Miss Benson's Beetle

Cute and absurdist. Its got good structure but I never really bought into the premise nor liked the characters enough to be invested.

It was not at all what I expected, and I loved it!

This book was almost good. It would have been 4 stars if the author eliminated Mr. Mundic and all of the slurs that the they felt way too comfortable incorporating. He was so unnecessary and offensive. This story did not need him in the slightest. The dog wouldn't have had to die either. I'm so mad because I loved Margery and Enid. Their friendship and how they grew together was beautiful. The mystery behind Enid's identity and what she did was hilarious. I loved that she got her baby and they found the beetle. Ugh. It really could have been 4 stars.

It was the drawing that did it. That cruel drawing from one of her students. And the laughter when they saw Margery Benson look at the drawing and realize it was of her. Margery quit teaching and decided to pursue her life's dream, finding the golden beetle of New Caledonia. To help her, she hires an assistant who, at first look, is grossly unqualified but is the only real applicant. Margery herself is ill-prepared for this adventure. But off they go.

Everything I love in a story is in this book. I don't want to say too much about what happens and give anything away. So that's it. A marvelous story.

I read this book with my book club and it was the perfect book club book. It had lots of topics for discussion. I liked the character development and the focus on friendship and adventure. It was well written and the chapters were just the right length to make it a quick read. It had moments where it was very funny and very sad. Overall, I would recommend it to anyone wanting a quality, lighter read that still has substance and makes you think.

I love, love, loved this book! There is something so captivating about Joyce's writing; her novels are character driven providing you with not only realistic, relatable and humble characters but plots that are about ordinary people, with ordinary lives embarking on their own journey of self discovery. Along the way the kindness of humankind shines through and you are immersed into a fictional world which is both comforting and uplifting.

As the opening chapter begins you meet a young Margery and discover her fascination for beetles. The book then jumps 30 years later where Margery is working as a teacher and has become quite lost. Never having married or had children, she is forty and leading a mundane life, one in which she doesn't particularly enjoy. Suddenly, through a unexpected predicament, Margery decides to follow her passion and find the golden beetle that her father first showed her in a book. It has never been proven to exist but Margery is determined to find it and bring back a specimen for The National History Museum's archives. So in search of an assistant Margery begins her mission.

This book was very humorous in places and I completely feel in love with not only Margery but her travelling companion Enid. No two characters could be more polar opposites. Margery, old fashioned in both her viewpoints and dress code; Enid vibrant, colourful and flippant. I loved how both characters came together and formed such a touching, loving friendship.

The journey both women encountered, both physically and mentally was a testament to their inner strength, determination and supportiveness towards one another. It was such a heartwarming story and one I was sadden by once it was over. I could have continued reading about Margery and Enid forever. Much praise to Rachel Joyce who has once again filled my heart with two delightful characters and thrown me into a world of discovery, love and friendship.

A truly wonderful book which I will treasure and highly recommend.

Ugh. I loved this book, but by the time I got 2/3 of the way through, I couldn't stand the thought of an unhappy ending, so I started looking up spoilers. Alas, that was a good choice because otherwise I would have been kind of devastated. So, I really wish that the author had ended the story around Chapter 48 and allowed the two women and baby to escape to another island. WHY NOT? Otherwise, I enjoyed the characters and the twisty plot, the adventures in the rain forest, the quirky people along the way. (I did not really get the POW guy story line, as other reviewers have noted. If he had been offered some redemption by the end, sure ...., but that was not to be. See again last two chapters.)

One of the best books I've read this year. I can't recommend this one highly enough! The characters are so well-developed and unique, they will be undoubtedly stay with me for years, and the descriptions of place are extremely well-written. I dog-eared many pages just so I could return to the descriptions and savor the writing. This book has a little bit of everything: drama, friendship, adventure, and mystery.

I listened to this on Audible. This was one of the most fun reads! But as entertaining as the read was, it was the power of the words that had me crying on the highway. This is a story of two women who are forced together due to unlikely circumstances. On paper, they would never be friends. One stoic and organized, the other scattered and gregarious. But with the number of challenges they overcome together, they grow to understand and support each other in the most endearing ways. This is not about a beetle. It is about the enduring strength of love and friendship. Read this book!