Vacation by Deb Olin Unferth

Vacation (Books That Changed the World)

by Deb Olin Unferth

Critically acclaimed on its hardcover publication, and praised for its playful inventiveness and delightful prose, Deb Olin Unferth's debut novel, Vacation, features three characters a man, his wife, and a stranger with ties to them both. With his wife suspiciously absent in the evenings, the man, Myers, follows his unnamed spouse on her evening escapades and soon realizes that she is following the stranger, Gray, a former classmate of Myers whose own marriage has fallen apart. What follows is an unusual, unsettling, and wildly entertaining novel unlike any you've read in a long time. With deadpan humor and skewed wordplay, Deb Olin Unferth weaves a mystery of hope and heartbreak.

Reviewed by jamiereadthis on

4 of 5 stars

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I dare you to try to distill this book down to a snappy little synopsis, fifty words or less to get someone to read it. I spent half an hour trying to explain it to a friend, and was still at a loss. Just: gorgeous, gorgeous writing, and a plot to unexpectedly twist your heart into holes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 July, 2010: Finished reading
  • 7 July, 2010: Reviewed