MISS BENSON'S BEETLE

by Rachel Joyce

If ever there was a title for a book to make me less likely to pick it up and read it, I can’t come up with it!  Thankfully, Miss Benson’s Beetle was recently selected by my Boston Bates Alumna book club because it is a real jewel.  Joyce has written one of the best books about female friendship that I can remember ever reading.

Set in 1950s England, Margery Benson is a disillusioned, underpaid, unmarried schoolteacher. A series of events cause her to leave her job, throw caution to the wind  and pursue her lifelong dream to search for an insect called the golden beetle, which is found only in New Caledonia.  Despite her best intentions to hire an assistant with similar sensibilities to hers, she ends up with flamboyant and extroverted Enid Pretty.  Over the course of their weeks-long ship voyage and then settling into their primitive basecamp in New Caledonia, Margery begins to look at Enid differently and finds herself questioning her own assumptions about what makes a “good” person. And, in the course of finding the elusive golden beetle, Margery comes to realize what it means to be a “good” friend.

Filled with plot twists and a cast of additional memorable characters, as well as humorous insights about expats living in foreign countries, Miss Benson’s Beetle will entertain you and fill your heart.  I encourage you to read this unique book.  It will remind you of your most loyal friends and make you want to reconnect with them. (Liz)

A SECOND HELPING

Not a book about adorable VW cars as I expected, this book manages to be hilariously funny and then absolutely break your heart by the end.  Joyce has crammed in adventure, feminism, world politics, entomology and historical fiction, all while entertaining the reader with an extremely original plot.  Don’t miss this one! (Lily)