Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North by Rachel Joyce Book Review

Rachel Joyce’s “Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North” is a beautiful story about love, loss, and how we come to terms with the past in order to understand ourselves and our lives a little better. Maureen Fry is the wife of Harold Fry, who famously walked from one end of England to the other ten years ago. Now it’s Maureen’s turn to make a journey – but unlike Harold, she struggles to form bonds with those she meets along her way. Read on for an overview of this touching story.

Click me to go to my Review

Synopsis

Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on his epic journey on foot to save a friend. But the story doesn’t end there.
Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make.

Maureen Fry has settled into the quiet life she now shares with her husband Harold after his iconic walk across England. Now, ten years later, an unexpected message from the North disturbs her equilibrium again, and this time it is Maureen’s turn to make her own journey.

But Maureen is not like Harold. She struggles to bond with strangers, and the landscape she crosses has changed radically. She has little sense of what she’ll find at the end of the road. All she knows is that she must get there.

Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North is a deeply felt, lyrical and powerful novel, full of warmth and kindness, about love, loss, and how we come to terms with the past in order to understand ourselves and our lives a little better. Short, exquisite, while it stands in its own right, it is also the moving finale to a trilogy that began with the phenomenal bestseller The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and continued with The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy.

About The Author

Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop, and the New York Times bestseller Miss Benson’s Beetle, as well as a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her books have sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and been translated into thirty-six languages. Two are currently in development for film.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2012 and shortlisted for the ‘UK Author of the Year’ 2014.

Rachel has also written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. She lives with her family near Stroud.

My Review

Maureen Fry is an unlikely heroine – outspoken and sometimes abrasive, it takes time for readers to warm up to her. As we have seen her through the previous two books, ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ and “The Love Song of Queenie Hennessy’ she begins as quite an unlikeable character. But, as she embarks on her own journey of self-discovery, we come to know her better and start to appreciate all that she has been through over the years. Her journey starts when she receives an unexpected message from the North asking for help; driven by curiosity, Maureen sets off on a quest that takes her across some familiar places as well as some new ones – all while struggling with her own inner demons.

Along the way, Maureen encounters many people who help shape her story in different ways. Each person helps Maureen confront different aspects of herself, whether it’s courage or vulnerability or strength – and by the end of the book, readers have seen a full transformation in Maureen.

The characters of the other books feature as well, and its lovely to catch up with Harold and Rex, their wonderful next-door neighbour, albeit quite briefly. I loved Harold and Rex’s love of the good old sandwich as well!

The landscape changes too as Maureen makes her way towards the North – from sunny beaches to bustling cities and quaint villages – each place offering something unique that adds another layer to this multi-faceted story. It’s a journey full of warmth and kindness; despite its hardships, it is ultimately uplifting and heart-warming in its conclusion.

Queenie’s, no famous, Sea Garden is delightfully described and provides Maureen with a great focus, one she doesn’t necessarily appreciate to begin with. After so much time in a van, her life changes dramatically as she appreciates things much more. While I can’t say I would be overly happy to be staying in such a place either, it provided a very humble backdrop for a lot of her journey.

All in all, Rachel Joyce’s “Maureen Fry” is an engaging tale about self-discovery that will leave you feeling inspired at its conclusion. Through vivid characters and detailed settings, Joyce crafts an unforgettable story about starting anew that will surely resonate with any reader looking for hope amidst life’s difficulties. If you’re looking for a book that offers both solace and insight into life’s unexpected journeys, then look no further than “Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North”. This novella is sure to be enjoyed by readers everywhere!

My previous reviews of Rachel Joyce’s work

The unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

Rated