NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A beautifully written, extraordinary quest in which two ordinary, overlooked women embark on an unlikely scientific expedition to the South Seas.”—Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry comes an uplifting, irresistible novel about two women on a life-changing adventure, where they … a life-changing adventure, where they must risk everything, break all the rules, and discover their best selves—together.
She’s going too far to go it alone.
It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and small existence to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession: an insect that may or may not exist—the golden beetle of New Caledonia. When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her, the woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty in her tight-fitting pink suit and pom-pom sandals seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. But together these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations and delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.
Praise for Miss Benson’s Beetle
“A hilarious jaunt into the wilderness of women’s friendship and the triumph of outrageous dreams.”—Kirkus Reviews
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Wow! What a satisfying book! The subtitle says it all: “An uplifting and redemptive story of a glorious female friendship against the odds.” This is an ultimately heartwarming novel of two misfits who learn from each other about life, hope, and joy. It’s the kind of book that started with quirky characters who soon became women I cared about, as I cheered for their success. Alongside the plot of Miss Benson’s trip to New Caledonia to find an undiscovered beetle for the Natural History Museum with her assistant Enid Pretty, the author includes themes of family and what it means to be a woman in the 1950’s. The characters offer many insightful observations about life, hope, and relationships as their adventurous search for the beetle progresses. This bittersweet story will stay with you long after you read the last page. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – The Dial Press and NetGalley for a digital advance reader’s copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
It took me a bit to get into this book. I feel it is too long, but it comes together. While I wasn’t crazy about the story, I do now want to see New Caledonia and hike through it’s wilderness and sit on its beaches. This is a story about an unlikely duo who overcome many impossible obstacles to follow a dream. It takes a while to come up with a reason to like Margery or understand Enid. I wanted to keep reading after halfway just to see if they could do it but the first half was a struggle to get through.
Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce is an excellent novel that is part historical fiction part second-chance part adventure. This is a tale of a woman that has had her share of disappointments and adversities and in the process of this novel: finds herself, finds her hopes/dreams/goals, finds a warm and deep relationship in a surprising newfound friendship.
We first meet Miss Margery Benson in the gray, drab exitance of post-war England. She is stuck in a position that has little to be desired and is most certainly missing something in her life. Margery decides she will throw caution to the wind and go after a long-ago dream of finding the Golden Beetle in the exotic atmosphere of a tropical island off and away of New Caledonia. Of course she can not do this on her own and feels she needs an assistant. Enid Pretty is up for the job. What first seems as two women embarking on an offbeat quest that are polar opposites ends up the travels and adventure that are life-changing and both women find in each other a bond, strength, and love that they did not even realize were missing.
While reading through their travels and journeys, it almost feels as if one was in The Wizard Of Oz where everything transitions from black and white to glorious color. The quirky characters, the rich and descriptive plot with the unique quest, and the wonderful transformations that the characters experience is truly exceptional. Ms. Joyce has made a real treasure that is truly heart warming and memorable.
Excellent novel. 5/5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley and Dial Press/Random House for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.