Miss Benson's Beetle: An uplifting story of female friendship against the odds

I loved this. Saw it reviewed in the Guardian and, as I had enjoyed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I bought it. I read it far too quickly as I was so absorbed that it hasn’t lasted long, unfortunately. I will not repeat the story, as that has been done well by others. It is the development of the friendship of two such different women and their exploits that is enthralling. The humour is understated but so apt, let alone the glorious setting and the evocation of a time when some women did defy the norms of their times to sally forth to the other side of the world. Haven’t women always done that? Fabulous! I did shed some tears at the end, but (part spoiler alert) not just for the events, more because it was so poignant. I thought it better than Harold Fry, which I had also enjoyed tremendously. If this is Rachel Joyce coming into her own, I shall look forward to her next with great pleasure.

In some ways it was a really frustrating read. I promise that is a compliment. As someone, recently retired with time now to follow my dreams as the two main characters in this story do only to be thwarted by lockdown is like reading your favourite travel magazine and being told to just imagine these places as you’ll not be able to go there.Like all good journeys, it’s not just about the sights, sounds and smells, it’s the people you meet along the way, the discoveries about yourself that all these experiences provoke, good and not so good. This story takes those ordinary dynamics to extremes. There is a friendship and bond that builds in this unlikely couple. They learn to manage huge discomfort and overcome whatever obstacles arise in their way.These are two ordinary people unwittingly put together in some extraordinary circumstances. One without the other will fall, together they should also fall such is their inexperience and unpreparedness, but what they achieve together is far more than their original intentions.To make me believe all this is entirely possible, takes writing of exquisite quality. To enable this reader to understand the depth of despair then the heightened level of achievement and keep me enthralled to the end, means this book is special. I’m just not sure I could read it again, without aching to leave these shores for similar adventure.

Miss Margery Benson is single and alone, she’s a domestic science teacher, but one day a classroom drawing of her is the last straw. Distraught she leaves, taking with her the deputy’s new boots.She decides it’s time to fulfill her dream of travelling to New Caledonia to find the elusive Gold Flower Beetle.she advertises for an assistant. Being let down by her chosen applicant she offers the position to Enid.They spend weeks on about to Australia as the first leg of the journey….with sea sickness and other mishaps and drama the two women get to know each other….a little…Oh my heart…l. truly love this book…from the slightly staid Margery to the brash Enid and their slowly building friendship. It’s a tale of following your dreams regardless of the cost and the beauty of true friendship. There’s a real sense of adventure in the search for a golden gem of a beetle. It has a sense of wonder and danger, it’s heartbreaking and yet wondrous too. I loved every single second. My favourite novel of the year.

Rachel Joyce is one of my favourite authors - I have read all her books, and I was so delighted to see that she had written another.The book is hugely attractive, with a glorious cover; I just couldn’t wait to get started!That is what made the disappointment all the greater - the book was a huge let down. After a very gripping opening scene, the book developed into a series of nonsensical scrapes and bizarre happenings which at times seemed absolutely ridiculous (Don’t hold your breath when wondering what’s in the red valise!)Big Spoiler alert: I completely failed to see the purpose of the character Mundic. He was totally one-dimensional, and where we should have felt sympathy for him because of his POW experiences, he only came across as unnecessary, serving only to bump off one of the main characters. Similarly, the way Enid’s husband’s brother suddenly appears towards the end of the book seemed like a clumsy device to resolve the problem of Enid’s involvement in his death.If you’re going to buy a Rachel Joyce book, buy The Music Shop instead - real characters that you care about and a great plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well written exploration of developing friendship between two Ill matched women who fetch up on a madcap expedition to find the rumoured to exist Golden Beetle of New Caledonia in the early postwar period. Like the other books I have read by Rachel Joyce this is well researched fiction, and I can attest to the accuracy of the journey by ship and the colonial attitudes having lived in the South Pacific in the early 60s when international telephone calls had to be booked two weeks in advance and UK newspapers were, if they came at all, weeks out of date. The book is also very funny, sometimes in a low key way, sometimes laugh out loud, which readers new to Rachel Joyce might not expect after reading the first couple of pages.