The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy - #BookReview

Dear Harold,

This may come to you as some surprise. I know it is a long time since we last met, but recently I have been thinking a lot about the past. Last year I had an operation on a tumour, but the cancer has spread and there is nothing left to be done. I am at peace and comfortable but I would like to thank you for the friendship you showed me all those years ago. Please send my regards to your wife. I still think of David with fondness.

With best wishes, QH

When Queenie Hennessy discovers Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and that all she must do is wait, she is shocked. Her note to him had explained she was dying. How can she wait?

She must write again, someone says. But this time she must tell Harold everything. In confessing to secrets hidden for twenty years she will find atonement for the past.

Queenie thought her first letter would be the end of the story. She was wrong. It was just the beginning.

                                                                          

Ms. Joyce insists that this is not a sequel to her previous book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but is a companion volume and I completely agree. This does not follow on from her earlier book but is written from Queenie's perspective as she lies in the hospice awaiting Harold's arrival.

Incidentally, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, was one of my Top Ten books of 2017 and I heartily recommend reading it if you have not already done so. It will also enhance your reading of this novel, although this book will still make sense if you have not previously read it. However, Harold's journey is well worth reading about. I did not think that I could possibly enjoy this companion book as much as I had enjoyed reading about Harold's journey in the previous book but how wrong could I be? 

Written with wisdom, compassion and understanding this book was a joy to read. Following Queenie on her emotional journey alongside Harold's actual journey gave real insight into their lives. Having previously read the narrative of Harold's walk I further enjoyed accompanying Queenie on her journey through her past and reading how her story interlinked with Harold's.

This is a fantastic novel and a wonderful piece of writing. If you hold any pre-conceived ideas regarding a hospice as a mournful, dreary place then this book will blow those ideas completely out of the water. The author brings alive the characters in the hospice in a way that had the ability to make me laugh and cry simultaneously. 

However, this is not a book about dying. Rather it is about living every moment to the full. It is about love, redemption and how each of us plays a part in the life of others. It has a very real feel-good factor about it and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

ISBN: 978 1784160302

Publisher:  Black Swan

About the Author:

Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestseller The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Music Shop and Perfect. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into thirty-four languages. She was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards 'New Writer of the Year' in December 2012 and shortlisted for 'Writer of the Year' 2014.

She is also the author of the short story volumes A Faraway Smell of Lemon and A Snow Garden and Other Stories.

She is the award-winning writer of over thirty original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4.

Rachel Joyce lives with her family in Gloucestershire.