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Getting Away

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"Gripping - and profound... Kate Sawyer has a great gift for capturing the tiny details that tell us everything about a person or dynamic." -- Marian Keyes

"From its brilliant, ambitious premise (a story told through family holidays) to its complex and wholly absorbing characters, Getting Away is a moving insight into the beautiful complexity of ordinary lives." -- Jennie Godfrey

Margaret Smith is at the beach.
It is a summer day unlike any other Margaret has ever known.
The Smith family have left the town where they live and work and go to school and come to a place where the sky is blue, the sand is white, and the sound of the sea surrounds them. An ordinary family discovering the joy of getting away for the first time.
Over the course of the coming decades, they will be transformed through their holiday experiences, each new destination a backdrop as the family grows and changes, love stories begin and end -- and secrets are revealed.
Coming this summer, Getting Away is a dazzlingly ambitious new novel from the author of Waterstones' Fiction Book of the Month, This Family , and the Costa shortlisted The Stranding.

368 pages, Hardcover

Published July 3, 2025

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962 people want to read

About the author

Kate Sawyer

17 books179 followers
Kate was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK where she grew up in the countryside as the eldest of four siblings, after briefly living with her parents in Qatar and the Netherlands.

She has worked as an actor and producer on everything from film and theatre to festivals and weddings. She has previously written for theatre and short-film before turning her hand to fiction.

Having lived in South London for the best part of two decades, with brief stints in Australia and the USA, she recently returned to East Anglia to have her first child as a solo mother by choice.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Emma.
956 reviews44 followers
July 23, 2025
Beautiful, moving, profound and original, Getting Away is a gorgeous multi-generational family saga that is perfect for summer. A story of family, love, secrets and trauma that follows multiple generations of one family, telling the story through the lens of their family holidays over 90 years. This book consumed me. Once I started reading it was impossible to put down and I devoured it in almost one sitting, stopping only because I had to eat. And when it finished I was bereft, unwilling to say goodbye to this family that I’d followed through so many decades.

Kate Sawyer is a masterful storyteller. I fell in love with her writing the moment I read her debut, The Stranding, in 2021 and she just gets better with each book. Exquisitely written, complex and deeply human, this is a masterpiece. Filled with sun, sand and sea, this is the perfect summer read whether you’re reading on a beach or at home, transporting you to the various destinations over the years. Those settings are a huge part of the story and this is where Sawyer’s evocative storytelling shines, bringing them to life so vividly that it was like I was there. I found it interesting to see how their holidays changed over the decades and enjoyed watching them experience new things such as their first time abroad, eating new foods and their first plane rides. It made me think about how many aspects of modern life we take for granted and the privileges we enjoy when it comes to travelling. But this book is much more than a fluffy summer read. It is also honest, deep and raw. This is a family filled with secrets from the start and Sawyer explores the ripple effects the secrets have on the whole family. She also explores topics such as generational trauma, domestic abuse, sexual assault, infertility and sexuality, never shying away from the uncomfortable and painful aspects of these issues, but also writing them with compassion.

For a character-driven story to work, you need great characters that you can connect with. And Sawyer knows how to do that perfectly, filling this book’s pages with characters who are achingly human and relatable. Sawyer knows how to forge a connection between her reader and her characters, making you feel everything with them at each step. And there are many emotional moments as we follow these characters through so many years, watching most of the characters go from childhood to adolescence and then adulthood, walking with them as they experience the highs, lows, trials and tribulations of life in a changing world. I also found it interesting to see how their holidays changed over the decades and enjoyed watching them experience new things such as their first time abroad, eating new foods and their first plane rides. It made me think about how many aspects of modern life we take for granted and the privileges we enjoy when it comes to travelling.

An absolute gem of a book, Getting Away is a must have addition to your summer TBR.
Profile Image for Linda Wilson.
715 reviews10 followers
July 27, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It is a family saga, starting in the 1940s, following the story of the Smith family. What is different is that the story unfolds on family holidays as the years go by. This gave it an interesting edge. I liked the characters and there were lots of twists and turns in the story.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Profile Image for Rita Egan.
657 reviews79 followers
June 30, 2025
Getting Away
By Kate Sawyer

I love a book with an interesting structure and the idea to follow one family over several generations through their summer holidays is very interesting, especially as a summer read.

Sawyer maps the evolution of holidaymaking from the perspective of a British working class family, from day trips to the likes of Bognor or Skegness in the 1930s, the Butlins holiday camp of the 1960s, the costa package tours of the 70s and beyond into the more individualised holidays we seek today.

There's plenty to get nostalgic about as she also places each chapter firmly in it's own time as food and fashion change so do social norms and expectations. So much so, that at times the narrative becomes bogged down in lists that are bent into sentences, rather like those Ladybird early readers.

The family members are clearly presented and distinct, however I would have loved a family tree to refer to, because I kept mixing up Rob and Joe and forgetting who Caroline was to them, and then when their children were born, I kept mixing up Betty and Maggie. I think their stories were too narrow, too staccato to stick. An important detail might emerge midway into the new time period and I feel the author made me work to keep all the stories straight, rather like only tuning in on random days to a long running soap.

Very interesting premise, but the structure acts less as a framework and more like a cage. Entertaining as a study of the habits of the British tourist, but probably not memorable as a family saga.

Publication Date:3rd July 2025
Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC
Profile Image for Linzi Ingham.
11 reviews
October 1, 2025
I really liked the concept of this book, following a family holiday throughout the decades and showing the changes and how family come and go.

However I also felt that this made the book feel really disjointed and it made it a bit difficult to follow. It felt as though characters were dropped in, already being such a massive part of the family, but because the book just covered the yearly holiday, you missed introductions to these characters and how they came about. I had to really think about who was who and I think this then just confused me.

overall, I didn't massively enjoy the book but did feel I could continue to read it.
Profile Image for R.
57 reviews3 followers
August 13, 2025
From the 1930s to the 2020s, this book follows Margaret and her family through a series of holidays over the intervening decades.

While I liked the idea of the concept and structure, I found it actually suffocates the story lines; no-one is allowed any space to explore the myriad different lines that come up, everything is so surface to cover so many decades. It also gets a little confusing as to who belongs to who, familial wise.
9 reviews
August 4, 2025
At page 118 and doubt I’ll manage to finish it as definitely not my type of book sorry
Profile Image for Sue.
1,337 reviews
July 1, 2025
The Smith family are at the seaside. For young Margaret, this is her first getaway and so exciting, but it brings mixed emotions for her parents - especially her mother Elizabeth. Over the years, the Smith family grows. Each generation is altered by their own getaways as love, loss, pain, pleasure, and secrets take their toll...

Having read Sawyer's incredible last book, This Family, which takes place over a single day, I knew how beautifully she can capture the shifting dynamics within a family, particularly when it comes to the fall out when secrets are revealed.

In this gorgeous follow-up story, Sawyer ups her game by spreading out the saga of her literary family over a whopping time span from the 1920s to the 2020s, with a whole new twist on the domestic drama angle by only dropping in on them during significant family holidays and getaways in each decade. This is a really interesting way to tell their story, as you find yourself catching up on the events of intervening years solely through their interactions when they are away from home - ostensibly having a good time on the surface, but each musing on their own secrets and heartache.

As the points of view switch back and forth between the characters, starting with the small set-up of Margaret and her parents, and widening to incorporate sons, daughters, and their romantic partners down through the generations, these moments are curiously enough to tell a detailed account of their history, love stories, triumphs and tragedies. You find your heartstrings getting a good work out as they reach relationship milestones, and work through the ripples of their revelations in time. There are big waves and small, but Sawyer manages to give each of them equal power, which is very impressive.

This is one of those books that meanders and comes full circle, working its way under your skin in the process. There is a lot of sadness in these pages, especially when it comes to generational trauma, but there are also hopeful and tender moments that deeply touch your heart. Once again, Sawyer proves that she can get to the crux of knotty family dynamics, and explore the complexities of love, loss coming of age, break-ups and reconciliations with a deft touch. I loved it.
Profile Image for Simon S..
191 reviews10 followers
April 30, 2025
This rather wonderful book follows the fortunes of four generations of a British family. Following a brief near-contemporary prologue we are back in the 1930s, joining Elizabeth, husband Jim, and her young daughter Margaret on the coach, a works outing to the coast. Elizabeth is tense and angry, something her daughter – excited for the seaside - can sense, but not understand. Her mood improves as the journey progresses, only to turn sour once more as they arrive to find the factory owner waiting by his big car. Bill Lacey, charming, handsome, and freshly returned from America some years after his family sent him far from the temptation of Elizabeth, the daughter of one of their domestic staff.

The shadows of their secrets and lies are cast across Elizabeth’s family over the intervening years, shaping their experiences of love and loss through the generations. With great effect, not to mention ingenuity, Sawyer tells the story in snatches, during holidays, long weekends, trips abroad – the “Getting Away” of the title. This works so well, pulling the characters out of their element and into unfamiliar circumstances before the scrutiny of friends, siblings and parents where any tensions must hum submerged. A holiday can be a chance to escape, refresh and reflect, but the backpacks and cases are often not the only baggage which needs handling.

That thing which should have been said years ago, well it just might get said tonight and – far away from home - love may have to take its chances.

Sawyer’s tight third-person narration brings us close enough to touch, and be touched by, her characters, and – in another brilliant stroke – she often gives us no direct dateline. Instead, we get the 1970s, or the 1990s, and she will render the span of a trip with no clear chronology, events in order but how long since the previous paragraph? A day? Two? A week? It feels like firm but imprecise recollection, very human, intimate and affecting.

A dazzling tale of women’s resilience, and the power of familial love.
Profile Image for Sarah.
109 reviews25 followers
June 13, 2025
Getting Away by Kate Sawyer is a tender, immersive novel that spans a century in the lives of the Smith family.
I was completely captivated by it. Sawyer takes the familiar act of taking a holiday and turns it into something richly layered, revealing love, loss, resilience and how British society has evolved across generations.

Told in perfectly chosen snapshots, each chapter captures a different decade and a distinct holiday, from the 1930s to the 2020s. The structure is both smart and deeply affecting, encouraging you to read between the lines and feel the weight of what’s left unsaid. I found this structure deeply satisfying and utterly unique.
What stayed with me most was how Sawyer explores themes in this novel. There is something so thoughtful in her focus on how people carry on, how emotions settle and linger. Her writing is gentle but full of depth, and more than once, I found myself unexpectedly moved. It’s less about the places they visit and more about what they’re escaping.

The characters in Getting Away completely won me over. Each one felt honest and deeply familiar, as though I had known them all my life. Every trip brings a turning point, a quiet shift, or a reckoning. Betty and Maggie, in particular, will stay with me. I adored them. Their journeys felt incredibly real, and I felt lucky to walk alongside these incredible women.
There is a thoughtful political thread running through the novel too. Class, gender, work, and freedom weave naturally through the lives of the Smiths. The choices and chances of the younger generation feel rooted in hard-earned progress, built on years of struggle and quiet rebellion. It made me think of my own history and the struggles my family faced.

Kate Sawyer is quickly becoming one of my absolute favourite authors. Getting Away is heartfelt, wise, and written with such care. This novel is a must.

[AD/PR] Thank you so much to @mskatesawyer and @zaffrebooks for the advanced copy. Publishing 3rd July 💙
Profile Image for Katy's Book Den.
79 reviews7 followers
August 9, 2025
A beautiful read following a particular family through the decades and the times when they come together for family holidays.

Full of nostalgia from decades past, we explore relationships, trauma, buried secrets, love, loss and loyalty, betrayal and more!

A trauma suffered early on in the book to one of the characters is the underlying thread to future decisions and events over the years and we watch this slowly weave its way out.

This is not a fast-paced book. It’s an atmospheric read, an exploration of life, family dynamics, growth, and the events that shape us.

I read this whilst on holiday myself. Perfect!
I particularly loved following the characters of Maggie and Elizabeth. They were well-developed and I felt invested in their storyline.

As the book progressed there were new characters introduced and sometimes I couldn’t remember who they were or how they related to some of the main characters without backtracking. As such, I wasn’t quite as invested in them or their storylines. I felt there were other areas I wanted to delve deeper into and develop, such as Tommy being aware of what had happened to his sister. Other areas too but I can’t mention for fear of spoiling the plot.

I did enjoy this book. I have all three of Kate Sawyer’s books, and the amazing thing is that they are all so incredibly different. I think my top favourite is The Stranding but the author is also brilliant at exploring family dynamics and relationships and she is very skilled at adapting her style of writing to suit. She’s incredibly clever at this!

A journey through the decades.
Profile Image for Aoife Cassidy McM.
826 reviews378 followers
July 5, 2025
Kate Sawyer is one of my favourite contemporary fiction writers. The Stranding is an all-time favourite book of mine, and This Family is a gorgeous, immersive family saga reminiscent of writers past. And so, Getting Away was a hugely anticipated read for me, one I preordered in hardback.

Before exploring what didn’t work for me, let’s look at what is done well. The plot device or hook is very clever - this is the story of generations of the one family, and the holidays they take over the course of almost a century. It charts their lives, loves and losses, their secrets, lots and heartbreaks.

The author captures the zeitgeist of each decade really well, with little cultural references sprinkled in to ground you in the times you’re reading about. She charts the changes in society, among them women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, equality, class, wealth, and so on.

What didn’t work so well for me was the characters themselves. Because we’re dipping in and out of their lives in vignettes, we’re only really getting glimpses of who they are and so I never really became attached to any of them, bar perhaps Maggie/Margaret. There was one plot point that I felt was never resolved (involving Penny and Susan) and I kept wondering if I had missed something.

Lovely writing, a clever premise, an atmospheric summer read, but perhaps just a bit laboured by the end, constrained by the plot device. Still going to preorder whatever Kate Sawyer writes next. 3.5/5 ⭐️
Profile Image for Sinead Warren.
482 reviews54 followers
July 4, 2025
Getting Away by Kate Sawyer* is the brand new release from the author of one of my all-time favourite books, The Stranding, and of the wonderful,This Family. The concept is super unique: an intricate slice-of-life novel charting the holiday experiences of one family over the course of a century and the ripple effect of what happens when there.  

Maggie is a child in 1930s England and her first trip to the seaside is the height of excitement in her small life. But, to her parents Elizabeth and Jim, it is an occasion fraught with friction, remorse and long-buried secrets. As the decades pass and the family grows new branches, the holidays become more exotic but the emotions of that earliest of trips linger, often times bringing with them a shift in the family that is felt for decades do come. 


This is such an intelligent concept and narrative style in which Sawyer succeeds in exploring social issues that have withstood the passage of time - gender, sexuality, class structure and abuse - through various lenses. While this isn't my favourite of Sawyer’s books (I wasn't overly drawn to any of the many characters and found the family tree hard to keep straight in my head the further through the years we progressed), I still read it in one sitting during a recent 15-hour A&E wait (all fine, TG) and think it will prove to be a standout of 2025 holiday reading.
Profile Image for Tea Leaves and Reads.
1,060 reviews84 followers
July 10, 2025
The Stranding actually stole my heart and I haven’t loved Kate Sawyer’s writing as much since then. Until now! Absolutely nothing wrong with ‘This Family’ which is Kate’s second novel, but it wasn’t The Stranding and my heart just didn’t like that at all. But enough time has passed, perhaps… Enter, ‘Getting Away’ – Kate’s latest novel, fresh off the press and in a beautiful independent bookshop edition, signed with sprayed edges.

Getting Away spans a century of one family’s holidays, using those escapes to capture Britain’s social change. It’s a character-led book, easy to read and become immersed in, and there will be plenty to talk about too. It has nostalgia, in the snippets of this family life we are drawn to each period of time with the little things that were poignant back then. Telegrams, postcards, emails… the book draws us ever nearer to the present day but in a gentle, almost stealthy, way.

The characters aren’t perfect, and don’t we love that? Real people. Gritty people. People who behave badly. The good and the bad. Reality.

Kate Sawyer is one of those Authors who makes me want to write. I finish her books and feel energised to bring chapters together and characters to life. She is a writer you aspire to be. Getting Away is tender & wise, profound and original. And it has to be your next read.
Profile Image for KathVBtn.
859 reviews29 followers
July 7, 2025
Kate Sawyer’s latest novel is utterly charming, and beautifully readable, full of stories of love, connection and family. As soon as I started reading it I was mesmerised by both the storyline and the wonderful writing that swept me up.

It’s the story of one ordinary family connected through the generations. The threads that link back and forward are beautifully woven in, with Easter egg clues sprinkled throughout, giving you those moments where you stop and revisit what you have already read, looking at it with fresh eyes.

It starts with a present day family trip to the beach and then swiftly rewinds almost a century earlier to Margaret visiting the same beach with her mother and father. We know that Margaret is one of the family members in the present day family set up, but now we wind back to her childhood and memories of her own parents.

Each character is treated with such care and tenderness they felt very real and very special. I’m sorry to say I haven’t read Kate Sawyer’s earlier books yet but I am rushing back just to sort that out right now. She is a very gifted and talented author with a special gift for taking an everyday situation and drawing out the treasures buried within it.
Profile Image for Rachael Stray.
361 reviews10 followers
August 19, 2025
Getting Away by Kate Sawyer is a beautifully written, multi-generational family saga that swept me away from the very first page.

Told through the lens of family holidays over a span of ninety years, this is a story about love, secrets, trauma and resilience – one that manages to be both nostalgic and deeply moving.

The premise itself is clever and original.

By dropping in on the same family only during their holidays – from seaside trips in the 1930s, Butlins camps in the 60s, package tours to Spain in the 70s, all the way to more modern getaways – Sawyer not only maps the changing dynamics of the family but also captures the evolution of British holidaymaking.

The result is both intimate and expansive, mixing personal drama with social history.

Sawyer excels at creating characters who feel utterly human. They are flawed, complex, sometimes frustrating, but always believable.

Over the decades we watch them grow, stumble, fall in love, make mistakes, and carry secrets that ripple across generations.

Themes of domestic abuse, sexual assault, infertility and sexuality are woven into the narrative with sensitivity, adding depth without ever feeling heavy-handed.

At the same time, there are moments of joy, humour and tenderness that keep the book from becoming weighed down by its darker threads.

The settings are vividly brought to life – I could feel the sand between my toes, taste the first exotic foods they tried abroad, and sense the excitement of stepping onto a plane for the first time.

It’s an evocative, sensory reading experience that transports you through time and place with ease.

If I have one minor quibble, it’s that with such a wide cast spanning decades, it can be a little tricky to keep track of who’s who at times. A family tree would have been a helpful addition. But this is a small point in what is otherwise a stunningly crafted novel.

It is profound, original, and filled with heart. A book that lingers long after the final page – and one I wholeheartedly recommend.

Perfect for anyone who loves a sweeping family saga with real emotional depth.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jackiesreadingcorner.
1,124 reviews34 followers
July 10, 2025
This beautifully written novel spans four generations, chronicling the lives, loves, and losses of one family. It opens with a simple yet evocative scene: the family gathered on a beach. From there, the narrative travels back to the 1930s, where a pivotal memory from the same beach sets the tone for the decades of secrets and emotional legacies that follow.

In 1930, Elizabeth, her husband Jim, and their young daughter Margaret are on a coach headed to the seaside for a works outing. Margaret is brimming with excitement to see the sea, but Elizabeth seems withdrawn. Her mood lifts slightly as they approach the coast—until the sight of factory owner Bill Lacey waiting by his car unsettles her. Elizabeth’s mother once worked for the Lacey family, and Elizabeth and Bill had shared a close childhood bond, severed when his father sent him to America.

From this moment, the novel reveals itself as a tapestry woven with hidden truths and buried emotions. Told through shifting perspectives and across decades—from the 1930s through the 2000s—the story follows holidays, weekends away, and travels abroad. Each chapter marks a moment in time, sometimes within the same decade, sometimes years later, giving the story an organic and fluid sense of time passing.

At its heart, the book explores how families carry emotional “baggage” through generations—not just in the metaphorical sense, but often quite literally during these family trips. As time moves on, relationships end, new ones begin, old loves re-emerge, and long-kept secrets finally come to light. Through these journeys, the story gently but powerfully captures the changing dynamics of both the world and the family.

The characters grow on you, and while it can be a bit tricky at times to remember who belongs to whom, especially with the expanding family tree, each character feels authentic. Some you’ll love; others may frustrate you—but all are vividly drawn. The narrative is particularly anchored by Elizabeth and Margaret, with Margaret’s reflections eventually bringing the reader full circle to the book’s opening scene.

This is a well-crafted, deeply moving story that highlights the resilience of women and the enduring strength of family ties. Rich in atmosphere and emotion, it captures how the past is never truly behind us—and how love, memory, and forgiveness shape who we become.
Profile Image for Jo_Scho_Reads.
1,067 reviews77 followers
July 2, 2025
3.75 stars. A beautifully written, multi generational, story of a family, unusual in the way that memories and life are revealed in a series of holiday vignettes over each passing decade. The story begins in the 1930s when Margaret Smith is just a young girl, holidaying at the beach with her mother and father. A much anticipated and longed for holiday. But even back then, secrets are casting shadows which will hang over this family for many, many years. And as the family grows, evolves and spreads over each separate decade, it’s fascinating to observe and witness the changes, both within the Smith family and in the outside world.

This was such a clever and original book. Yes, moving into a new decade with each chapter takes concentration and focus. But it was intriguing to see each character develop; see young girls grow into women, baby boys into men, mothers into grandmothers. I found it so thought provoking to watch the passage of time occur in such a way, it felt quite emotional, intimate even.

With authentic characters and a moving and original plot, Getting Away is a great summer holiday read. Get this one in your suitcase!
228 reviews
July 19, 2025
I would describe this as an episodic family saga; the story extends over 10 decades from 1930's through to present day, with a distinct episode dedicated to each decade. The USP is that each section takes place during a 'holiday' or period away from quotidian experiences for the protagonists. We begin the tale through the eyes of young Margaret, ostensibly the child of Elizabeth (Betty) and Jim, a working class couple out on a works coach party to the seaside. Jim seeks to better himself in difficult economic times in the local family firm, Lacey's, whose son and heir, Bill, newly returned from America was a youthful beau of Betty. This relationship over-arches the whole narrative. The family fortunes ebb and flow over successive decades, with a degree of social commentary and some (cumulatively) unlikely events and coincidences. Never the less, the story telling is engaging, well-paced and the characterisation surprisingly well detailed within the ambit of the brief events detailed. It was an undemanding but engrossing holiday read (and, incidentally, a beautifully produced hard-back edition).
Profile Image for Bestbookforward .
1 review21 followers
March 22, 2025
I was over the moon when my copy of Getting Away by Kate Sawyer arrived as I love her books so much. I started reading it straight away and fell completely in love with the Smith family.

The concept of tracing a family’s journey through their holidays is so cleverly executed and it really drew me in to the story, I felt part of this family. Beneath the surface of the seemingly ordinary Smith family lies a tapestry of secrets and complex relationships that Kate explores with so much empathy. Kate’s writing is, as always, so elegant; I’ve marked several pages that I want to revisit as I loved the way she explores some really difficult topics, that I’m sure many will relate to.

While Getting Away is described as “the holiday read of a lifetime” it is so much more than a holiday read; it’s an emotional journey that you won’t forget. I loved every page, every decade, with the Smith family when I turned the last page I felt like I was going to really miss them but I’m sure that this is a novel that I will remember for a long time.

(Copy gifted by the publisher)
724 reviews4 followers
July 27, 2025
Getting Away is a cleverly conceived and beautifully written family saga, the story of the Smith family spanning from the 1930s to the present day.

What makes this book somewhat different is that we only dip into the family’s life in each decade when they are on holiday, where a chance to relax also offers a chance to reflect, on both good and bad.

What I love about Sawyer’s writing is the way in which she gets to the heart of complicated family dynamics, treats challenging subjects with remarkable sensitivity and ensures the reader becomes fully invested in her characters. It is a story full of emotion, there is much that will move you as you take the utterly believable characters to your heart. And with an ending that takes the story full circle, I for one felt sad to be leaving the complicated but enthralling world of the Smiths behind.

I have loved Sawyer’s previous books but I loved this even more - she has definitely been added to my auto-buy list!
1,796 reviews25 followers
July 24, 2025
The first time she went to the seaside Margaret was entranced, the second time ended badly. Throughout her life and the lives of her extended family, holidays have been central and then bring to the surface all the changes and events in their lives.
This is a rather hypnotically lovely book to read. The idea is great, a family story told through a series of holiday vignettes and this allows Sawyer to explore lots of different themes. I loved the fact that even the most horrific events were not described in detail - rape, murder, cancer - instead they are alluded to in the middle of telling the personal stories of the protagonists. There are lots of little storylines that weave around each other over the course of book and each is short and beautifully formed. A reflection of the times as well as the people, this is a book that satisfies.
88 reviews
August 5, 2025
💬 My Bookish Thoughts
What a fascinating and immersive read. I loved the concept of following a family across decades through their holidays — watching how their relationships evolve, secrets simmer beneath the surface, and British holiday culture changes over time.

I felt completely absorbed in the dynamics between the characters. It's got everything: love, heartbreak, secrets, and travel — all set against the backdrop of sun, sand, and shifting tides.

A real page-turner to lose yourself in — especially by the pool or on the beach. The cover perfectly captures the vibe of a nostalgic family holiday snap.

This was my first Kate Sawyer novel… but it won’t be my last.

🙏🏼 Huge thanks to @netgalley, @bonnierbooks_uk, and @katesawyer for the gifted digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
250 reviews1 follower
December 11, 2025
Getting Away by Kate Sawyer is a family saga that follows the Smith family on holiday from the 1930s through to the 2020s. It is very different to Sawyer’s debut The Stranding. It covers many characters in the family of this inter-generational story but for me, at times, the snippets into their lives felt too short before you were then meeting a new generation of the family or discovering that a relationship had broken down. I did however love how Sawyer seamlessly dealt with the changing times and attitudes as the story moved into modern day - nothing felt forced or wedged in. I would have like a better examination of how the family viewed Tommy and Debbie’s relationship and that is an example of where the snippets were not developed enough for me. It is not a bad complaint to be left wanting more. Overall, a compelling read.
15 reviews1 follower
July 25, 2025
I really enjoyed this book—especially the way it moved through time, from the 1930s to the present day. The shift across eras was captured beautifully, and it was fascinating to see how the family dynamics evolved with each generation.

Some of the older family members reminded me so much of people I know—both in their good and not-so-good traits. The characters felt authentic, and the way their beliefs and behaviors were shaped by the time they lived in was portrayed with real depth and nuance.

I didn’t read the blurb or any reviews beforehand—I just jumped straight in, expecting a light beach read. But this turned out to be much more complex, layered, and thought-provoking than I anticipated.

I’d definitely recommend it
Profile Image for Nicola Smith.
1,129 reviews42 followers
August 16, 2025
Getting Away is about all the holidays we take throughout our lives, from the simple trip to the beach with family to the fancy holidays abroad. It's also about the family dynamics that occur, just like when any family gets together. We see the holidays through the eyes of the Smith family taking us from the 1930s through to the 2020s.

I knew as soon as I heard about the premise that I wanted to read this book and I absolutely adored every bit of it. Sometimes a book that skips through time in this way, linking the characters by events, doesn't work so well as it misses out some of what has happened to them in the meantime (between holidays in this case) but Kate Sawyer does a wonderful job at following the characters through the years, letting the reader know what has happened to them not by simply telling them, but by revealing it slowly through their actions and feelings, with tiny details and what is left unsaid allowing us to read between the lines. I came to care about all the characters and looked forward to seeing them through each decade.

There are some lovely strands running throughout. In the 1930s it all begins with Betty and Jim and the spectres of WWI and a lost love. The family continues through their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I felt like I knew them all really well by the end.

Getting Away is a social history of everyday life and the power of the holiday, and it is also a multi-generational, beautifully portrayed family story. It's easy to read (I powered through it) but is also emotional and full of nostalgia. I found it very hard to put it down. It's absolutely perfect and is easily one of my favourite books of this year.
Profile Image for Vicki.
55 reviews3 followers
July 6, 2025
Getting Away is a beautifully written, easy-to-dive-into novel that captures the complexities of relationships, identity, and starting over. Kate Sawyer has a gift for creating characters that feel real and relatable, and the story flows with a quiet intensity that keeps you turning the pages.

The writing is thoughtful but never heavy. There’s a gentle emotional pull throughout the book that lingers after you’ve finished. It’s heartfelt without being overly dramatic, and the themes of change, healing, and self-discovery are handled with a refreshing lightness.

If you’re looking for a book that’s engaging, insightful, and ultimately uplifting, Getting Away is a wonderful choice.
Profile Image for Sheena.
683 reviews11 followers
August 6, 2025
3.5 Enjoyable story of a family's interactions through the generations and the secrets that were kept. It does make the reader think of the undercurrents beneath what appears outwardly to be 'normal" relationships, what really constitutes a family and what secrets can do to those relationships over the years. To be fair when the revelations happened the protagonists seemed to take them on the chin and cope. It did not fall into the trap of too many cliched situations either. The structure is clever and a good way of showing the changes that happen not just in holiday habits but life in general.
23 reviews
November 6, 2025
Great concept and interesting to think how holidays and family life have changed over the decades. Overall the book didn’t quite work for me. Characters felt quite two dimensional in most cases, (Betty’s main character trait became a love of ice cream and Robbie’s rather thuggish character was left unexplained, as was Debbie’s new partner leaving the feeling they’d been included to represent “types”). Period references were great but at times felt a bit predictable and purposeful, rather than part of the natural flow of the story, as did odd italicised words, perhaps placed to remind the reader of the latest family holiday location.
Profile Image for Dylan Patsanza.
11 reviews
May 20, 2025
Kate Sawyer writing what she writes best: a messy family.

There were some lovely bits and great characters who you get to watch grow over decades. I fear it majorly suffered from the classic I-just-read-an-amazing-book-and-now-nothing-else-I-read-can-compare feeling I get after reading an amazing book.

Overall a good book (which I did read on holiday!), although I did grow a teeny tiny bit weary of the holiday gimmick (but really what else did I expect going in?).

Many thanks to the publishers for my ARC copy
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