Every summer, the promise of a getaway offers the allure of self-reinvention in a distant paradise. Yet, the reality of travel often involves crowded spaces, uncomfortable accommodations, and the inescapable friction of our own personal failings and those of our companions. It is little surprise that the “disaster holiday” has emerged as a thriving subgenre in contemporary fiction, capturing the vulnerability inherent in our expensive, high-stakes attempts to escape daily life.
This summer, Claire Powell’sAll Inand Chloë Ashby’sFamily Friendsstand out as particularly sharp entries. In Powell’s novel, a struggling couple attempts to salvage their marriage during an all-inclusive Spanish weekend funded by a wealthy relative, resulting in poignant and humorous conflict. Meanwhile, Ashby explores the unraveling of a long-standing group of friends vacationing in the south of France. Their decades-old tradition is threatened by infidelity, lingering romantic tensions, and the introduction of a new teenage stepdaughter, with the sweltering Mediterranean heat serving to amplify the drama.
The setting of a holiday can also act as a pressure cooker for darker themes. In Sabine Durrant’s thrillerDead Heata group of old acquaintances—including a failed journalist and a billionaire—find their Greek retreat marred by a past incident of racism that spirals into a murderous situation. Similarly, Deborah Levy’sHot Milkwhich was adapted into a film by Rebecca Lenkiewicz last year, depicts a family in crisis at a Spanish fishing village. The narrative follows Rose, who seeks a cure for her mysterious paralysis at a clinic, while her daughter Sofia navigates unresolved conflicts and local attractions.
Travel often brings buried family dynamics to the surface, as seen in Jo Hamya’sThe Hypocrite. The novel centers on a playwright who dramatizes her father’s past behavior during a Sicilian holiday, where he prioritized seducing local women over bonding with his daughter. The story cleverly questions the reliability of memory and the protagonist’s own conduct during that trip. In William Rayfet Hunter’sSunstrucka visit to a university friend’s chateau forces the narrator to confront uncomfortable truths about class and race, while Lucy Foley’sThe Midnight Feastuses a high-end wellness retreat in the West Country to unearth secrets from a guest’s traumatic past.
For some characters, the desire to escape leads to further alienation. Deepa Anappara’sThe Last of Earthfollows a Victorian adventurer named Katherine who travels to Tibet in search of self-discovery, only to find that her disguise as a male pilgrim deepens her sense of isolation. Similarly, classic and contemporary works like Patricia Highsmith’sThe Talented Mr Ripleyand Sean Gilbert’sI’ll Be the Monsterutilize the unfamiliarity of foreign travel to explore themes of identity theft, murder, and the blurred lines between predator and prey.
The pursuit of an idyllic escape can also lead to painful realizations about one’s own character. Alex Garland’sThe Beacha cult classic from thirty years ago, examines the naivety of travelers seeking a remote Thai paradise. Elena Ferrante’sThe Lost Daughterpresents a more intimate look at this theme, as the protagonist Leda reflects on her own past failures as a mother while observing a younger woman at a beach cottage. Even in my own debut novelThe Decadencea group of friends attempting to escape the pandemic in a remote Devon house find themselves forced to confront both their interpersonal conflicts and a supernatural threat.
Despite these cautionary tales, travel remains a powerful catalyst for change. E.M. Forster’sA Room With a Viewcaptures the transformative power of a trip to Florence, where Lucy Honeychurch gains the clarity to end an unsuitable engagement. Similarly, David Nicholls’You Are Herebrings two lonely divorcees together on a hike through the Lake District, allowing them to move past their emotional defenses. Ultimately, while holidays rarely go exactly as planned, the act of stepping away from the familiar remains a vital, often revelatory experience that can reshape our sense of self once we return home.
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