton. I really enjoyed this one!

Coming-of-age stories about messy people figuring their shit out does it for me every single time. The Rachel Incident is slow moving and there isn't really a plot, but the characters feel so real. I loved that the book is from the perspective of an older Rachel reflecting on her past, and not taking place as it's happening.
I've seen lots of comparisons to Sally Rooney and while I agree, I found O'Donoghue's writing to be more accessible. I loved everything about this book!

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'll come out and say it right away: I loved this book. It's a perfect mix of Sally Rooney-drama and Irish sensibility and Dolly Aldteron's humor and charm. I was rooting for Rachel the whole time and I adored every single character in the narrative.
Rachel is a student in Cork doing her best. She's got a best friend called James and a boyfriend called James (not the same person) and an alright family and no money and plenty of dreams. Oh, and the entire town thinks she slept with her professor.
I loved the way this was written -- present Rachel being very kind to past Rachel for her missteps felt really important. Her assurance that it would all work out and some of the big reveals made me much happier than I anticipated -- turns out I really did care about these characters!
For a tongue-in-cheek book about a few very serious things, I would consider this a beach read in that I blew through it in an afternoon and wanted to tell everyone around me about it as soon as I was finished. It's exactly what I want in a book.
5 stars.