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The Piano Tuner” by Chiang-Sheng Kuo – Book Review #NovNov23 @skyhorsepub @arcadepub #ThePianoTuner#BookReview November 28, 2023 Defying all the odds, they embark on their madcap journey and endure many hardships and dangers along the way. Their adventure is zany enough to require the reader to suspend some disbelief, which is not easy for me, but in this case the characters won me over. However, it’s not all fun and games, as there are some darker elements at play. There are echoes of classic travel adventures such as Around the World in Eighty Days, as genteel British explorers attempt to maintain their customs and decorum in the most un-British environments, and plenty of madcap capers to hinder our heroine, who regrets her impulsiveness almost as soon as she has set foot on board the ship to Australia. But there is a darker side too; the war has left scars, and Margery and her brash assistant, Enid, are pursued by a man deeply traumatised by his experiences in a Burmese prison camp, who has convinced himself that he is the only guide Miss Benson needs. The premise may not sound the most compelling, but it didn’t take long for Enid in her frothy pink and her pom-pom sandals and Margery in her boots and pith helmet to worm their way into my heart. I loved seeing them discover their worth and take charge of their lives in an era when gender roles were strictly confined. The Golden Beetle 🪲….. and the hunt to find these rare bettles — was a goldenly creative part of this tale.
Rachel Joyce: I don't quite know where Enid came from in my head. But I now think she is the female creative spirit that we all need to tap into occasionally. I am glad you loved her. I love her too. This is a novel about cherishing life, finding joy in the most astounding of places, and most of all it is a story about true friendship.
Rachel Joyce
THE AUTHOR: Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman's Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for best radio play. She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver. She lives with her family in Gloucestershire. Rachel Joyce has a tremendous talent for writing characters we can empathise with and love even when they have serious issues! Margery is such a character and so is Enid, the woman she acquires as her assistant in her new self appointed career as a research etymologist. Both of them suffer some awful experiences but together they discover inner resources they never knew they had. Once on the island, they get serious: slicing through undergrowth, laying insect traps, examining “dead leaves, fallen branches, rotten logs, pig droppings.” When Margery is about to give up, Enid doesn’t let her. Now, their differences seem to be dissolving. And sometimes, Enid still surprises Margery, “the way she could look into the air and come out with a piece of wisdom.”
Thank you #NetGalley @RandomHouse for a complimentary e ARC of #MissBensonsBeetle at my request. All opinions are my own. A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Joyce, Rachel. Miss Benson’s Beetle. Bond Street Books, 2020.
About Fictionophile
This novel was a delight to read. Rachel Joyce creates such wonderful characters and Margery and Enid are both marvelously human and flawed. Totally unalike, they both experienced difficult upbringings, and are destined to become great friends after they share many adventures and hardships together. While Margery is naive and unaccustomed to dealing with people, she is organised and knowledgeable when it comes to beetles and Enid's street smarts is put to good use to plug any deficiencies in their plans. Over the months they spend together, they will both change, finding strengths they never knew they had. There is much humour in their relationship and exploits but also sadness and a wonderful ending. Highly recommended! Rachel Joyce’s wonderful 2012 debut, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, was about a man who walked 600 miles to see an old friend and found comfort and wisdom on the way. Its follow up, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, told the story of that friend, a woman who was dying having missed out on something in life. Miss Benson’s Beetle is also a pilgrimage of sorts, this time made by Margery Benson, one of a stifled generation of “leftover women” who are marking time in the aftermath of the second world war. These are books about survivors, not just in the sense of enduring (those are equally rewarding, but different, books), but of conquering and creating lives that are unique and meaningful. These books aren't about running from something, such as an unrewarding marriage, but running toward something: a fuller sense of themselves, the road less traveled, or to use the term from this marvelous book, a vocation. These are books about women who, when confronted with overwhelming challenges, find solutions that lead to a richer life. Love often plays a role, but not necessarily romance.
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