Miss Benson's Beetle
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4.2 • 61 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This instant New York Times bestseller is the unforgettable, funny and charming story of a marvelous adventure and unexpected female friendship, from the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
It is 1950. In a moment of madness Margery Benson abandons her sensible job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition. She is going to travel to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist. Enid Pretty, in pink hat and pompom sandals, is not the companion she had in mind. But together they will find themselves drawn into an adventure that exceeds all expectations. They must risk everything and break all the rules, but at the top of a red mountain they will discover their best selves.
This is a story that is less about what can be found than the belief it might be found. It is an intoxicating adventure story, but it is also about what it means to be a woman and a tender exploration of a friendship that defies all boundaries.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Joyce's sparkling latest (after The Music Shop) pops with grit, resilience, and the power of friendship. It's 1950, and 46-year-old Margery Benson teaches domestic science to girls in a London school. Having been humiliated one too many times in her 20-year stint teaching, a demeaning sketch of her by a student captioned, "The Virgin Margery!" is the catalyst that changes her life: she leaves the school with a pair of stolen lacrosse boots, returns to her lonely existence in her deceased aunt's flat, and puts an advertisement in the paper for a French-speaking assistant to travel with her to New Caledonia, where she intends to find a mythical golden beetle. The adventure is sparked by a memory of her father showing her a picture of the beetle in a book called Imaginary Creatures, full of "many incredible extra creatures in the world, and nobody had found a single one of them." Enter Enid Pretty, Margery's polar opposite: young, beautiful, petite, and headstrong. During their travels in New Caledonia, each woman faces uncomfortable truths about herself and the other, and both eschew traditional women's expectations in their own way to celebrate their true selves. Joyce's graceful touch and cutting humor undercut the potential for mawkishness and give the characters a rich complexity and depth. With a plucky protagonist and plenty of action, this is a winner.
Customer Reviews
Totally immersed
A wonderful tale of adventure, courage and pain sprinkled with humor and incredible visuals. One of the best!