Unlikeable Characters will Repulse
Review of the Charco Press paperback edition (2020) translated from the Spanish language original "Tiempo muerto" (Time-Out) (2017)

The unlikeable protagonist is definitely a challenge for a writer. In that sense Robayo sets herself an even greater challenge by having two of them, and then even adding several same-inclined cameo players alongside them. And yet, I kept reading on. Probably in the hopes of some redemption or salvation which never materialized. Overall this was a 1-star “did not like”, but rates a bump up for the attempt and for the writing. The only relief came in the child-caregiver and the daughter as far as I can remember. There was an attempt at a breakout to an idyllic retreat to an isolated beach by the family as a whole in a flashback, which it seemed that the mother attempted to re-create in the climax without the husband being there. Both characters are still left lost and unfulfilled in the end.

I read Holiday Heart as part of the Borderless Book Club which has been organized by Peirene Press and 7 other UK independent publishers for a 16 week period (May 14 to August 20, 2020) during this current world pandemic situation. It is the successor to the earlier Translated Fiction Online Book Club which was organized for 6 weeks.

Trivia and Link
Holiday Heart is an actual real-life cardiac syndrome which is named for a possible reaction to over-indulgence during get-away / vacation experiences. ( )