Wow. The sequel I didn't know I needed, but apparently, desperately did.

I cried until I was dehydrated [I started in the introduction and only stopped several times over the course of the book; it was one reason it took me so long to read this short book - I was emotionally wasted after just a few chapters], and it will stay with me much like Harold and Queenie have all these years and I am so okay with that.

Deeply personal for me [I am a Maureen], I am still thinking and feeling and absorbing this book hours after I finished it. I may go back and reread sections that deeply affected me. Grief is funny and weird and appears unexpectedly and is absolutely NOT linear, and I completely felt and understood and wrapped myself up in Maureen's grief and also in her revelation [those last chapters probably made me cry the most]. Not since I read Colm Toibin's "Nora Webster" have I felt so seen in a book and I was again grateful for the friends that have stuck by me, even as I was being the MOST Maureen ever. They are the best, forever friends and I can only hope that others that are Maureen too, have that.

I was asked to read/review this book by Random House Publishing Group - Random House/Dial Press Trade Paperback and I thank them for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading and reviewing "The Devil You Know" by P.J. Tracy, which turned out to be #3 in a series, I was discouraged to realize that my next assignment was "Maureen" by Rachel Joyce, also a third book in a trilogy I had not read. Reviewers claimed that the book could stand alone.

The first book was "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" and was continued in "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy", and ends with "Maureen", in what each is now referred to as 'A Harold Fry Novel'.

FIRST SENTENCE: "It was too early for birdsong."

THE STORY: There is a Preface where the author explains how readers who met Harold Fry in her first book kept insisting she continue the story. Eventually she wrote the second and thought once again that she was finished, but Maureen needed her own closure, her own journey, her own life.

WHAT I THOUGHT: "Maureen" by Rachel Joyce is a beautifully written, emotionally charged novella that serves as the conclusion following the journey of Harold and Maureen as they come to terms with their past and present.

Throughout the book, Joyce masterfully explores the complexities of love and loss, and the power of human connection. The author's writing is poignant and touching, capturing the deep emotions and relationships of the richly drawn characters, and their stories are interwoven in a way that is both satisfying and thought-provoking.

One of the standout features of "Maureen" is its exploration of the themes of hope, resilience, and redemption. Despite the challenges that Harold and Maureen face, the book is ultimately a testament to the human spirit and its ability to overcome adversity. The characters are relatable, and their journeys are both inspiring and heartwarming.

In addition to its emotional impact, "Maureen" is also a well-written, engaging book. The writing is clear and concise, and the narrative is both compelling and easy to follow. The book is a quick read, but its themes and messages will stay with readers long after they have finished it.

The descriptions of the English countryside are particularly evocative, and the book has a sense of timelessness that gives it a classic feel.

However, one of the weaknesses of the book is its brevity. The story feels somewhat rushed and underdeveloped in places. There are many intriguing characters and plot threads that are introduced but never fully explored, leaving the reader wanting more.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED While the brevity of the book may leave some readers feeling unsatisfied, it is nonetheless a beautifully written and deeply affecting story that is well worth reading. Rachel Joyce is a talented author who has created a character that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "Maureen" by Rachel Joyce from NetGalley/Random House Publishing Group for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Contemporary | Adult
<cover image>
This is the third and final entry in the trilogy that began with the incomparable The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. (Psst!! The film version is coming soon, featuring Jim Broadbent!) In this short novel, coming in at under 200 pages, Joyce presents the perspective of Harold’s wife Maureen. She is a tragic figure, bitter, even, as she is still deeply grieving the loss of their son David, and twinges of jealousy of Queenie Hennessy, gone 10 years now. Maureen was left behind while Harold travelled across England to reach the dying Queenie, meeting people, revisiting his life, and finding the peace that has long eluded Maureen. Now, as the pandemic is starting to wane, Maureen hears of Queenie’s Garden, where, she is annoyed to learn, there is a monument of some sort to David. Why did Queenie honour David, and what right did she have to do that? Determined to see the garden for herself, with Harold’s encouragement, Maureen sets off on her own pilgrimage (in the car of course; she’s no fool) to Newcastle Upon Tyne. How she comes to terms with her anger and grief, rethinks her views, and finds a kind of peace, is a poignant, moving, and often funny conclusion to the amazing characters that Joyce has gifted her readers. I am sorry it’s so short, because I enjoyed this even better than the second novel The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy; in fact, I like it almost as much as Harold’s own story. You do have to have confidence in Joyce; more than half the book passes before Maureen begins to rethink her view of the world; I was near to giving up on her! While her intractability eases over her journey, Maureen remains irrepressibly a practical, no-nonsense and direct person with a distinctive voice. Along with the transcription of a 2021 BBC interview and questions about Maureen for book club discussion, the endmatter includes hilariously, an imaginary email correspondence between Joyce and her character Maureen. It opens with Joyce posing an easy lob of a question – margarine or butter? “MF: I do not eat margarine. You might as well not have toast.” Snicker! Read Harold Fry before picking this up (heck, read that one again no matter what!) in order to fully appreciate this thoughtful conclusion to the trilogy. My thanks to Dial Press for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60192876

Maureen and Harold have settled into their quiet life. But, a message has turned their quiet life upside down. Now, Maureen feels the need to take a journey and settle her past.

Maureen is a bit of a cranky old woman. She does not want to depend on anyone but as she figures out, sometimes, you just can’t do it by yourself. She is also someone who is struggling with so many issues. Basically her own child’s death. This trauma has left her with so many unresolved concerns and feelings.

This story is short but very poignant. It covers so many normal life problems like growing old, grief, love and caring. It touches on many areas of everyone’s life.

I have only read one other in this series The Love Song of Queenie Hennessy and it was years ago. I vaguely remember it. But as I was reading this, the characters popped back in my memory and it was like revisiting old friends.

Need an emotional read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I've never read any of Rachel Joyce's other novels in the Harold Fry series—though all the back matter for this one made me think I had really, really been expected to—but I thought this quick read was very good as a standalone, a lovely meditation on love, loss, grief, and growth. I wonder how this book would have been written had the pandemic never happened, since it seems like such a sturdy, unequivocal backdrop to the tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for gifting me a copy of Maureen to review. In exchange for the ARC, I offer my unbiased opinion.

Maureen is the third and final book of the Harold Fry trilogy written by Rachel Joyce. While this book can be read as a standalone, I don’t believe it should. Being familiar with Harold & Queenie, two beloved characters from previous novels helped to fully flesh out Maureen, a rather slim story of Harold’s wife who undergoes her own journey. Maureen sets out to visit Queenie’s memorial garden and along the way finds herself.
This was a sweet story, but lacked all the emotional and heart affirming joy that the other two books in the trilogy provided.

Sometimes our lives take control of us in unexpected ways, when we have to push ourselves to find something else, what and who we discover could change us and who we are. Maureen is faced with having to become something is not naturally, in order to heal herself. Excellent.

This was such a good story. I think it will be a book club pick for many. Highly recommend this one!

Maureen, A Harold Fry Novel by Rachel Joyce
Maureen is an unhappy woman living life in her small English town the way she feels is expected of her. Cleaning her home, making sure the coffee cups handles all line up and caring for her husband, Harold. Only Harold’s life included his work, friends, and a walk across the country to visit one of them as she died. The thing both Harold and Maureen share is their grief—their son David has committed suicide. Harold learns acceptance on his long walk and encourages Maureen to make the pilgrimage to the garden of the friend, a woman, whose impending death inspired his healing walk, and where, he says, David, their son, is.
In an action out of character, Maureen takes their car and sets out to drive to this place, to get away from the grief she feels living with a calm Harold, and to find both herself and David. It’s a beautiful story of how women can isolate themselves in routine, and only when Maureen faces calamity along the way to she appreciates the gift she’s been given.
This is the third book of three by this author dealing with these characters, but even without having read the earlier books, this one made sense and emotional and resonant.
I received an ARC of Maureen from the publisher, Random House, and it is on sale February 7, 2023

Here is a story,that is deeply felt. It has a heart that is weary and a prose that pushes the reader to feel . The title character has chosen her way and slowly lets us know how she came to this place. It’s is a study in character development. It is at its heart the understated truth we all find later rather than sooner.

Didn’t realize this was part of a series which I have not read. I unfortunately won’t be starting this series so won’t be reading.

3.5 stars. Enjoyed it. Liked getting to know Maureen better. Thought the ending seemed a little rushed but otherwise it was a good story. A good book series. Each book helped you understand the characters better. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was my favorite.

Maureen by Rachel Joyce
Maureen is the third book written by Rachel Joyce related to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (also The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey). While this is a standalone book, it might aid the reader to have some background from the first two books.
Maureen is the wife of Harold Fry. After receiving a message, she decides that it is time for her to take her journey to Queenie’s Garden. Maureen is more an introvert, the opposite of her husband Harold, who met so many wonderful people on his own journey ten years ago. Maureen is determined to drive there, not knowing what she will find when she gets there.
“Maureen was not an easy person. She knew this. She was not an easy person to like and she wasn’t good at making friends.” Maureen encounters numerous difficulties along the way and at one point considers turning around until Harold encourages her to continue. Once there, she is initially disappointed by what she finds in the garden to represent her son David. After becoming injured, and relying on the help of others to heal, Maureen also begins to heal from the traumatic effects of losing her only son.
It is easy to empathize with Maureen, feeling for her during her times of trouble. While she is a cantankerous older woman, she is looking to heal, just like her husband Harold did in his journey.
I would recommend this book to those that have already read the first two books. Now that I read Maureen, I feel that I would appreciate it more to read more about Harold and Queenie.
Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of Maureen in exchange for my honest thoughts.

As a companion novel to Joyce's earlier books in the Harold Fry series, Maureen is an enjoyable look at life through Maureen's eyes. Maureen is still having issues coming to terms with the loss of her son even though it has been many years. This book was an emotional ride through the mind of Maureen and how she is trying to get comfortable traveling. She comes to terms with many things and finds that she can learn to accept whats in the past and to move on. Thank you, Random House and NetGalley for the eARC. 3.5 stars only because it felt rushed due to its length.

I am sorry to be giving this three stars but despite the information provided by the publishers, I did not find this to be a standalone book. And since I did not read the earlier two books I didn’t have much luck connecting with Maureen. What I plan to do is the read the other books and then reread this book to offer a more balanced review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to receive the ARC. I look forward to reading the rest of the series because I am sure I will love it as much as the authors many fans have.

This beautifully written, moving, and poignant read. This discovery brings back a flood of memories and emotions from the years they had spent apart.

Thanks to Random House Group and NetGalley for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This is the third and final novel in the Harold Fry trilogy. I had read #1“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” which is referred to frequently in this novella. And it’s difficult for me to know if someone who hasn’t read #1, or #2 “The Love Song of Queenie Hennesy,” would feel lost beginning with “Maureen.”

Maureen is Harold Fry’s wife, and it seems that their relationship has healed since he took his independent pilgrimage of walking 600 miles across England ten years ago. They have been married more than 50 years, and Maureen continues to freshly grieve the tragic suicide of their son David 30 years ago when he was 20.

Maureen is an unhappy and unlikable person, and I found much of the book to be sad and depressing. The last short portion where she experiences healing and growth somewhat redeems the story, but even though I can understand her grief as I have also lost a son, I didn’t like this novella enough to recommend it.

The end of the trilogy of books about Harold Fry and his friend and his wife is significant in that it brings all three together in a beautiful tribute to loss, love and finding one’s place in the world without someone you loved so dearly. In this final book, Maureen, Harold’s wife, sets out on her own kind of pilgrimage, to visit a garden that Queenie made to honor David. Her trip is filled with realistic scenarios that add to the somber mood of the book. Maureen is determined to finish her cross the nation quest alone but for her memories and her thoughts about might-have-been and if-only. Maureen is lonely in more ways than ones and represents one who is floundering in the sea of unexpected and almost unsurvivable loss. She was a sympathetic character for me, a mother without a child who seemed to be like a ship without an anchor. I enjoyed the prose in the book which was written almost like poetry, with word pictures and imagery in every chapter. I could just imagine what such a solo journey would have been like and found myself stepping into Maureen’s shoes and hoping for her to find closure. The people she meets along the way are secondary characters but they play an important role in self-discovery for Maureen. She is not just trying to find closure after David’s death, but she is also desperate to find out who she really is if she is no longer a mother. The desperation leaps through the pages and filled me with despair at times but also a longing to complete the book and hope for better days for the protagonist. The pace was moderate which I considered perfect for this novel. This is a work of fiction that deserves a place in good literature because it is a well-written character study and a dive into the depth of emotions. This is a book to treasure and share with others, one to discuss in book groups and to read again at some time for the education that it offers about the human spirit and the desire for survival. Hard to read at times because of how emotional it made me, this book is unforgettable and heart-breaking as well as a thought-provoking look at a strong woman who has been broken by circumstances. This is the third book in a trilogy and is best read in order but it can be read and understood as a standalone.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

An endearing novella about a journey a mother needs to take to overcome the grief of losing her son many year ago. Maureen Fry embarks a road trip which takes her hundreds of miles from home. Along the way, she encounters things she's unaware as a 72 year old women.

My heart broke for Maureen, and her naive nature made her a curmudgeon to others. Her husband, Harold, in her eyes is incompetent to take care of himself including the simple of act of making a sandwich. Oh the ending and his comment about what he ate had me laughing.

A love story about a Mother's love, forgiveness and coming home.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback for the complimentary copy.

I was drawn to Maureen because I have fond memories of reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry a decade ago. I had no memory of the specifics, but it did not matter. Joyce crafted a beautiful story that unfolded slowly, leaving clues along the way that kept me turning the pages. Maureen is lyrical, beautiful, and engaging as a standalone book.

Maureen, the main character, reminded me of the British version of Lucy in Elizabeth Strout’s novels. On the outside, she was tough, bitter and antisocial. But inside, she had a soft and relatable heart that emerged throughout her journey. Her journey to find Queenie’s Garden became a quest for solace and peace after an unimaginable loss, a way to come to terms with her grief. And ultimately, Maureen sums the book up perfectly. “It was about forgiveness, the whole story.”

Maureen is the third book in the trilogy, but I hadn’t read the second one, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. I enjoyed the others so much that I am now going back and reading book two to understand the story from all three points of view.

My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in any way.