The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce

August 20, 205

The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce

Vic Kemp's four adult children have always been obsessed with him. A neglectful father, he left them to the care of a series of au pairs while he drank, had affairs, and painted commercially successful but not critically acclaimed paintings. At the age of 76, he shocks his children by marrying a woman 50 years his junior who he met online in a chat room and had known for only four months. Shortly after the marriage, Vic is found dead at the family's Italian vacation house, drowned in the lake. The four siblings rush to Italy to find out what really happened, and more importantly, to find his will and his final painting that was supposed to be his masterpiece.

I really enjoyed the author's first two Harold Frye books as well as Miss Benson's Beetle, but this story was very disappointing. It was billed as a mystery but it's a family drama about four adults in their 30s who are completely emotionally dependent on their artist father, dealing with the fallout from his sudden death. I almost DNF at 35% because the story was so slow moving and there didn't seem to be much more to say about any of them. I did a lot of skimming after that. The story gets a little more interesting at about 65% and is essentially over at 75%, at which point it becomes a different story and goes on for another 100 or so pages before it finally fizzles out. If you like The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, you might like this too. Otherwise, can't get those hours back.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Maureen by Rachel Joyce

January 8, 2023

Maureen by Rachel Joyce

The conclusion to The Harold Fry trilogy. Maureen is Harold's wife, prickly and somewhat literal minded. She is suspicious and has a hard time recognizing the goodness in others. For ten years, since Queenie Hennessey's death, she has been obsessing over Queenie's sea garden, after Harold's friend Kate wrote to tell them that Queenie had made a memorial to Harold and Maureen's son David. Maureen is actually outraged, convinced that Queenie wanted to "take" first Harold and then David from her. Finally Harold tells Maureen that she has to go see the garden to understand Queen and move on with their lives.

A novella rather than a full-length novel. Maureen is not as likeable as Harold or Queenie. She has difficulty connecting with people she does not know and is so deep in her own grief that she cannot fathom that others are grieving as well. When she first meets Kate, she cannot get beyond the clutter and dirt of Kate's home to see the kind, caring person that Kate is. Having grown up without love, Maureen has difficulty loving others and being loved, but Harold sees the sweetness in her. On her journey, Maureen finds answers to questions she didn't know she had. A lovely conclusion to the trilogy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A driftwood garden

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

November 2, 2020

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

(Yes, this is a title that I read in 2020.  I'm going to try to catch up the blog with the books that I've read in the past year and a half.  Before I had my hip done, it was too painful to sit at my laptop for any length of time, so the reviews didn't get done.  But I have the whole list of what I read - I'm obsessive/compulsive that way.)

In  post-World War II London, an unmarried middle-aged teacher decides to go search for a mythical beetle that has fascinated her since childhood.  She sets out for New Caledonia with a traveling companion who could not be more different from her, except that she too is at a crossroad in her life.  Although they have different reasons and goals, the two women must learn to trust and depend on each other, and an unlikely friendship develops.

This is a heartwarming historical novel in the same vein as the author's previous work The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry  It reminds the reader that the journey is often more important than the destination or the conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.