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.

BOOK REVIEW: Maureen by Rachel Joyce
Series: Harold Fry Series | Book 3
2023 Publication Date: February 7

⭐️⭐️⭐️

T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books Of 2023

♡ T.I.M.E. TIP: This is a cumulative series. I highly recommend reading in order… As for me, I started with Book 3 which I am certain had a significant impact on my reading experience (and a great disservice to the exquisite writing of Rachel Joyce)... I intend to circle back from Book 1 in order as soon as possible, as I can hardly wait to "fill in the gaps" and experience the story as intended. Afterwards, I am completely optimistic that my rating on this book will climb higher... So, stay tuned!... ✨😎✨

Pages: 166
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Sub-Genre: Literary Fiction
Time Period: Present Day
Location: England
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group | Dial Press

PUBLISHER BOOK SYNOPSIS
Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on a six-hundred-mile walk to save a friend. But the story doesn’t end there. Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make.

Only she can finish the journey her husband started.

Maureen and Harold Fry have settled into a quiet life, but when an unexpected message from the North disturbs their peaceful equilibrium, Maureen realizes that it’s now her turn to make a journey. But she is not like her affable, easygoing husband. By turns outspoken, then vulnerable, she struggles to form bonds with the people she meets — and the landscape she crosses has radically changed.

Maureen has no sense of what she will find at the end of the road. All she knows is that she has to get there.

A deeply felt, lyrical, and powerful novel, Maureen explores love, loss, and how we come to terms with the past in order to understand ourselves a little better.

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All my book reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at thisismyeverybody.com/blog/what-book-should-i-read

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

3.5 Stars

This novella is for readers of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The first is about Harold Fry’s journey to see his friend Queenie who is dying, and the second is Queenie’s backstory. This third book, Maureen, focuses on Harold’s wife.

Ten years after Harold’s pilgrimage, Maureen sets off on her own journey. After Harold’s encouragement, Maureen decides to drive north to see a garden Queenie had created; it includes a memorial to David, Maureen and Harold’s son who died 30 years earlier. Like her husband’s before her, her trip becomes a journey of self-discovery.

Prickly and intractable, Maureen is not an immediately likeable person. In many ways, she is Harold’s foil: “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.” She tries to control her world by compulsively cleaning. She is angry and bitter and that comes across in the way she treats people. She is judgmental and tactless. For instance, when she has a disagreement with a large woman, she replies “that if the woman ate a better diet, she might not be so unhappy.” She has closed herself off from the world and people, in essence, closing herself off from living.

In the course of the novel, the reader gets to understand why she is the way she is. She was raised to believe that she was someone special and that “the real business of life would begin with Maureen at the center.” Though she realizes, “she was not so special after all,” a haughtiness remains as demonstrated in her assumption that she will be treated as a special guest when she drops in to see Kate, one of Harold’s friends. Broken and grieving the loss of her only child, she has no time for anyone else and their problems: “she did not want to dwell on other people’s sadness” and “there was only so much you could see of another person’s trouble without getting lost yourself.” Maureen is a broken woman who has become defined by grief. Disappointed and angry, she lashes out at others.

I love dynamic characters, and Maureen does attain some self-knowledge: “a person could be trapped in a version of themselves that was from another time, and completely miss the happiness that was staring them in the face.” She realizes how “She had lived her life as if she was owed something extra because he had been taken away, and other women’s sons had not.” Circumstances force her to rely on someone else and when she is treated with kindness and compassion, her heart opens and she becomes less self-centred: others too have “losses that were too terrible to bear.” She recognizes the importance of being the world’s guest.

One problem I had with the novel is that Maureen’s transformation seems to happen too quickly. She is an inflexible 72-year-old consumed by grief for 30 years, but a brief journey results in her several epiphanies? In fact, her change seems to take place overnight. To be convincing, a character change requires a person be capable of change and be given a credible time span within which to change.

Nonetheless, this novel is a compassionate and thoughtful examination of grief and how it can shape lives. I was not as charmed as I was with the first of the trilogy, but this is still a worthwhile read.

I have no criticism whatsoever of Joyce’s conclusion to the Harold Fry trilogy. Her introduction is enlightening and touching, and those who have read the first two books know that this will be an emotionally gutting, yet cathartic ride. The length and pacing are perfect for the task at hand. Thank you so much, Ms. Joyce, for introducing us to Harold, Maureen, David, and Queenie. Thanks also to Dial Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Joyce is hands down one of my favorite authors. Why? Her books stay with me long after the last page has been turned. Her writing moves me, makes me laugh, cry and think. Maureen is another of those stories.

Maureen is the third book in the "Harold Fry" trilogy. If you've not read it yet, you need to read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy before diving into this last book. And for those who have read the first two - take the time to read the author's notes at the beginning of the book. I loved the insight into the how and why of this last book in the triptych.

'Harold' tells the story of a man who decides to walk across England to deliver a card to his dying friend Queenie. The second book is from Queenie's point of view. And at last, we get to better know Harold's wife Maureen.

My thoughts on Maureen had been gleaned from her actions and thoughts as Harold walked. And my opinion was that I didn't like her. But I didn't know what was going on in her mind - and at last we do. She's been carrying her anger, guilt, remorse, sadness and yes, perhaps some little flicker of hope. She's now going to take her own pilgrimage, both figurative and literally.

Joyce scatters so many truths in Maureen's travels and thoughts. I always find myself stopping to re-read a passage, savoring the the ideas and truths woven throughout the pages. Here's a few...

"It struck Maureen that a person could be trapped in a version of themselves that was from another time, and completely miss the happiness that was staring them in the face."

"Once again, she experienced that old feeling of being the wrong shape for the situation in which she found herself. Of being an intruder."

Joyce's exploration of the human spirit is by turns heart breaking and life affirming. (Note - have a box of issues handy.)

Maureen is a novella that you'll read in a afternoon. But chances are, you'll be thinking of it after turning the last page.

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this excellent novel from Netgalley, author Rachel Joyce, and Random House Publishing, Dial Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read Maureen of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

The third in a series of three, this is an outstanding tale that stands on its own but I really have to read the first, again. I missed the second one altogether. Maureen feels she has to repeat the journey her husband Harold Fry took on foot across England to the home of his coworker and friend Queenie Hennessy ten years ago. Harold is ailing, and Maureen can't find closure on the losses in her life, so Harold recommends she go and see the sea garden. Queenie is gone, but Harold feels Queenie's friend Kate will take Maureen under her wing and help her find closure as the ladies did him, help her say goodbye to their son before she will have to say goodbye to her husband as well. Queenie and her circle of women had set up a memorial garden on the beach commemorating Harold and Maureen's son David, who died ten years ago at age 20 or 21. Harold walked the 627 miles to Embleton Bay - Maureen is going to take the car. She figures two-three days and she can get there, get closure, and get back to Harold. And we all know how that's going to work.

Maureen Fry is on a journey. She's not the traveling type and she has a hard time connecting with people. But she is determined to make this journey, even though she isn't sure what she will find when she reaches her destination.

I liked this, though I was worried I wouldn't get the full enjoyment as it is the 3rd in a series I haven't read. But I really liked it. Maureen gave me real Olive Kitteridge vibes and I enjoyed the flow and internal thoughts of the story. It really made me want to go back and read the others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.

Available February 7, 2023..

4.25/5 stars

I began this not realizing that it was the final in a trilogy of which I had yet to read the previous books. While it can be read alone, I do recommend reading the previous ones as I felt a little adrift at times. I do plan to go back to the beginning. While short in length this packs a powerful punch.

Maureen, wife of Harold Fry (which the two previous books focused on) receives a letter from a deceased woman that she has mixed feelings about…someone who had been close to her husband. She requests a pilgrimage north to her beach art gallery/memorial which features shrines made and left by everyday visitors to people they’ve loved and lost. She has created a memorial to Maureen’s son who committed suicide as a young adult.

While Maureen initially balks at going, she eventually embarks on the trip alone, jealous and affronted that this woman felt she knew Maureen’s son well enough to do such a thing. She meets a myriad of interesting folks along the way, and by the time she arrives at the beach has realized that she hasn’t been able to deal with and grieve her son’s loss.

While this was not always a happy book, it was a cathartic one…for both Maureen and also the reader, I think. While not previously having met Maureen, I nevertheless felt pulled in and invested in her emotional journey. Well done.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Random House/Dial Press for providing the free early arc of Maureen for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Maureen Fry is difficult. Prickly and sour-tempered, perpetuallly soaked in perpetual grief, it is astounding to think she is the wife of the charming, kind Harold Fry, star of the first book in a trilogy, THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRYE. Ten years after Harold took his monumental, transformational journey, Maureen sets off on her own with surprising consequences. Throughout this heart wrenching story, Maureen changes from terrible, bossy ,and controlling woman to understandable and relatable wife, mother, and friend. Joyce enriches her story with the most poetic and deft language, including a memorable line about an interior being like being inside a migraine. MAUREEN was a fast read, moving, and wonderfully powerful. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

4.5 Stars

Thanks #NetGalley @RandomHousePub for a complimentary e ARC of #Maureen upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Maureen and Harold live a quiet life after Harold’s famous and highly publicized trek across England. Maureen is restless, though, and after she receives a strange letter, she decides that she must make a journey of her own.

Maureen is more of a companion read rather than a sequel to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Although Maureen is not affable and friendly like Harold, she is driven by her desire to come to terms with the past. She’s quite brave as she tentatively strikes out on her own, but she’s not sure of the roads or confident in following directions. Maureen is not an easy person to like as we’re quick to notice her rigidity As with most individuals that we take the time to really know, Maureen is relatable in many ways and her earnestness is endearing. On her journey, she gains confidence, makes her first friend, experiences hospitality and compassion, and confronts her grief.

Even though there are obstacles to overcome, at its heart, Maureen is a character-driven story. Creating complex and quirky characters is what Rachel Joyce does best.

Thoughtful themes in Maureen include finding yourself (yes, even as an adult), friendship, hospitality, bravery, resolve, problem-solving, independence, and grief.

Although Maureen can be read as a stand-alone, it will make more sense and be a richer reading experience if you’ve read the first two (Harold and Queenie).

I’m enthusiastically recommending novella-length Maureen for fans of character-driven literary fiction, for readers who love The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and for those who appreciate stories with mature characters. Of course, book clubs will find a great deal to discuss here.

I’m happy to have completed the Harold Fry trilogy with the reading of Maureen. Although The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry remains my favorite of the three, I enjoyed Maureen and appreciate having her perspective, and it entices me to pursue a reread of Harold!

Reading this trilogy of books one after the other worked out so well for my linear brain. This top rating for the third book is essentially a final and personal opinion of the triptych. Maureen finds out about Queenie's garden and makes her own pilgrimage via automobile to see it for herself. By the way, the Queenie book has an illustration of the garden which I loved so much! As with Harold's journey, there unexpected people and mishaps along the way. Essentially, I found that with each book Maureen was becoming my favorite character of the three. Included in this last book is an interview with Rachel Joyce and a fictional email exchange between RJ and Maureen Fry. A delightful ending to a book that both broke my heart and mended it again.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Joyce’s latest novella, Maureen, took me by surprise. When I picked it up, I didn’t realize it was the third book in a series. It was not difficult to jump into the story without previously reading the prior books for two reasons: the author provides adequate backstory and the main character is an over-thinker.

Maureen grew up being told she was difficult, and she clearly didn’t figure out how to fit in with peers. She eventually found her place, and that is with Harold Fry! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Maureen’s journey. It is one she insisted on taking, however, mentally and emotionally, she fights against it through much of the book. I didn’t expect Maureen’s epiphany or blooming given her personality. It was hard fought but worth every bump and bruise.

This lovely story is filled with interesting characters, some meaningful messages, plenty of chuckles and a few tears. I will definitely be reading the other books in Ms. Joyce’s series.

Surely it wasn’t too much to ask that you get to the end, and looking back, you don’t fill with horror and bitterness at all the things you got wrong.
from Maureen by Rachel Joyce

Title character Maureen is unhappy and angry. She makes a journey across England to visit a shrine with a memorial to her son who has died. She encounters road blocks and detours, and accidents of several kinds, none of which helps her choleric disposition. Her husband’s traveling partner for his own, previous, journey is an aging hippie who gives Maureen a bed. Seeing the memorial changes Maureen.

It’s rather a dull slough for quite a while, and Maureen is a disagreeable traveling companion for the reader–and we spend a lot of time in her head. I do like journey stories, but a car drive isn’t as interesting as a walk. After she reaches her destination/ Maureen’s ah-hah moment is poignant and the message essential. At this point, the novel was moving.

When the publisher offered me this third book in a trilogy, I wondered if it would stand on its own without having read the earlier two novels. The first book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was a best seller, and was followed by a second book, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. When he learns that she is dying, Harold Fry made a spur-of-the-moment walk across Britain to visit Queenie, leaving Maureen behind. But I didn’t know Harold or Queenie going into this novel, and realized that Harold and Maureen’s son had died after getting well into this novel.

From my experience, I would consider it important to have read the earlier books. I would guess that the reader would become invested in the characters and understand the backstory to Maureen, and it would have a deeper emotional impact. Maureen’s grief had turned to anger and she pushes away everyone she meets until she can deal with it. That is an important lesson. and universal.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Maureen by Rachel Joyce is a very highly recommended character study of Maureen, the wife of Harold Fry, and represents the third and final book in the series that began with The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry followed by The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. Joyce never set out to write a trilogy but Maureen is an excellent addition to the previous two novels and a wonderfully moving novel that stands on its own.

Harold is now seventy-five and Maureen is seventy-two. It has been ten years since Harold made his six-hundred-mile journey by foot to see a friend and the two have settled into a comfortable and even loving relationship. But the story doesn’t end there. Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make. She wants to see Queenie's sea garden where there is a sculptural tribute or memorial to their son David, who killed himself thirty years earlier, as well as one to Harold.

Maureen, however, is not Harold. She is prickly, standoffish, opinionated, easily irritated, and, well, not a people-person. Her journey, by car rather than foot, perfectly highlights their differences. She doesn't easily warm up to people and speaks her mind way-too-often. The hurdles she faces are quite different from those Harold faced, but they are truly a challenge for her.

I truly loved this final novel focused on Maureen. It is wonderfully focused, poignant, and perceptive character study of Maureen, with all her flaws, misgivings, and doubts. She is still trying to deal with the loss of their son, David, even though years have passed. She feels a strange compulsion to make this journey and see Queenie's garden, but she is completely unsure of what she will find and how she will react. Her reaction is surprising, but in the end life changing for Maureen.

Maureen highlights the skill, empathy, and insightful details Joyce provides for her characters. While reading, even when Maureen is being especially difficult, Joyce also provides an avenue for readers to empathize with her and her curmudgeonly attitude. This is a short novel with a powerful impact.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Book Browse, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

I loved the first book in this series, "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry", so I assumed I would feel the same way about "Maureen." The book is well written and tells the story of Maureen's journey on her own, which is very different than the one her husband Harold took. I just couldn't get by Maureen's personality. She is too much of a "Debbie Downer" for me. I will admit that this was a DNF for me. I'm sorry, but thank you to NetGalley and Harper Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance for my honest opinion.

Maureen is the final novel in Rachel Joyce’s trilogy that began with The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, in which Harold walks from one end of England to the other to see Queenie, a woman with whom he had worked, as she lies dying in a hospice. In “Opening Sticky Doors,” a preface to Maureen, Joyce explains she never intended to write a trilogy. When a stranger at a book signing for The Unlikely Pilgrimage informed her that it was a trilogy, Joyce followed with The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennesey, unready to deal with Harold’s difficult wife’s feelings because she felt them too personally. Not until a decade after Harold’s unexpected and upsetting walk and several books later was the author finally able to face Maureen.

Time has come for Maureen to set out on her own journey. Several months earlier, Harold had received a postcard from Kate, a married woman who had accompanied him for a portion of his walk. Kate had written to say that, before her death, Queenie had created a sea garden where visitors left relics and that Kate had heard Queenie had created a monument to Harold and Maureen’s son. Unable to deal with her grief over the loss of her son thirty years earlier and encouraged by Harold, septuagenarian Maureen sets out alone by car to find her son. Encounter after encounter with people along the way and mishap after mishap, Maureen reviews her life as she drives. Readers will feel as though they are in the backseat of Maureen's car without her knowledge, able to experience what she does but also able to read her thoughts.

Although Joyce’s novel is a treat in itself, the Book Club Guide at the back added to my reading enjoyment. First comes a lengthy interview with Joyce, adapted from BBC Radio 4’s Bookclub program and in which Joyce discusses the trilogy. Next comes a surprising series of emails between the author and her fictional character, Maureen Fry. Resist the temptation to read these before reading the novel. Get to know Maureen better first. Finally, solo readers or reading groups will benefit from eleven multifaceted questions and discussion topics.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press/Random House for an advance reader copy of this opportunity to become much better acquainted with Maureen Fry better as well as to renew my acquaintance with Harold a decade after his walk.

A lovely slim novella about Maureen's journey to the garden Queen built before her death- and her journey to a bit of self growth. It helps enormously, I think, to have read the earlier books although new readers will take lessons from this story of an older woman whose husband Harold spent time with and became famous for his relationship with another woman and whose son chose to end his own life. Maureen has never been an easy woman and this road trip forces her to most of all accept help from others, including Kate who walked with Harold and now hosts her. Maureen has resented and hared the garden but now, now she's looking at it and she sees something different- not at first, but she does. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I read this in a sitting and smiled.

Maureen, by Rachel Joyce, is the final novel in a trilogy. Having read neither of the first two books, I can confidently say that this is a moving and compelling read as a stand-alone novel. Nonetheless, I am also compelled to say that reading a series in the order the books were written generally enhances the experience. Maureen is a coming-of-age story in the sense that the protagonist is grappling with aging, and reconciling all the contradictions, hurts, and pain she experienced thus far. She is prickly, structured, and adheres to a demanding list of right and wrong ways to live. As she begins her quest, she is both excited and terrified. Maureen is all of us, no matter how old, who need to unlearn lessons inadvertently taught earlier in life. She speaks to us as she learns that there are still new experiences, new ways to see the world, and that we are braver than we think. Maureen annoyed me. She brought me to tears. She reminded me that courage is ageless. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC. It was a pleasure.

Maureen is a caring women—very set in her ways, getting by in life—but maybe not really happy with the hand that has been dealt her. She takes off on her own on a quest that is calling to her, something that she is compelled to see though to the end. Along the way and by the end of her journey, she discovers a lot about herself, her husband, and the world she finds herself drowning in. This was definitely a journey of a lifetime.

I enjoyed following along with Maureen through her travels and as she grows and finds happiness. This is book three in the Harold Fry trilogy and it's said the books can be read a standalone. While that may be true, I read book one, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, before reading Maureen and I'm so glad I did. I had a better understanding of Maureen and what she was going through and the reason for her quest. I think I'd now like to read book two, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, to find out more about Queenie and why she was such a strong influence on this couple.

Overall this is a wonderful series full of discovery, growth, and reconciliation.

As one of the millions of readers around the world who read and loved "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" and "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey", it was a no-brainer that I would read "Maureen", a novella that completes the story from the point of view of Harold's wife.

In this book we meet up with the couple when Harold is seventy-five and Maureen is seventy-two. Together they weathered lockdown and are in a comfortable, good place in their long marriage. There is just one thing that mars their equilibrium. Maureen wants to see Queenie's garden. She feels that she will be able to connect with her son David there. David, her beloved son, commit suicide when he was just twenty years old - thirty years ago. Her grief has never left her.

"David's loss was her secret. It was the rock against which she was forever shattered."

She sets out on a car journey north, leaving Harold behind. She is determined to make the trip with just one night away from her husband. Maureen admits that she is not an 'easy' person like her husband. She does not make friends easily and she is every so slightly judgemental... Her road trip contains events that bring Maureen much consternation and discomfort.

"Maureen" is written with Joyce's usual empathy, pathos, and skill - with more than a bit of levity thrown in to lighten the narrative. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of this author's work.

Here she writes eloquently of loss, parental bereavement, loneliness, and how, if we really try, we can learn to be the people we would like to be...

Highly recommended!