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Feel the burn: why holidays from hell make for blistering fiction
Family fallouts, failing marriages, sunburn, food poisoning ... from Deborah Levy’s hypnotic and disturbing Hot Milk to All In, Claire Powell’s all-inclusive nightmare, Leon Craig looks at the best novels about vile vacations
TL;DR
- Holidays, often idealized for relaxation and self-reinvention, frequently become disastrous in fiction, amplifying characters' existing problems.
- Disaster holidays have become a booming subgenre, with novels like Claire Powell's 'All In' and Chloë Ashby's 'Family Friends' depicting marital tensions and group dynamics unraveling during vacations.
- Fictional getaways to exotic locations like Spain, France, Greece, and Thailand often serve as settings for murder, identity theft, and painful self-discovery.
- The article highlights various novels where characters seeking escape find their problems exacerbated by the change of scenery, leading to confrontations with issues they tried to leave behind.
- Despite the potential for disaster, venturing far from home can still bring vital insights and transformative experiences, even if they are initially unpleasant.