Summary of The Vacationers: by Emma Straub | Includes Analysis

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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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Instaread, Inc
• Release date: May 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683782490

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Book Overview

The Vacationers: A Novel is a novel by Emma Straub. The novel is about the difficulties in relationships, especially relationships within a family. The story begins in Manhattan when a married couple, Jim and Franny Post, and their daughter, Sylvia, are packing to go to Mallorca, an island off of Spain. In Mallorca, the Posts are staying at a rented house with their friends, Charles and Lawrence, the Posts' son, Bobby, and his girlfriend, Carmen. Sylvia plans to lose her virginity during the trip.

Every character has a major conflict in their life. Jim had an affair with a twenty-three year old he worked with, a fact that creates tension between him and Franny. Sylvia knows about the affair, but Bobby does not. Bobby is struggling with a massive amount of debt. He promised Carmen he would ask his parents for money, but he fails to do so. Lawrence and Charles are trying to adopt a baby. The birth mother of a boy chooses them as one of the possible couples that the baby could go to, but Charles is conflicted over whether he truly wants a child.

Sylvia gets a Spanish tutor in Mallorca named Joan. She is instantly infatuated with him because he is handsome. Franny signs up for tennis lessons with a famous tennis player named Antoni Vert. Antoni is rude to her during the lesson until she knocks herself out with her own tennis racquet.

Bobby resents that Carmen is always telling him what to do and Carmen resents Bobby for not acting like a grown-up. Bobby and Sylvia go to a bar, where Sylvia witnesses Bobby cheating on Carmen with a stranger. Later, at the dinner table, Carmen tells the Posts, Charles, and Lawrence about Bobby selling supplement powder. This forces Bobby to confess that he is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt.

The Posts, Charles, Lawrence, and Carmen go to a beach called Badia del Esperanza. At the beach, Bobby confesses to his