If you haven’t read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, do it immediately! It was one of my favorite books thanks to the beautiful writing and the heartwarming- and heartbreaking- story.

I have read everything Rachel Joyce has written. She is an author who crafts such great stories, I don’t even care too much about the plot, I just know she’s a master storyteller and I want to read whatever she writes.

Miss Benson’s Beetle looks like the quirky kind of story that I absolutely love and don’t find too many so when I do, I soak them in.

Take a look:

Margery Benson’s life ended the day her father walked out of his study and never came back. Forty years later, abandoning a dull job, she advertises for an assistant. The successful candidate is to accompany Margery on an expedition to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist. Enid Pretty is not who she had in mind. But together they will find themselves drawn into an adventure that exceeds all Margery’s expectations, eventually finding new life at the top of a red mountain.

I loved everything about this book- the characters, the writing, the story. Its witty, fun, and clever. As I read it, I kept thinking that it would make an excellent TV series. Its a fun read with a little sadness, and I enjoyed every second of reading it.

Coming out on November 24

As always, Joyce creates a well woven story with any interesting characters. I didn't connect to Margery as I have to past protagonists, but overall a good story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this fabulous, enthralling book. It evoked strong emotions from sadness to joy. The description of post-war England and the vivid, atmospheric portrayal of the jungle was transporting. The story was lovely and beautiful despite all the hardships and conflicts endured.

The characters of Marjorie Benson and Enid Pretty were well developed and told with humour and passion. Marjorie was a large 47-year-old spinster, very prim and proper, reserved, self-conscious, and both physically and socially awkward. The story begins with Marjorie trying to teach her class of unruly, disruptive girls. They are passing around a drawing making fun of her appearance. Humiliated, she walks out of the school after stealing a pair of boots.

She decides to fulfill a lifetime dream of finding and proving the existence of a rumoured golden beetle in the jungles of the remote New Caledonia Island. She wants to present her discovery to the National History Museum. Out of necessity, she advertises for an assistant to accompany her to this faraway island. The first two applicants were found unsuitable. A third woman was hired but backed out later. This left Enid Pretty, who was rejected and not interviewed because the woman’s initial letter made her appear nearly illiterate. Marjorie’s journey is quickly drawing near and she has little choice than to meet Enid.

When the two women meet, Marjorie is dressed in dull-coloured jungle clothes. The much younger Enid shows up dressed in a pink, provocative outfit. Her hair is dyed a bright yellow, and she is later described as looking like a call girl. She is enthusiastic about the expedition and pleads to be Marjorie’s assistant. She never stops talking, rambling on from one subject to another, which is very annoying to Marjorie. Enid is not prepared. She doesn't even have a passport and knows nothing about beetles, but time is short so Marjorie reluctantly agrees that Enid may accompany her on this journey of exploration.

Both women have different reasons to leave England far behind. I won't go into their backstories as these would be spoilers. For the same reluctance of ruining some of the enjoyment of the book, I am avoiding describing the hilarity and misadventures aboard ship and the perils and pleasures they encounter in the jungle. It is inevitable that the two women with such different temperaments clash frequently. They finally come to support and be dependant on one another. Not only does a friendship but a strong family-type love develop.

In the meantime, they are being followed by a former soldier who endured the horrors of the Burmese march and imprisonment by the Japanese. He is broken physically, mentally, and spiritually. Having psychotic episodes, he presents a danger to himself and others. Also, in the storyline, are British wives leading frivolous lives in the capital, one is targeting our two explorers.

I absolutely loved this book from its early scenes of Marjorie failing to control her classroom to its very satisfying conclusion years later. I would like to see this as a TV series but it would probably be too expensive to produce.
Highly recommended!