Miss Benson's Beetle

by Rachel Joyce, Juliet Stevenson (Narrator)

Librarian note: An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here.

It is 1950. In a devastating moment of clarity, Margery Benson abandons her dead-end 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 her unlikely pink travel suit, is not the companion Margery had in mind. And yet together they will be drawn into an adventure that will exceed every expectation. They will risk everything, break all the rules, and at the top of a red mountain, 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.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Audiobook, Adventure, Historical, Travel

12 pages, Audiobook

First published July 23, 2020

About the author

Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman's Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for best radio play. She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver.

Reviews

[MarilynW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Miss Benson's Beetle brought to mind the works of Charles Dickens and also, a beautiful Masterpiece Theater movie, to be made someday (I wish). I haven't cast the characters of Margery Benson and Enid Pretty, in my mind yet, but I'll get back to you on that. I know I won't be forgetting this book for a very long time.

In 1914 London, when Margery is ten years old, she loses her father, four brothers, and her home, all at the same time. Margery and her mother go to live with her extremely religious, pessimistic, spinster aunts. Margery's mother and aunts never speak of what happened in the past, with Margery's mother spending all her time sitting in a chair. Margery is obsessed with beetles and researches and studies them seriously until her late twenties, when she has another great loss in her life. Thus starts a twenty year lonely, drudgery as a school teacher where she is bullied and made fun of, by students and teachers alike, just as she was treated in her younger days. Margery is tall, large boned and heavy and invisible except when people decide to make fun of her looks. Finally, after more abuse by her students, Margery marches out of the school where she taught, a pair of purloined boots under her arm, and realizes she is now free to travel to New Caledonia, to search for the golden beetle, the obsession of her younger days.

Margery's very ill suited (both literally and figuratively) assistant is the bottom of the barrel of those who applied for the job. But beggars can't be choosers so Enid Pretty, bleached blond, almost illiterate, talking a mile a minute about nonsense, and the opposite of Margery in every way, embarks on this months long adventure with Margery. Unknown to them is the fact that they are being stalked by Mundic, a former POW, suffering both mental and physical disabilities, sure that he was meant to be leading Margery's expedition and determined to get rid of Enid, who has the job that he knows should be his own.

Despite the darkness, feelings of hopelessness, drudgery, and danger in this book, there is also a great deal of humor. But also, there is change and growth for Margery and Enid and Margery notes times when she or Enid become changed people, along this journey. They are deeply affected by the things that happened to them in the past, that happen to them during these months and that happen between them, as these two very unlikely companions become the best of friends. At first it was hard to like either person because Margery is so overwhelmingly lonely, hopeless and sad and Enid seemed to be a ditz on amphetamines. But as time goes on, we get to know these two women, their pasts, and the events in their lives affect them and I began to love both characters. The author did such a great job with all the characters in this book, giving even side characters personality and depth.

Trigger warning: animal abuse

Published November 3, 2020

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House/The Dial Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Joyce weaves an emotionally moving, magical, offbeat historical adventure novel set in the 1950s, a post-war drab and colourless Britain of shortages and rationing, of two widely different women that appear to have little that could possibly connect them, embarking on a entomological trip in search of the mythic rumoured golden beetle in the Grande Terre, and the New Caledonia archipelago. The large 47 year old Marjery Benson is an unmarried woman working as a teacher, her shoes falling apart, a constant target of her class, until one humiliation too many has her walking out, taking with her the stolen boots of the deputy head. When she was 10 years old in 1914, her beloved father sparked a life long passion, an obsession for etymology, beetles in particular, more accurately the elusive golden beetle. However, that day is a bitter, tragic and despairing memory as news of the loss of Archibald, Hugh, Howard and Matthew, all her brothers, proves to be too much for her father as he commits suicide.

Marjery is awkward, friendless, living alone in London, out of tune with others and unable to mix socially, having given up earlier in her life her dream of going to New Caledonia in search of the golden beetle for the Natural History Museum. She still carries within her the grief of the loss of her father, along with a bitter fury at being abandoned. Despite being ill able to afford the trip, the Natural History refusing funding, Marjery is determined to embark on the adventure of a life time to find the golden beetle, planning and preparing, needing a French speaking assistant to aid her. She rejects outright what appears to be the illiterate Enid Pretty, but when her chosen candidate backs out, she feels pushed into a corner. The contrast between her and the bottle blonde Enid, with her sherbet yellow hair, her numerous pots, creams and potions, her colourful attire, and non-stop chatter makes Marjery feel faint, Enid is not an appropriate choice whatever way she looks at it. Both women have their own reasons for leaving the country and amidst adversity and joy, an unlikely friendship begins to blossom.

Joyce's creation and development of Marjery and Enid is sublime in a narrative stuffed full of misadventures, tragedy and joy, testing times that bring out their resilience and endurance in the face of such challenging experiences. There is a broken former soldier, a POW in Burma, Mundic, delusional, suffering PTSD, suffering huge problematic mental health issues, who becomes obsessed with and stalks Marjery. This is a wonderfully atmospheric, captivating, touching, vibrant, humorous and engaging read of faith, belief and hope which I adored. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

***NOW AVAILABLE, DON'T MISS THIS GREAT NOVEL***

5 stars for this incredible surprise of a novel! I pretty much went into this book blind. I’ve never read this author but there was so much buzz around Goodreads that I had to grab it. I am so glad I did! If you like an adventure and well-developed characters, this is the book for you.

Margery Benson was only 10 years old when something very traumatic happened to her. It would impact the rest of her life and how she felt about herself.

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.

We jump ahead decades. Margery is in her early 40s now, plodding along in a life that she doesn’t like and never wanted. She is teaching home economics to a bunch of ungrateful students. Everyone has their breaking point and one day everything is just too much for Magery; the after-war bleakness of England, the gloomy rainy days, the continued rationing and the hurtful, ungrateful kids. She walks out of that life and soon into a new one.

She has decided now is the time to go on the quest for the golden beetle if she’s ever going to do it. She interviews for an assistant as she will need help with the work and needs someone who speaks French. Who she ultimately ends up with is far from what she had in mind!

Enid Pretty is almost the complete opposite of Margery, in her appearance and how she presents herself. Margery is a planner and list maker, Enid jumps into situations and deals with them as they come along. By the end of the novel I was rooting for both of them, they made a great team.

We’re taken on a long voyage across the sea and across the world to New Caledonia. The adventures and situations that Margery and Enid encounter are at times hilarious and other times you may feel tears. I will leave you with a quote from the book that I loved “Enid had been right. She had been right all along. Margery’s adventure was not about making her mark on the world: it was about letting the world make it’s mark on her.”

I can highly recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates wonderful, descriptive writing, an incredible plot with some twists you will not see coming and characters you will miss when you turn the last pages.The descriptions of Australia and New Caledonia were so vivid I felt transported. Can you feel my excitement? I loved this book!!!

This wonderful novel is set to publish on November 24, 2020 and I can’t wait to share it with EVERYONE!

This was a buddy read with my friends Marilyn and DeAnn, so much fun to read together!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[JanB · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The truest friendships are those that allow us to step out of the confines of what we once were, and to realize instead what we might be”.

It’s 1950, and Margery is a middle-aged unmarried teacher who decides to chuck it all and go in search of an elusive beetle in New Caledonia. She can’t do it alone and so enlists the help of a companion. Enter Enid, a woman who is the exact opposite of Margery. They could not be more ill-matched, both in appearance and personality.

Defying all the odds, they embark on their madcap journey and endure many hardships and dangers along the way. Their adventure is zany enough to require the reader to suspend some disbelief, which is not easy for me, but in this case the characters won me over. However, it’s not all fun and games, as there are some darker elements at play.

The premise may not sound the most compelling, but it didn’t take long for Enid in her frothy pink and her pom-pom sandals and Margery in her boots and pith helmet to worm their way into my heart. I loved seeing them discover their worth and take charge of their lives in an era when gender roles were strictly confined.

There’s zaniness but also poignancy and heartbreak during this journey, one that will make you laugh one minute, and break your heart the next. The only misstep for me was the character with PTSD. I don’t think he added anything of value to the story.

I’ve loved Miss Joyce’s previous books and this one is no exception. To paraphrase my review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: We all have baggage and lose our way at times, but it’s never too late to change and we need to both give and accept help along the way.

And if you find a friend along the way, even in the most unlikeliest of places, it’s a precious thing to be held close to your heart.

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?

Be sure to read the amusing Q&A “interview” with Margery and Enid at the end as well as the author’s note about where she drew inspiration for her book.

• I highly recommend this on audio – the narration was perfection!

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are quirky characters in this story that at times seemed far fetched. BUT - these are characters who touched my heart and had me rooting them all the way. Margery Benson suffered a traumatic experience as a ten year old and then in her twenties, a big disappointment. She leads a lonely, secluded life without friends and an unsatisfying career as a home economics teacher. A gold beetle in a place far from London that doesn’t exist until it’s found, according to her father, is what Margery Benson has been thinking about for years and wants to find. However, she must travel to New Caledonia, thousands of miles away to find it. She seeks an assistant and the unlikely candidate ends up being one she had not chosen. Enid Pretty has dreams of her own and a desire to escape the sad circumstances of her own life. This oddball pair embark on a journey to New Caledonia each chasing their dream, but end up with so much more. A third character, Mundic, a disturbed POW is inserted in the story. While he adds some drama and danger, I thought the story would have worked fine without him.

There is so much they don’t know about each other, and as their secrets are slowly revealed and in spite of them, there is real acceptance and caring reflected in a true friendship that grows between these seemingly so very different women. There are moments bordering on the absurd, but these are tempered by moments realistically portraying grief, sadness, loneliness, the joy of self discovery and friendship. I laughed out loud at times and choked up at others. I can’t say that I loved it as much as The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry or The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. However, in spite of my reservations about the likelihood of the story, it was a good escape as well as as a touching story.


I received a copy of this from Dial Press through NetGalley.

[Beata · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional read for me, telling a story of a most unlikely friendship between two women who share nothing at the beginning and something most precious at the end of the novel.
Margery Benson, in her late forties, lonely and alone, a school teacher, mocked and humiliated, decides to leave her job and in a way return to her dream of finding a beetle in New Caledonia and give it to the Natural History Museum. The beetle is the symbol of happy childhood she had thanks mainly to her father until a tragedy struck. A companion for her expedition, apparently most unsuitable, is Enid Pretty, a young woman who is the exact opposite of Margery regarding personality, although she is also a woman who has had her share of misery despite her young age. And Enid sets off leaving a mystery behind her in London.
There was one more candidate whom Miss Benson rejected, a POW in Burma, with horrific mental disorder and obsession that forces him to do everything he can in order to follow Margery.
This is a general background of the plot. As the story unfolds, we learn about Margery's tragedies and misfortunes, and what her mission to find the gold beetle meant for her. I immediately warmed up to her! And Enid, so different from Margery, a chatterbox who has crazy ideas but who has one dream, the dream Margery never had a chance to fullfil. Both women are like two different planets, however, at a certain moment, they realize that they want the same, and support each other in the search for what matters most for each of them.
Some moments are poignant, some moments are horrific, some moments are funny - I loved all of them! Ms Joyce wrote a novel that melted my heart.

[Sandysbookaday (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

EXCERPT: When Margery was ten, she fell in love with a beetle.

It was a bright summer's day and all the windows of the rectory were open. She had an idea about sailing her wooden animals across the floor, two by two, but the set had belonged to her brothers once and most of them were either coloured-in or broken. Some were missing altogether. She was wondering if, in the circumstances, you could pair a three legged camel and a bird with spots when her father came out of his study.

'Do you have a moment, old girl?' he said. 'There's something I want to show you.'

She put down the camel and the bird, and she followed him. She would have stood on her head if he'd asked.

Her father went to his desk. He sat there, nodding and smiling. She could tell he didn't have a proper reason for calling her: he just wanted her to be with him for a while. Since her four brothers had left for the war, he often called her. Or she'd find him loitering at the foot of the stairs, searching for something without seeming to know what it was. His eyes were the kindest in the world, and the bald top of his head gave him a naked look.

'I think I have something that might interest you, old girl,' he said. 'Nothing much, but maybe you will like it.'

ABOUT THIS BOOK: 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.

MY THOUGHTS: I desperately wanted to love Miss Benson and her beetle. I didn't. I adored The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy: it sits firmly in my top ten books for forever. I liked, but did not love The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. But Miss Benson's Beetle struck me as faintly ridiculous. The characters are not characters, but caricatures. The whole thing played out like an Abbott and Costello movie. A slapstick comedy that didn't make me laugh. It didn't make me cry either. I could picture someone like Mary Pickford playing Enid, and hear the dramatic piano music coming from the pit. But I could feel nothing for the characters, and even less for the plot. Farcical is the word that comes to mind.

There were glimmers of Rachel Joyce's beautiful writing style, but only glimpses. My heart would soar with each one, then come crashing back down to earth.

Maybe it's me, because the rest of the world appears to love this book. Reading is a very personal subjective experience, and not every book is for every reader. So, if you enjoyed the extract, and the plot summary interests you, please do read Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce. I hope that you are one of the many who love this book.

There are good things in it: life lessons like not judging people by appearance, and waiting until you have gotten to know them before deciding whether or not you like them.

But, ultimately, this was not a book for me. And I am sad about that.

😪😪.3

#MissBensonsBeetle #NetGalley

'I have begun to feel comforted by the thought of all we do not know, which is nearly everything.'

'It was as much use as a chocolate teapot.'

'She experienced the dense feeling.....as if she was always on the other side of a flawed glass wall and seeing the truth way after it was too late.'

'Her favourite time was still that brief stretch before full daylight when silver filtered into the sky, light blossomed where the stars had been, the air was sweet and fresh, and everything came back to life. It seemed full of such hope.'

'We are not the things that happened to us. We can be what we like.'

THE AUTHOR: Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman's Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for best radio play. She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver. She lives with her family in Gloucestershire.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday for providing a digital ARC of Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDu0Q5vAk...

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Miss Benson,

I hate to bug you, but I just haven’t been able to keep my mouth shut since I heard about your trip to find me—a beautiful golden beetle, if I do say so myself. Hello? Don’t you realize that I’m off on a secluded island in the middle of the Pacific, with thick jungle trees and underbrush hiding my digs? I have to say, a three-legged chihuahua has a better chance of catching a frisbee than you and your ditzy assistant have of finding me. Plus, you don’t even know if I exist. Am I a real beetle or just a disembodied voice? Ha, ha, you’ll probably never find out!

First of all, Marge (oops, I forgot—you like to be called Margery because Marge sounds like margarine to you. I tend to agree…) Anyway, I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s obvious you never heard of Pilates. You think you’re going to be able to climb a mountain with that body? Okay, okay, I’ll try not to criticize. I mean it’s no skin off my antennae if you fail in your mission to find me. What am I saying? I’m THRILLED that the mission is doomed. I don’t want to die! It would be one thing if you just stashed me in your purse and I got to take a long-needed vacation to another part of the world. But you no doubt plan to go all voo-doo on me—kill me and stick pins in me! Not acceptable! But as I said, chances are, I can lay back and just watch your sad attempts at finding me. Might be a kick.

I’m just saying, I was not really expecting you to come all the way to the center of the Pacific. You’ve been so stodgy, so, well, mediocre, I didn’t think you had it in you. But you did make me laugh when you made that mad exit from the school where you were teaching. You were a bad ass, doing something totally unlike you, and I was stunned and laughing. Go, Margery, go!

But my god, why the hell did you EVER pick Enid Pretty as your assistant? That ridiculous name is bad enough, but that’s the least of her problems. Now, yes, she’s in better shape than you—and the fact that she’s younger doesn’t hurt either—but really? She’s an airhead. How can you expect to carry on any kind of coherent conversation with her? How can she ever help you track and record? Face it, she’s almost illiterate. When she answered your ad, she could barely put a sentence together—never mind mixing up her “d”s and her “b”s. Come on! And the fact that she’s a chatty cathy, going on and on about nothing, would drive me nuts—my poor delicate antennae! My wings are shuddering with the thought of being stuck with her.

In any case, you’re both wuzzes. I just don’t see how this is going to work. I guess I should be flattered. And of course, I’m cocky: good luck there, Miss Margery Benson. You’re wobbly with no wings. I can fly, you cannot. You’ll never catch me. Ha!

Sincerely,
“The” Beetle

Dear Ms. Joyce,

I’ve enclosed the above letter so you can see what a jerk that “prized” beetle is. So rude! I just had to write to you, making sure you realize what a genius you are to have created these characters. The beetle may have dissed Margery, but I thought she was a kick. Enid, too. So thanks for creating these beings that pop off the page. I’m just furious with the beetle—I feel very protective of Margery and Enid!

Your book is juicy. It’s perfect! I’m so wound up, I had to grab my pogo stick, and I can’t stop bouncing! I must admit, I wasn’t hot to go search for a beetle; that sounded too research-y and boring, plus beetles aren’t a favorite bug of mine. But your story hooked me right away, and it just got better. (Why I don’t like beetles: I think it’s because my parents made my sibs and I pull Japanese beetles off our bushes. There were dozens of them! They hurt our hands because they had all these sharp edges and they stuck hard to the bushes they were eating. And less annoying, but still contributing to the ew factor, they were shiny, with an ugly, blue-green iridescence. And I think we had to kill them, but I’ve repressed that memory. Oops, sorry for the detour, now onto the gush!)

This book has everything. Where to start? I think I have to make a list, because I’m very list-y:

-You have fine writing chops, and your writing style just fit right in with what my head likes.

-Margery and Enid are so quirky and complex and adorable, I’d follow them anywhere.

-I loved their tricky and nuanced and ever-changing relationship. Even though it was heartwarming, it was also edgy (I just love edge!).

-Oh the locale—my god! I’m always a sucker for jungle stories.

-Secrets. Yum.

-A big-life event in the middle of nowhere. Yum.

-A bunch of cool twists; in fact, I never really knew what was going to happen, ever.

-Suspense! And danger!

-I’m glad you had a bizarro bad guy thrown in the mix; it upped the suspense.

-Non-stop action, yet there are no cheap thrills or boring chases. It’s all very literary and I was transported, mesmerized.

-Vivid descriptions. I don’t have a high tolerance for chunky descriptions, but here, I ate it all up. I guess that’s because they weren’t really chunks; you put action and dialogue between the descriptions in just the right doses.

-The book runs like a movie. I am there. I am in the jungle. Tarzan could be around the corner. I see the trees, the snakes, the bugs, and the bug bites. The characters are real. I see their clothes and hair. I hear them talk, I see them walk. (I feel like I’m about to make up a Dr. Seuss story, lol, so I’ll stop now!)

-I didn’t want it to end.

-I cried! Hardly ever does a book make me cry!

I know I’ve bent your ear off, but I couldn’t help myself. I hope Margery writes to that douchebag beetle and tells him off. Or, maybe she’ll get him back in another way, if you know what I mean.

I realize now that I happen to love books where women heroes go off to exotic locales. I have two other favorite woman-in-the-jungle novels: State of Wonder and Euphoria. And this year I read two other books with the theme of women with a mission, roughing it in esoteric locales: Migrations and Once There Were Wolves. All just entertained me bigtime.

And one final thing, and I promise I’ll shut up for real after this: The author note at the end, where you have a conversation with Margery and Enid, is priceless. It inspired the letter from that obnoxious beetle. Thank you for this!

Sincerely,
An avid fan

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

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[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I WASN’T EVEN GOING TO READ THIS BOOK…..
….I wasn’t naturally drawn to it - (however you’d think I’d wise up- those 4,541 Amazon reviewers with their overall 4.5 rating - couldn’t all be ‘perky-supporting-family-members’ of Rachel Joyce…..
perhaps I was being the holdout buzz-kill scrooge?/! I guess I was.
The MINUTE after read Betsy Robinson’s enthusiastic review —
—I surrendered…..(enough resistance already—Betsy has never lead me wrong)…
I immediately downloaded the Library e-book….and dived it.

OMG….
but why didn’t anyone knock me over the head SOONER?….
THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC!!! It’s literally good for our health!!! I was sick when I started it…and - like magic… I got better.
I don’t think I had this much adventurous escape enjoyment other than in the beginning (first 10%), when I was in bed-‘feeling-lousy’- and tired of feeling weak…..
I started crying - more than a few tears - during that first 10%. [associated with a shocking incident - but even worse for me was a hell of a BAD JOKE]…..
For some reason (maybe being sick added to my sensitivity)….but I wanted to bawl-crying…
But….soon things changed ….
I kept thinking:
I haven’t had this much adventurous fun since reading Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer-Prize novel, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay”. (and that was years ago).

So, ……adding more sprinkles to — [and along with] — the thousands of other readers who said this book was heartwarming….funny….creative… adventurous….(I enjoyed exploring New Caledonia), emotional ….suspenseful….golden beetle fascinating [took me to google]….
“The Golden Beetle — the tortoise beetle —[Charidotella Bicolor/Fabricius] - retains its golden color as long as all is well in life. When disturbed, it turns a dull reddish-orange color with black spots. When it dies, it’s the same reddish orange.
The golden beetle can be poisonous”.

…..AND
…..engrossing, entertaining, refreshing, friendship-inspiring, compassionate, wise, with wonderful characters ….and great storytelling pleasures.

Trying NOT to repeat the plot - the obvious descriptions that many of the early reviewers have done (but early reviewers get my special thanks as they are the first reviewers taking on the responsibility of describing those important details that allow readers to know ‘enough’ about the book - whether or not to choose it for themselves)….
So….since I’m a very late bloomer —-I’ll try not to repeat what others have already done so well.
I’ll add:
…..random tidbits and some excerpts that spoke to me.

“It isn’t easy hiding something from yourself”.

“It is easier for human beings to believe the worst things said about them than the kindest”.

“Margery was stuck in a very small space with the most talkative woman: the chances of Enid falling silent were slimmer than bumping into an undiscovered gold insect”.

“Isn’t life wonderful?”
“Margery had survived a month with Enid Pretty. She had managed no more than a few pages in her journal and been sicker than she’d ever been in her life, but she was almost on the other side of the world, and that was more than anyone had said she could do. Already she had seen things she never heard of, let alone imagined. Things may work with her as my assistant after all”.
“But Enid had one more surprise up her sleeve”.

“I know I’m your assistant, but I’m not your maid. In case you didn’t notice, that went out with Queen Victoria. And you’re no duchess, either. Your clothes are as shabby as mine”.

“By the time she was eighteen, Margery’s room was like the study of the mad biologist. Insect books everywhere, drawings pinned to the wall, her notes and journals, not to mention all the homemade insect houses and jars”.

In the Insect Gallery of the Natural History Museum—Margery found beetles that lived in the roots of trees, that lived inside dung…beetles that fed on rose petals, that fed on rotting flesh—many in glass cases and drawers—but nowhere did she find her father’s golden beetle 🪲 of New Caledonia.

“No one else would’ve stuck by me, but you’re my friend, Marge. The thing about friends is that they don’t give up on one another. We’re a team. We’re stronger together than we are on our own. We are going to find the Beatles, and then I will have my baby”.


Other little thoughts….
…..I enjoyed having Mundic in this story….(some readers found him added distraction to the totality of the novel)…but I didn’t mind him. He followed “Miss Benson” and “The Blonde” woman every day…..while on the island. His legs were bad. He had sores in his mouth. At times he couldn’t remember where he was or even how he escaped from the POW camp in Burma. He was a confused man —had been a prisoner of the Japanese - but not a dangerous man.
While on the RMS Orion ship - he stayed in his hiding place. He had no food but was used to hunger from having to lived off yellow rice that was crawling with weevils. So….Mundic wasn’t the main focus — but I had a heart for him.

I liked many of the little moments between Margery Benson and Enid Pretty —
…..their chatter - their differences- their developing friendship —-
At some point Enid, hired as an “assistant”….was certainly more than that!

I loved when the women went swimming- floating on their bellies- naked noodle skinny dipping — with the water gracefully holding them - nourishing them - as water can do.

I enjoyed Mr. Rawlings— Enid’s dog….(spoiler) : the dog does die…but Rachel Joyce handles the death with tenderness.

Driving on the island was a trip…over dirt roads bouncing through holes…steering hard to avoid falling trees, or goats.
We could feel the heat, the exhaustion, the defeat, the struggles, the hunger [Spam with curry powder wasn’t doing it]….

The Beetles themselves were soooo cool!! Those little buggers were a great part of this story.

The Golden Beetle 🪲….. and the hunt to find these rare bettles — was a goldenly creative part of this tale.
And….the wonderful friendship of the most unlikely pair….was endearing.


Forgive this review being too long - just read it - if you haven’t - it’s wonderful —- and this review was equally for my own completion benefit - than anything else.

Super thanks, Betsy. I really wasn’t going to even consider this book— and what a shame that would have been. It turned out to be a great fit for a multiple of reasons.

[Terrie Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Miss Benson's Beetle" by Rachel Joyce is an amazing Friendship Fiction story!

Margery Benson is going on an expedition to the other side of the world accompanied by Enid Pretty, as her dubious assistant, to a place and in search of a beetle that may or may not exist. How is this questionable relationship and precarious journey ever going to work?

It's an adventure from start to finish with Margery's wishful grand plans, Enid's outlandishness, their highly unlikely friendship, and their combined preposterous misfortunes along the way . All of this rolls up into one of the most surprising and pleasurable reads for me this year!

After reading the many positive reviews for this book, I thought this audiobook would result in a good listen but I didn't expect it to be the GREAT listen it was. The audiobook narrator, Juliet Stevenson, has unique voicing skills that creates a distinguishable difference in each character. It's a remarkable experience that emphasizes both the drama and the humor in the author's writing.

The characterizations are creative, entertaining, and diverse. It begins with the two main characters, who are markedly different, and continues with each chapter as new and interesting characters are introduced.

Everything works in this story because of Marge and Enid's relationship and what's not to love about a story with an unlikely friendship, following your dreams, and finding your place in life with unconventional family? That's this story and I need to find and read more like it.

All the stars, all the feels, and I highly recommend this hidden jewel to all readers and listeners. This audiobook is simply amazing and will be on my favorites list for 2022!

[Debbie W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why I chose to read this book:
1. several favorable GR reviews and the intriguing title drew me in; and,
2. September 2024 is my "Fauna Titles" Month.

Praises:
1. one woman off on an expedition to find the golden beetle, the other to act as her assistant, this story revolves around the unlikely friendship of Margery Benson and Enid Pretty. Margery felt relatable to me in various ways, whereas Enid was an enigma I was trying to figure out;
2. I was riveted with the fast-paced plot which showcased such captivating characterization;
3. author Rachel Joyce's use of descriptive language was fresh and unique; and,
4. after reading this book, I learned so much about New Caledonia that I felt like I could make my way around this island blindfolded. I also developed a greater appreciation for beetles!

Overall Thoughts:
Such a refreshing premise! I love a well-written character novel, and I knew this one would be a winner within the first few pages. Humorous, heartbreaking, and heartwarming - all rolled up into one extraordinary story!

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and it’s quirky characters. Margary is in her late 40s and has never married although she had a decade long crush on a professor at the Natural History Museum. She never dresses up or goes out. She’s a teacher at the local school, until one day when the students make her the target of a joke. She’s upset, humiliated and on the spur of that very intense moment, steals the PE teacher’s soccer boots. That job is toast! Since Margary’s world is now spinning on the lam, she decides to go to New Caledonia in search of the gold beetle that her father told her about when she was a child. Her father’s introduction to the gold beetle has inspired a lifetime’s interest in beetles; now, Margary is somewhat of an expert and knows all the proper equipment needed for her investigatory search.

“It was so easy to find yourself doing the things in life you weren’t passionate about, to stick with them even when you didn’t want them and they hurt. But now the time for dreaming and wishing was over, and she was going. She was traveling to the other side of the world. It wasn’t just the ship that had been unmoored. It was her entire sense of herself."

Enid Pretty applies to Margary’s advertisement requesting an assistant to travel with her to New Caledonia. Enid is slim, blonde, vivacious, and talkative. She is the opposite of Margary in almost every way. Margary is thinking of letting her go as soon as possible.

Although their backstories are quite different, both these women are survivors of bad luck and an indifferent world. What I enjoyed most was how their friendship created change in both of them and taught them that maybe the world wasn’t indifferent after all. Maybe it was a matter of perspective. Margary’s decision to do something she has always dreamed of doing is the catalyst that pries open a whole new world. It isn’t easy. New Caledonia is full of challenges and adventures. Margary sweats and suffers horrific pain in a bad hip. Enid’s motivations and lifetime dream are revealed.

One of my favorite things about this novel is author, Rachel Joyce’s humor. She writes with wit and has a keen insight into observational humor, all the funny and crazy things people do on a daily basis. Joyce has an excellent sense of just what kind of humor will fit the moment. This story has suspense and intrigue. The ending was not the one I wanted but it fit the story perfectly. I was captivated by these characters and hope that a smidge of their energy and wisdom rolled off the pages onto me.

"...to her delight, its back suddenly lifted and split into two hard wings. Beneath them a second miraculous pair fanned out, as delicate as sweet wrappers, and began to pulse. I know this, she thought. I know about this. The beetle paused for a moment, as if to check everything was in good working order, then lifted upward, heading straight for the wall before swinging out its tiny legs and righting itself in the nick of time. It made such a busy noise and, for the first time, she felt she understood something about the perilous mechanics of flight. A beetle might be small, and on the chunky side, but its will to travel was spectacular. She began to laugh."

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a captivating and beautifully written story set in 1950 of an unlikely friendship and a tenacious quest for a golden beetle. Margery Benson has been fascinated by insects and after an incident at the school where she teaches domestic science she decides she has nothing to lose and plans a journey to New Caledonia to find this rumoured but as yet unfound beetle. She interviews for a companion and her eventual choice by default is Enid Pretty and talk about chalk and cheese! You come to love both these ladies though it isn’t until Enid has worked her magic that Margery comes into her own. The characters are wonderfully depicted and so colourful. Enid has not had an easy life, she’s had little education but that makes zero difference as of the two she is the most resourceful and clever at improvising to circumstances. I love how their friendship grows and grows into something very special. There are some glorious descriptions of the journey and especially of New Caledonia and you feel like you are hacking through undergrowth with the women as they blaze a trial in search of the elusive. The story has every ingredient I want in a novel - it’s sad, it’s funny, there is some suspense, tension and moments of menace. I loved it and these characters will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.

[PorshaJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.5

Wow! Another great one in the new year. Honestly, I saw a few reviews of this one and thought 'beetles' not my thing. Then when browsing my library audio listing the cover caught my attention. I tested the audio and then snagged it. I really didn't remember what it was about but figured, I'll give it a go. And sometimes....that ends up being the best surprise ever.

Margery Benson is dull, a school teacher to horrible children, and a spinster (oh I DO take issue with this as she is younger than me, but I digress...ha). One day something happens at school and she just snaps. She walks out, er, runs out of the school stealing a pair of boots from the school mistress. Too funny. While a child, Margery, learned about animals and especially the golden beetle of New Caladonia. She thinks, THIS is it, time for me to make the journey, half way across the world to find the golden beetle. She places an ad in the paper for an assistant and after a few bumbled attempts to get one, ends up with one Enid Pretty. Enid is nothing like Margery. She's loud, half her age, blonde hair, pink skimpy clothes, and brash. And so begins the story of these two unlikely women who have absolutely nothing in common but in the end become the best of friends and each learns life lessons from the other. And oh yeah, there is the beetle they are searching for which may or may not exist.

What a joy this one was. The audio narration was simply marvelous. I loved it. Enid was herself a bit over the top and the narrator made her come to life. There were a few times she exclaimed 'oh nooooo' and my husband came running into the room asking 'what happened, are you ok'. Ha. Poor guy. There were times I laughed out loud. Again, I looked for things to do in the kitchen to keep listening. You really rooted for these two women. So after all that, why only 4.5. Three things 1) the dog 2) Mundy - a character who caused issues, was a total lunatic, and not really needed in the story, he detracted from it 3) the ending was not what I expected. But I'm very picky and stingy with 5 stars. I would highly suggest this one to someone who wants a feel good story, a good audio, and to hear about an expedition where everything goes wrong to New Caladonia. Now, I'm off to grab more from this author, who for some reason, I've never read before.

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 Natural 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 colored 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 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. Due to my reluctance to diminish any enjoyment of the book, I am avoiding the hilarity and misadventires aboard ship or 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 depend upon one another. Not only does a friendship but a 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 capitol, one who 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!

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am confused. Did I read the same story as the majority of readers? I hate to be an unkind person, but I never really understood Miss Benson's Beetle.

Marjory Benson led a sad and lonely life. She had no family life to speak of, did not get along with her co-workers and, until she was 47 years old, she never had a friend. She gave up her simple existence to pursue a golden beetle halfway across the world.

I found Marjory not an easy woman to like. She oozed disappointment. I empathized with her childhood but after that, I never engaged with her character.

And Enid Pretty? Her upbeat zaniness should have been refreshing. Instead, I thought she was loony. She had a difficult time committing to anything.

After these two women met, their peculiar journey was set in motion. An obsession with multiple misadventures filled the pages. A murder provided an upset. It was not easy getting a handle on this couple’s ’friendship’.

I had even more issues with the introduction of Mundic, the POW. We were given very little information on him except that he was homeless, had memory issues and was mentally unstable. I did not like that he was portrayed as the villain.

All in all, the pacing of Miss Benson's Beetle was out of step and slow. The characters were quirky but without depth. The ruses and devices used to move the plot along were too often in conflict with one another. Maybe it was one of those ‘it’s me, not you’ moments, but I simply never caught on with all the glowing four and five star reviews.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House; I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This story begins, briefly, with a day in Margery’s life that will impact her view on life from that day on, and since she is only ten years old at that time, in 1914, it will have a fairly significant impact on her view of life, and her ability to trust in others throughout her life. Her father calls her aside to show her a book called Incredible Creatures, sharing some of the curiosities inside. A man with a tail where his legs should be, a squirrel with wings. Creatures who might exist, some which others had sworn to have seen, but without proof? Well, how would one know without seeing it for oneself? And then he shows her a beetle on another page, and shares the different parts of a beetle, how many different beetles there were across the planet, and how some may appear to be, well, unadorned and simple, if you looked closer, it was gold. All over. Magnified, it was even more magnificent. The golden beetle of New Caledonia. And on that day, she made it her mission that one day she would go to New Caledonia, find this beetle, and share it with the world.

Years pass, the Second World War was over, and while she hasn’t forgotten this day, her life seems to follow a path she never fully seemed to have considered. She teaches a classroom of children, students who mockingly mimic and ridicule her, not even bothering to hide how little they care how much it hurts or offends her. And then one day, it is all too much. Everything was scarce, food was rationed, her clothes – everyone’s clothes – and shoes, everything seemed to all be in tatters, and to add insult to how fragile life seemed, spending another minute with these ingrates were too much to bear. She goes on a bit of a tirade, and when all is said and done, she decides that she must leave this place and go in search of the golden beetle of New Caledonia.

Searching for an assistant to accompany her, she places an ad in the newspaper for a French-speaking assistant for this mission, conducts interviews, and ends up with a completely difference assistant from the one she had chosen.

These two characters, Margery and Enid Pretty, from all appearances, make an unlikely pair. Margery in her stodgier styles of dress is also not what one would call a “people person,” whereas Enid is the opposite, a flashier style of dress, hair and makeup, who seems to thrive on being the center of attention. And although the ad specifically was for a French-speaking assistant, it is not a language that Enid is remotely familiar with, which adds to Margery’s dilemma and Enid’s persistence to prove her worth. The seemingly stacked-against-all-odds reasons why these two will never get along crumble a little at a time, over time. The frustrations, which Margery seems to feel at every turn with Enid, slowly – very slowly – begin to dissolve. At the same time, Enid begins to show a resolve to prove her worth.

This story builds slowly, but has the same aura of charm that I found in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which I loved, a book that makes me smile just thinking about it. The unlikely friendship that develops between these two women, the bond they build after such inauspicious beginnings builds so naturally over time, one step at a time. With each step, their walls slowly crumble, and by the time this story nears the tenderly composed close, I knew this story, and these characters, will continue to live on in my heart.


Published: 24 Nov 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group / Random House / The Dial Press

#MissBensonsBeetle #NetGalley

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from this excellent author in which we meet Margery Benson, a forty seven year old teacher who admits to herself that she is overweight, frumpy and stuck in a boring, friendless life. An unfortunate experience with a class of teenage girls forces her to re-evaluate and change in some remarkable ways.

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.

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.

The ending is sad but fitting. Margery loses something important to her but gains something precious she never knew she wanted. Delightful.

My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really loved this. I buddy read it with Beth back in July. What a gem!

Miss Benson’s Beetle is my first book by Rachel Joyce. I’ve definitely been missing out.

Set just after World War II, Margery Benson is a teacher on the edge-of something great? Of something new and something completely different than the stale life she’s been living. She’s also on the verge of discovering the tenacity she’s had all along, and she does that through her friendship with Enid, who also happens to be her assistant. They are on a quest to discover a rare beetle in stunning but remote New Calendonia.

Oh my gosh, I don’t think I could love two characters more than my affinity for Margery and Enid. Rachel Joyce has a knack for complex characters whom you can love with your entire heart. I also adored the adventure type feel of the novel. Beth and I discussed a few times that we would like to go on this same trip together. The excitement of discovery and also the beauty in the friendship that develops between these two; well, they make you want to get out and do something adventurous, too.

There were short bits of time where I was a little bogged down, but I’m such an emotional reader, I can give this no less than five stars because of how much I came to love Enid and Margery, how much I rooted for them, and also, the ending. I think the author gifted us with an ending that left a mark and brought great closure.

It goes without saying I gave this a book a giant hug when I finished. 🤗

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[DeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Fun Character Stars

This is my first read by Rachel Joyce and I see why she has a lot of fans. This one was the perfect book for these times as it was a great escape. There’s a quest to find a magical golden beetle, an exotic location, and characters that I rooted for to find happiness.

We first meet Margery Benson during tragic events in her childhood that shape the woman she becomes. We flash forward about 40 years and she’s just plain miserable working at a school and unhappy with her life. She decides to finally follow her life-long wish to find a golden beetle on the island of New Caledonia. It’s the 1950s so this is a boat ride to the other side of the world from England. She brings along an assistant who was her last choice for the job. Enid is just about the opposite of Marge – she’s a petite blonde woman who brings all the wrong clothes for a jungle expedition.

Together the two women tackle seasickness, French bureaucracy on the island, hilarious attempts to set up a tent in the jungle, and dangerous cyclones. And there’s a mysterious man who seems to be following them. This one is more about the journey than finding the elusive beetle. The two women ultimately bond and I grew to really like these characters.

This was a great buddy read with Marilyn and Dorie.

Thank you to Random House/Dial Press through NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this one to read.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I'm afraid I won't be joining the Miss Benson's Beetle fan club.
It's possible I had very high expectations. I knew early on this wasn't going to be a five-star book for me, but was hoping for a four.

I love books about quirky female characters who get second chances and find their true selves etc. This novel checked those boxes. It even had some amusing situations.
While Miss Benson was the more fleshed-out character, the others were cartoonish. I thought the storyline of Mr Muncic, a prisoner of war, was superfluous, and I had issues with his involvement in the narrative and how he affected the plot. I won't elaborate on it so I don't give away spoilers.
There were some aspects that were unbelievable and contradictory and conveniently brushed over, which prevented me to fully immerse myself and want to get back to the story.

My reaction to this novel is best described as lukewarm.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of author Rachel Joyce’s “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frey” as I love stories about disenchanted people, not living authentic lives, learning how to live, to find purpose. Plus, I love stories about curmudgeon sorts who find their warm interior. In Joyce’s current novel, “Miss Benson’s Beetle” she chooses a female protagonist who begins an unlikely journey of her own: to find a mythical gold beetle that hasn’t been documented.

Margery Benson endured a traumatic youth after her 4 brothers are killed in WWI, and the resulting anguish upon her parents. At age 10, it was her distant father who gave her the enthusiasm to study beetles. As an adult, Margery experiences a bleak life living through WWII and suffering through the life of rations, ending up being a Home Economics teacher in a girls’ school. After a humiliating event, Margery storms off from her Home Ec class and through a funny scene, and steals a fellow teacher’s shoes. Margery decides she needs to redirect her life now that she’s in her mid-forties and find that golden beetle. She has the money to fund the expedition, thereby starting her own pilgrimage.

Through misadventure, Margery finds an assistant for her expedition. Joyce finds humor in the mundane, and she creates humor through people’s misfortune. Margery employees an unlikely assistant who appears to be her polar opposite. Enid Pretty is vacuous, charming, and attractive to Margery’s lumbering and serious existence.

The two attract a menacing character, who is sad more than evil. He’s a POW from WWII, and Joyce does a fabulous job of reminding the reader of the horrors of war, both economicly and emotionally. This character adds a dramatic feel.

So the women become unlikely friends through extraordinary circumstance. Through the expedition, the women grow and become women they are proud of. There are comical situations, in fact almost zany. And the POW brings sadness and fear. Reading about the two women living in wilderness situations is fun. This is a story of female friendship, of women who depend upon each other, of women who grow to respect each other.

This is a sweet and heartwarming tale. But it’s not all warmth and light. There is sadness, although the ultimate message is hopeful and uplifting.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margery Benson, fictional character, represents a ground-breaking woman who sets on a journey across the world to find an elusive golden beetle of New Caledonia. With her assistant, polar opposite, they also break grounds in getting to know each other and creating an endearing friendship. Written with phenomenal humor.

London, 1914. Ten year old Margery doesn’t share her father’s love for insects until he introduces her to the golden beetle of New Caledonia. No one has found and cataloged it yet. So it may or may not exist.

1950. Miss Benson is a teacher and she has just become a school joke. She has had enough. She is forty-seven years old. It’s now or never. She is going to fulfill her life’s passion and dream. She is going to New Caledonia in search of the elusive golden beetle. After picking an assistant for her trip to the other side of the world, the story goes back in time and reveals how her passion for beetles continued when she was young. “Beetles she understood. It was people who had become strange.”

With her assistant they make a rather peculiar pair. Margery not much of a talker, Enid nonstop-talkative. “By the time they reached Tilbury, she felt murderous. If she could have killed her, quietly and without anyone noticing, she would have.” Margery is reserved, Enid excitable. Margery would rather talk to beetles than men, Enid can put on a saucy talk whenever needed. Margery is serious about expedition, Enid doesn’t think it hurts to have some fun. Now, Margery wonders if Enid is an entirely stable person.

The island of New Caledonia was discovered by Captain Cook in 1774. “One hundred years later, Napoleon ordered the annexation of the island as a penal colony. (…) The island’s history is not a happy one.” But the beauty of the island is undeniable with palms lining the beaches and crystal clear waters.

Once on the island, they get serious: slicing through undergrowth, laying insect traps, examining “dead leaves, fallen branches, rotten logs, pig droppings.” When Margery is about to give up, Enid doesn’t let her. Now, their differences seem to be dissolving. And sometimes, Enid still surprises Margery, “the way she could look into the air and come out with a piece of wisdom.”

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.

This saucy story also offers a questionable character, a scandal, a natural disaster, and above all an uplifting friendship, written with so much humanity and humor. It made me laugh out loud many times.

This beautifully and flawlessly written story is one of the most enjoyable and heart-warming stories I have ever read.

"How vital it is to learn what we have in the world before it is too late." - Be it a beetle or a friendship or something else - go and get it before it's gone.

Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1950, 47 year old, frumpy spinster Miss Margery Benson walks out of her job as a domestic science teacher, after being humiliated by her students and decides she is going to follow her childhood dream of finding a rare beetle in the wilds of New Caledonia. Accompanying her, as the most unlikely of companions, is the young and attractive Enid Pretty.

This novel was a delight to read. Rachel Joyce creates such wonderful characters and Margery and Enid are both marvelously human and flawed. Totally unalike, they both experienced difficult upbringings, and are destined to become great friends after they share many adventures and hardships together. While Margery is naive and unaccustomed to dealing with people, she is organised and knowledgeable when it comes to beetles and Enid's street smarts is put to good use to plug any deficiencies in their plans. Over the months they spend together, they will both change, finding strengths they never knew they had. There is much humour in their relationship and exploits but also sadness and a wonderful ending. Highly recommended!

With many thanks to Random House and Netgalley for a copy of this book to read

[*TUDOR^QUEEN* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three Stars

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.

This book takes place in post WWII Britain. Miss Benson is a large woman in her late forties with no sense of dress and is a bit of a loner. As the book begins she is teaching a class where a note is being passed around with a horrid caricature of her. This sends her over the edge to the point where she abruptly ends the class, swings by the teacher's lounge and steals another teacher's sturdy boots, then leaves the premises ignoring the protestations and threats of the teacher whose boots were stolen.

A brief recounting of her upbringing recalls the horrible event where her father found out that all four of his sons were killed in combat. He promptly went off into another room and shot himself. Prior to this news, he had been showing Margery an illustrated book about insect specimens, and she locked in on the mythical golden beetle of New Caledonia. Now Margery and her widowed mother were forced to stay with relatives in London where her mother spent the days wistfully staring out the window.

Margery began regularly visiting a local museum's entomology section where an older married man encouraged her studies, and also a mutual flirtation. Eventually this reached a crisis point where he confessed his marital state and Margery's romantic dreams were shattered. Thus began Margery's acceptance of her lot in life as being a clunky, misunderstood, solitary and loveless existence.

However, the school incident was a tipping point and Margery decided to fulfil her dream of hunting for the golden beetle of New Caledonia. She placed ads in the paper for an assistant, and wound up with the most improbable candidate. One Enid Pretty, thin with bleached blonde hair, elaborate makeup, a pink business suit paired with sandals with pom poms, and a red valise she was very secretive about.

The two embark on a major trip via train, boat, and sometimes mules on their expedition. The two women are contrasts in so many ways. The sheer magnitude of physicality on their journey up a mountain to find their specimen is an awesome undertaking. While Margery's dream is to find this golden beetle, Enid's dream is to become a mother after suffering many miscarriages.

I did enjoy this book in a quiet way, as I appreciated the marrying of these two very different souls who grew to really care for each other. I didn't have that "couldn't put it down" experience, though. Perfect is still my most favorite book Rachel Joyce has written.


Thank you to the publisher Random House for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

While skimming some reviews once I was midway through Miss Benson’s Beetle, I saw several trigger warnings for animal abuse. ALERT, ALERT! Even though that would have made me pass entirely on the novel had I known it beforehand, I decided to keep going hoping it wasn’t too horrible. For my fellow tenderhearted friends, this is what happens:

A beloved dog is killed seemingly by accident after falling onto some rocks. Later it is revealed that a character killed him, though it doesn’t go into much detail and isn’t very graphic. There is also a lot of beetle killing for the sake of science and study. And the characters ride mules at one point, but they don’t seem too distressed.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, Miss Benson’s Beetle is a quirky and poignant story about two women - one middle aged and frumpy, the other beautiful and uneducated - who go on an unlikely quest to locate a mythical beetle that may or may not exist. It’s such a vividly-drawn portrait of unique characters and the friendship that blooms from their adventure that it’s hard not to hope someone turns it into a movie or limited series one day (as reviewer MarilynW previously noted!).

If you read the animal abuse spoiler above, then you know there’s a bit of salt mixed in with this sweet story. Author Rachel Joyce doesn’t shy away from the hard moments, so readers should anticipate a few lumps in their throats.

I chose to listen to the audiobook, since it’s narrated by the great Juliet Stevenson. In retrospect, I wish I had read a print copy. Occasionally with audio I’ll feel sure that I would not be interpreting a character the same way as the narrator, and this was the case here with the beautiful Enid. This also is typically a sign to me that a book would make for a great book club discussion. Barnes & Noble chose it as their Nov. 2020 B&N Reads Fiction Pick, so it seems they agree.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a hit or miss history with Rachel Joyce. It took me a while to engage with this one. We’ve got two quirky characters. Miss Benson lost her father as a child. Her main connection with him is a desire to find an Incredible Creature, a creature believed to exist but never documented. In her case, it’s to find the Golden Beetle in New Caledonia. To which end, she hires Enid Pretty as her assistant. They’re opposites in every way imaginable. I found I cared for both women, outcasts for entirely different reasons. Each has a goal and the goals would seem to be mutually exclusive.
As is always the case in books like this, these polar opposites grow to appreciate and even love each other. But the cliche works, with enough different twists that kept me engaged. This is a sweet book but it lacked any sense of punch for me. A solid three stars.
My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

[Greta Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a little while now and I read some reviews that made me want to read it.
It wasn’t what I was expecting but it was absolutely a pleasure to read.

Margery Benson is over 45 years old in London in about 1950. She has never been married and she has no family. She is a home ec. teacher.
When she was a child her father showed her a fantastic book with all kinds of amazing creatures. A mermaid, the Loch Ness monster and a glorious golden beetle that is said to live in New Caledonia but has never been found. Yet…

After one particularly difficult day at work, Margery walks out and decides she is going to go on an expedition to find the golden beetle. All she needs is an assistant that speaks French - enter Enid Pretty.

Now the adventure can begin and it is a great read for anyone that cares to join. Rachel Joyce develops Margery & Enid’s characters very well and shows their personal growth throughout the story.

Lots of great quotes in this book but one of them really sums it up well- “She had traveled to the other side of the world, but the distance she’d covered inside herself was immeasurable.”

[Barbara K · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to say about this book!

I continue to be amazed at the number of novels hitting the shelves that feature strong women who take control of their lives and work to become their best selves. The settings and plots are completely unrelated in these books; what connects them is willingness of the main characters to ignore the social norms prevailing at the time and follow some inner compass toward fulfilling themselves.

These are books about survivors, not just in the sense of enduring (those are equally rewarding, but different, books), but of conquering and creating lives that are unique and meaningful. These books aren't about running from something, such as an unrewarding marriage, but running toward something: a fuller sense of themselves, the road less traveled, or to use the term from this marvelous book, a vocation. These are books about women who, when confronted with overwhelming challenges, find solutions that lead to a richer life. Love often plays a role, but not necessarily romance.

At age 46, in the autumn of 1950, Miss Margery Benson responds to yet another in a lifetime of rejections and disappointments by making the seemingly irrational decision to embark upon an expedition into the forests of New Caledonia, in search of a hitherto only rumored beetle. Short on time and money she hastily interviews candidates for the job of her assistant, and ends up with Enid Pretty, a young woman breathtakingly unqualified for the role. As they make their way to the remote corner of the island on the opposite side of the globe from England they are shadowed by Mundic, a survivor of a POW camp in Burma who suffers after-effects both physical and mental, and who believes in a muddled way that he should be leading the expedition.

The richness of the story comes from the evolving relationship between Margery and Enid, two women who could arguably not be more different in life experience and outlook. As they endure hardships and conquer obstacles, they both learn more about themselves from each other, and learn to like the updated versions they find as they grow. And they become reliable friends to one another, an experience new to both. Personally, I came to love them both.

At times the book is (well, it was for me) laugh-out-loud funny, as when Margery, who is large of frame and awkward of movement, struggles through her first encounter with a hammock slung between trees in the bug and animal infested forest. Rachel Joyce is brilliant at describing the changes in characters, particularly Margery, through their interior reactions to events. To Margery's mind the coffee brewed by Enid is strong enough "to bring a dead horse back to life", something she would have shunned back in England. Yet, as they hack their way through the jungle, she drinks it willingly.

The humor is balanced by the current and backstory emotional pain of all three principals. To describe these feelings as they affect the women, who are the core of the book, would venture into spoilers and so I will refrain. Mundic's efforts to function while coping with PTSD and beri-beri are easier, though in many ways less significant, examples.

Not long after starting the book I scribbled a note to myself, "Who wakes up one day and decides to write a book about two English women searching for a beetle in New Caledonia in 1950?" My Dial Press paperback edition includes an afterword by Joyce in which she explains very clearly how the book came about, and leads one to the conclusion that a more direct route would have resulted in a less effective book.