The Rachel Incident

A novel

in English, 304 pages,
Vintage, May 28, 2024
Order here

A brilliantly funny novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three.

Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them. The plot mostly centers on a shared infatuation with one of Rachel’s professors, Fred, and how they work their way into his life. Through this lens O’Donoghue explores many macro situations of the time period, including the Great Recession and the push for abortion rights in Ireland.