My Never Ending List

The Vacationers, one of this summer’s hottest reads, really?!? I loved the cover and the synopsis was okay but the story just didn’t grab me like I anticipated it would. This book has been in many magazines and on many lists so I was excited to get it before this summer was gone. The story takes place in Spain as Jim and Franny travel with their daughter Sylvia, their son Bobby and his girlfriend Carmen, and Fanny’s best friend Charles and his boyfriend Lawrence. I’ve never been to Spain and I did enjoy the sights which the party partakes in, although they seem to be second stage to the drama that the individuals are experiencing in their lives. Sylvia is headed off to college in the fall and the parents will finally be empty-nesters, but with Jim losing his job, these parents after thirty-five years might be headed for separate waters. Franny feels her life is falling apart, but everyone has issues that they are tight-lipped about. As the characters played their part, I felt no connection to anyone, and it was one of those stories, I was just reading. I wasn’t vested in it, I didn’t care what really happened, and I just wanted to make sure they left Spain. Franny’s character was a bit over dramatic, I really wondered if she belonged in that family. I found myself laughing at her actions many times; she should have been an actress instead of a writer. There is a lot of tension in the air, and this vacation is less than relaxing. Sylvia’s tutor helps more than just Sylvia with her Spanish and he changes Sylvia’s world. The house just keeps getting smaller as the weeks pass.