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

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Margery speaks no French and advertised for a French-speaking assistant to accompany her on this trip. She rejected Mr. Mundic, a prisoner-of-war from Burma (likely suffering from PTSD) who felt spurned and began to stalk her. The assistant she ends up hiring not by choice is Enid Pretty, a floozy 26-year-old woman with yellow hair who talks non-stop and thinks she can travel without a passport. Poor Margery. And yet, this is where the fun begins. It also marks the beginning of an unlikely and solid friendship between two women who cannot be more diametrically different from each other. Through all their misadventures, and there are many, the two become devoted friends, save each other many times, and provide a lot of humour along the way. Parts of the book are laugh aloud funny, others make you reach for the tissues.

And then it dawned on me that he couldn't believe the book wasn't about him.. and that seemed interesting to me. So I sat and wrote him as a dream of consciousness exercise, just to see where it might take me. After that, I did a lot of research into POW's. But his chapters were always very different writing experiences. I felt I had to just 'be' him. These deeply human characters show us that even with their differences they can learn from each other and create a deep bond. Margery is always conscious of her physical appearance, tall and a bit limp with one leg. With shortages after the war, her clothes are not that attractive, making her a joke target of young kids at school. Enid is attractive, and so not ready for an adventure in the wild. But she is wild herself, unpredictable and completely illogical. However, the life’s obstacles along their journey, when they need each other, bond them despite their differences.The Golden Beetle 🪲….. and the hunt to find these rare bettles — was a goldenly creative part of this tale. MISS BENSON’S BEETLE is hopeful and heartwarming, but it is an equally atmospheric and vibrant read that touches on not only the results of war, but also the joy of travel and the excitement of discovery. Joyce effortlessly weaves feelings of hopelessness, danger and misadventure with themes of resilience and endurance, resulting in a completely captivating and absorbing novel. Though the premise feels familiar in some ways, I loved that the book was about two women striking out on their own, and not about chasing men or pursuing typically women-filled roles. Miss Benson’s role as a spinster makes her unique enough, but her passion for finding the Golden Beetle fills even airheaded Enid with warmth and envy, and adds an interesting element of science and history to the story. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2010 and shortlisted for the ‘UK Author of the Year’ 2014. Don’t miss this one! Marialyce and I have had a string of disappointing reads and dnf’s but this is the first fiction book in a while that we both loved. What is more perfect than to read a book about friendship with a friend? Rachel Joyce: It took me years. But they go in different stages. There is a stage where I am not writing the book, but I am thinking about it and making notes, and trying out little snatches - often while I am supposed to be writing something else. I first thought about the idea of hunting for a beetle about twelve years ago. Then comes a stage where I fully commit. Where I would say that I eat, drink and sleep it. That can last a year or two. It's like being in a storm.

If you’ve been longing for a book about fully realized women helping one another grow through kindness and acceptance, this “happy” book with a lot of depth is exactly what you need. Both women (and Mr. Mundic) have been influenced and informed by past traumas, and though their friendship feels inevitable, the journey there is an absolute riot. The story really starts in 1914 when her father is showing her a book called “Incredible Creatures”. There were so many curiosities in this book, Margery could not get enough of it. But the creature that she is most captivated with is the golden beetle of New Caledonia. The reader doesn’t really know if all of these creatures really exist, but in Margery’s mind she had already decided that someday she would see this golden beetle.I chose this book because I once read a wonderful book called Perfect by Rachel Joyce, and now she's one of my favorite authors. She's also a British author and I very much enjoy that locale in my books. C: For me, it's definitely the red one. It just reminds me of Enid and how she fills Margery's world with colors Rachel Joyce has a tremendous talent for writing characters we can empathise with and love even when they have serious issues! Margery is such a character and so is Enid, the woman she acquires as her assistant in her new self appointed career as a research etymologist. Both of them suffer some awful experiences but together they discover inner resources they never knew they had. In 1914, when Margery Benson was 10 years old, her father showed her a book of magical creatures, none more fantastic than the golden beetle of New Caledonia. Thirty-six years later, jobless and alone, she’s determined to have the adventure of her life and find that beetle.