Maureen was a surprisingly enjoyable read for me, because I had avoided Joyce's previous works, thinking them too sentimental for my taste. The description of Maureen intrigued me, however, and I was pleased to find that Joyce' is a wonderful storyteller. The pace of the novel is good, and isn't overwrought with extraneous detail, but it is a lush rendering, nonetheless, of Maureen's journey.

Interestingly, Joyce brings up the truthfulness/ambiguity/authenticity of art and fiction. By creating something beautiful out of something that isn't factual or real, or can be seen as painful, traumatic, or ugly in reality, does the artist do a disservice to those who have lived through grief and disaster? Joyce herself is creating something beautiful in this story, which is itself created, made up, through descriptions and fictional interactions, yet, they hold truths that the reader can recognize.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the final chapter in a trilogy beginning with "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". Each novel highlights a different character involved in the loss of an older son and the resulting relationship issues with the parents. Since both parents had their own issues as they grew up, they are unable to parent as they would have hoped. Maybe this is the truth about most of us. We attempt to meet life the best we can, but our plans are so often fraught with dead ends. Maureen makes her way cross country to Queenie's Garden. Queenie was the subject of the second installment in the trilogy. She created a garden before she passed away that became a well-known place to come to grieve and many individuals had left tribute items concerning their own grief. Thus, the garden had grown larger. Maureen's character has turned into an unfriendly person since she has been unable to rid herself of the grief since her son's death. The story allows you to see who she has become and feel her experiences as she makes a difficult trip that allows her some closure. You never know who might make a difference in your life. This was a delight to read!

I did enjoy this story but having not read the first two books in this trilogy, I was a bit lost by some of the events in the book, but understood Maureen's desire to visit the memorial for her son. Nonetheless, it is very well-written and a very interesting story! Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the Publisher for my copy of Maureen - Now I need to read the first two books!

A fitting ending to the trilogy, and the story of Harold and Queenie. Maureen, the main character had always been jealous of her husbands affection for Queenie. They had lost their only son David and Maureen could not move on. When Harold told her that Queenie had made a memorial for David and put it in her garden, she became angry. Harold told her to go and see it and so she made the journey. I give it 4 stars for the writing, but I cannot say the story appealed to me.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Maureen and her husband live a very quiet and uneventful life. She decides to go on a road trip. On this road trip she encounters many different people and obstacles. I liked the many characters we were introduced to in this book.

Maureen is, by the author's own admission, the hardest of the Harold Fry characters to like. In this conclusion to the trilogy, Maureen knows she has to make her own journey to come to terms with their son's death, but also knows her journey won't look like Harold's. Harder to read and much sadder, Maureen wraps up the story of Harold and Queenie and Maureen (and David) in a sweet and gentle way.

This is a fitting ending to the Harold Frye trilogy. It's essentially a story about grief and coping. Somehow much of it did not ring true for me, but the writing and imagery were done well.

Rachael Joyce has written a really compelling short novel to “ bookend” her successful book about Harold Fry’s adventure. Although MAUREEN stands alone as a worthwhile read, it is a satisfying companion to the author’s other books in the Trilogy.

MAUREEN is thought-provoking because of the depth of her grief. Even those of us who have not suffered as she has can benefit from the steps that led her to eventually emerge as “whole.” In many respects this was not an easy read. Although the descriptions are lyrical and the scenes exquisitely described, this is a book about pain. Brutal, heart-wrenching pain. It was expected that there would be a redemptive conclusion to the book, and that added to it rather than detracted from it. It is a positive message and a life-affirming one.

We all can use that.

Netgalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in return for a candid review.

Maureen by Rachel Joyce is the third book in her Harold Fry series. The first two books introduce Harold Fry, his wife Maureen, and Queenie a friend of Harold's from many years ago with the first having Harold walk over 600 miles to visit Queenie in hospice. The second novel in the series is from Queenie's point of view after finding out Harold is walking to see her. She pens a letter to him confessing secrets she has kept. In the third book, Maureen, the story continues with Harold's wife making her own journey to Queenie's garden. On her journey, Maureen runs into obstacles and experiences that help her deal with her grief. While the book is enlightening about the character of Maureen and her dour manner it is a somber and heartbreaking story. I would like to say I enjoyed the book but it just wasn't for me. However, the author did an excellent job with imagery and making the reader "feel" the sadness. Again, it wasn't my style of book but I am sure those that like an emotional story will enjoy this one.

Three reasons for a thumbs up!
1. I like that we get to know Maureen's story and have the trilogy wrapped up.
2. This short book has humor, heartache plus wit and wisdom. One of my favorite quotes: “You think you will be different but the blueprint is still there: Maureen looked into the mirror and saw the ghost of her mother, staring back.”
3. I believe we all need to take that journey to forgive and to get closure on something in our life.

One thumbs down:
1. I felt the ending was too abrupt....

Highly recommended especially to those who love Harold Fry and Queenie. (and if you haven't read them - read them now before Maureen is published!)

AVAILABLE February 7, 2023.

Thank You to Random House for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book, provided through NetGalley! I

3.75 stars

This is the third piece to the story that began with Harold Fry and his Unlikely Pilgramage. The first book detailed Harold's quixotic journey to see his dying friend Queenie, the second book told Queenie's story, and this final one features Harold's wife Maureen.

Maureen has felt like an outsider her entire life. When her and Harold's son David committed suicide as a young man, Maureen totally lost her way. The earlier books chronicled their steps back to each other and a bit of happiness.

Emotional, sad but ultimately not without hope. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maureen is the third in the Harold Fry series - an unintentional trilogy by the author. In the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Harold walks 600+ miles to deliver a letter to his former work colleague, Queenie, hoping she'll stay alive until he reaches her. Years ago Queenie had taken the blame for a misdemeanor Harold had committed at the brewery he managed. She knows grief over his son's death has brought him close to despair.
In Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey, Queenie is in hospice and tells her story of, among other things, her unrequited love for Harold.
Maureen gives Harold's wife a chance to tell her story of long-held grief that she feels is her's alone. When she finds out that Queenie's garden by the sea has a monument to her dead son she sets off to see it ; angry that Queenie would have presumed to memorialize David. Unlike Harold's journey, Maureen drives. Her visit to the garden leaves her angry and bewildered.
The book is only 192 pages and can be read in one sitting. To have any understanding of the plot reading the first two books is a requirement.
Sadly, Maureen reads like an author's afterthought, written to give a voice to Maureen and her perspective but there's not enough to do that and Maureen's epiphany seems hurried and unrealistic.
Harold - A
Queenie - B
Maureen - C
Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for the opportunity to read this novella.

This third novel, a novella really, examines the one person left in the Harold Fry universe that I felt the least connected to after reading Harold Fry and Queen Hennessy. Maureen is still trying to come to terms with the death of her son David after 20 years of missing him. Harold went on his pilgrimage, Queenie did all she could to move on as she faced her own death. Maureen has been stagnating all this time and finally sets out to see the tribute garden Queenie built that includes a memorial for David. Reading this novella was like taking a deep breath and then finally letting it go.

Oh, Maureen … you were so brave to go on a journey you had no preparation for. Harold made friends and had amazing adventures on his journey, and I enjoyed watching his layers giving way to a fresh look at life, but, Maureen … yours seemed more like a hard shell that needed to be cracked and forced off to reveal the new you. I cried for you and with you. This was a beautiful, thoughtful, necessary conclusion to the Fry family saga. I was so happy to be invited on this portion of the journey.

Having fallen in love with Harold Fry in Book #1 and then again with Queenie in Book #2, I was thrilled to see that there was a finale based on Maureen, Harold’s wife. The action in book 3 took place 10 years after Harold’s Unlikely Pilgrimage.

Sadly this was a real disappointment.

Maureen’s negative personality and constant whining and complaining was a real downer. Honestly that woman complained about everything. I really don’t like to read stories of people who simply pull me down. The other big complaint I have about this book was that it was reminiscent of the covid lockdown. All the fear and negativity of that horrible time was repeated on just about every page. Who wants to read about people being forced to wear masks or to socially distance or to be forced to close their businesses? That was a horror best left behind us.. However, having "met" Maureen in this book, I can believe that she would prefer wearing a mask the rest of her life just to avoid people as she said.

After hoping that something positive or uplifting would happen with each new page, I finally had to give it up at 30%. I feel sure if I’d pursued it to the end, there would have been sunshine – or at least a rainbow. However, I just couldn’t make it any farther.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, The Dial Press, for this early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I wish it could have been better.

Rachel Joyce’s MAUREEN is an excellent conclusion to Harold Fry’s trilogy. It is a beautiful story about loss and grief.

Joyce’s novels have been hit or miss for me, but Harold and Queenie’s stories are ones I return to often, and now I’ll add Maureen’s story to that list, as well.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Although not originally envisioned as a trilogy, once Rachel Joyce followed up “The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” with “The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy”, it was inevitable that we get the perspective of the third major character, Harold’s wife, Maureen. The UK version is “Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North.”

A fairly short story, at less than 200 pages, this tale is about Maureen, Harold’s 72 year old wife. Maureen never really tolerated Queenie, Harold’s co-worker and the object of his pilgrimage. It’s 10 years later and Maureen knows that 450 miles away, Queenie had created a memorial garden for Harold and Maureen’s son, David, who died by his own hand 30 years ago. Maureen has seen photos of the garden online, but it bothers her that something was created for David that she was not a part of and never seen. So, with Harold’s blessing, Maureen starts the journey, albeit in her car, not on foot. She wants to drive so she doesn’t have to interact with strangers or any people at all, because, as she knows, she is not an easy person. Maureen is full of regrets, finds common things like plywood signs and satnavs irksome, and can be curt and rude. Harold discovered the best in people; it’s confounding that Maureen is his wife. Maureen has no idea what will happen when she finally finds David’s place in Queenie’s sea garden, only that she must get there.

This is a much darker book than Harold’s or Queenie’s. Maureen as a character drives that, but the world has changed since Harold’s journey. Anti-vax slogans are graffitied on public walls, blue masks litter the hillsides of poppies. Maureen muses that she liked the surgical masks of the pandemic for added anonymity.

The journey is poignant and heartbreaking and deeply layered. It’s about coming to terms with grief and allowing others to give assistance. I did eventually understand Maureen better than the unlikable character of the first book, but there was less joy in the last part of the trilogy. However, this is again beautifully written and powerfully tugs at your heartstrings. 4 stars.

Thank you to Random House/Dial Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Green fingernails, yes; green eyes, no.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO it’s the English countryside, so there are many gardens and many mentions of Miss Queenie’s sea garden.

if you read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and the The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce, one final book in this universe is coming soon. Maureen gives Harold's wife and her grief a voice. A short novel, it's a great read. While a beautiful story on its own, it should definitely be read after Harold and I'd suggest after Queenie as well. I found it visceral and moving.

Well, this was a "have to" read, after having loved "The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" and it's sequel so much, so many years ago. "Maureen", is really a novella, about Harold Fry's titular wife & it does shed light on the woman left behind on his journey, as she embarks on her own quest (and struggles) 10 years later to see Queenie's garden in the North, and what happens along on her own pilgrimage. It is not really a stand-alone, so would not attempt without having read the previous books to complete the trilogy. Enjoyed tremendously & recommend! My sincere thanks to the publisher for the Net Galley widget, ratings and opinions are my own.

This is a beautifully written, moving and poignant novella, part of Rachel Joyce's Harold Fry trilogy, a decade after Harold returned from his pilgrimage, he and Maureen learn of a memorial at Queenie's Sea Garden to their son, David, who they had lost so many years ago. This loss has festered inside Maureen, a grief she has never been able to address, burying it deep inside. Although it takes some time for her to make the decision, it is now Maureen's turn to go on a journey, to Embleton Bay, this time by car, she needs to see that memorial. However, Maureen is nothing like Harold, she struggles to relate to or connect with those she does not know, making those she encounters a taxing experience for her.

She finds staying at Kate's home hard to handle, finding it over stuffed with items and the dirt too much for her, and cannot wait to leave. When Maureen sees the memorial to David, and to Harold, she is far from happy, and when she is injured, she finds herself relying on the care offered by the compassionate Kate. At long last, Maureen finds herself facing up to the grief she has locked inside her. There is humour, wit, joy and wisdom in this insightful, delightful, emotional and heartwarming narrative of heartbreaking loss, grief, and personal growth as we begin to understand how Maureen came to be who she is.

Maureen finds herself embarking on the most challenging of journeys, finding answers in the most surprising of places, all conspiring to bring much needed changes in her life. A wonderful and unforgettable read from this talented author. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.