What We Did On Our Holiday

Aug 24, 2025 2:34 AM

Author:John Harding

Thirty-somethings Nick and Laura have been married for 10 years and things aren't going well. She senses her biological clock ticking away and wants children while he doesn't. Not because he doesn't like children but because he feels a child would be just one responsibility too many.

Nick's problem is his parents. He's devoted to them of course, but sometimes even he finds his patience wearing a little thin which in turn brings on the guilt. But they are rather a handful. They're conservative, highly eccentric and increasingly infirm. His Mum's so enormously overweight that her heart's now a bit dicky and she is certainly no longer up to looking after Dad by herself. He's got Parkinson's Disease - not the shaking kind, as Mum's always reminding people - but he's unable to do even the simplest task himself and needs constant care and attention.

Nick knows the time has come to take the matter in hand but things need to be handled carefully. And so he and Laura take them to Malta for what they hope will be a happy final family holiday. Nick thinks his only problem is going to be avoiding Laura's amorous advances but this particular island turns out to be a sun-kissed cupboard with more than its fair share of skeletons...

Tackling a taboo subject with sensitivity, understanding, great affection and good humour, What We Did On Our Holiday is a remarkably uplifting, moving and reassuring novel about a time in our lives when it seems roles are reversed and we find ourselves looking after the very people we'd always assumed would be there to look after us.

Reviews

'A wonderfully funny, original and moving novel...Harding has knife-sharp observation, immaculate timing, and the guts to take his story as far as it will go'

—— Helen Dunmore

'Poignant, hilarious and ultimately deeply moving...a real page turner...a wonderful novel'

—— Marika Cobbold

'Beautifully crafted...the perfect marriage of humour and heart'

—— Glenn Patterson

'A wonderful novel...written with great humour and a rare generosity of spirit. Truly original'

—— Deborah Moggach

An emotionally riveting novel that explores the depths of one mother's love for her daughter. Powerful, provocative, and page-turning!

—— Emily Giffin

gut-wrenching stand-alone . . . a satisfying nail-biting thriller sure to please her growing audience.

—— Publishers Weekly

A white-hot crossover novel about the perils of mother love. Scottoline, shifts gears at every curve with the cool efficiency of a NASCAR driver

—— Kirkus

At the quick pace of a thriller, Scottoline masterfully fits every detail into a tight plot chock-full of real characters, real issues, and real thrills. A story anchored by the impenetrable power of a mother's love, it begs the question, just how far would you go to save your child

—— Booklist

Judt calls these charming vignettes "feuillotons" which, without being sentimental, gives them the elegiac quality of falling autumn leaves

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

What razor-sharp brilliance! What sublime satirical wit!... The lives of Wolfe's seemingly unconnected cast of characters, bouncing off the pages as vividly as any of Dickens', become gradually interwoven. Wolfe takes ironic swipes at greed, class, racism from both sides of the fence and financial and political corruption... A what a wonderful way Wolfe has with dialogue and with the barbaric euphemisms of street slang and rap. Sheer genius

—— Val Hennessy , Daily Mail

Novels of this size... always have flaws and the occasional lull, but Wolfe's fizzy prose and amusingly mean-spirited social observations make up for any other deficiencies. Highly entertaining

—— Irish Times

There are far too many delicious examples of Wolfe's razor sharp wit and stylish writing. So I'll simply say that if you enjoy a slice of American fiction, then this book will not disappoint. Otherwise, I'll eat my hat. A big, bold, brash, brilliant book, beautifully-written. Highly recommended

—— TheBookBag.co.uk

A gripping yet tender storyline that unfolds as the insurmountable obstacles are faced with bravery and loyalty. You're sure to be reaching for the tissues

—— Candis

A moving and disturbing tale of love and loyalty. And you might cry

—— Sun Buzz Magazine

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