The Rachel Incident is a great character-driven novel about adulting in Cork, Ireland during the Great Recession.
Rachel meets James while working at the same bookstore. In the way of twenty-year-olds, they are quickly best friends and move in together. James is gay but hasn’t come out yet. He helps Rachel navigate her crush on a married, and older, college professor. She helps James expand his horizons. Eventually, a plot twist occurs.
I adored the language within The Rachel Incident. It is beautifully lyrical. Each word seems lovingly selected. The quirky characters feel genuine—just living their lives during their confusing twenties like the rest of us are (or did). I usually don’t like slice-of-life novels like this, but I did enjoy this one. 4 stars!
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.