This is a novella. It is written with humour and emotion. This is book three in a series but can be read as a standalone. The characters are just so amazing

Although this is really well written I just couldn’t connect with it like I did with Harold’s journey. Its a bit short for me but it is a lovely narrative of Maureen’s journey. Definitely worth a read.

Thank you Netgalley

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The author's character insight and understanding of emotions makes this a compelling read. Maureen is someone who's never really 'fitted', she doesn't mix easily with other people so her well-planned journey alone in a car should be straightforward. However, time in stops in motorway services, roadworks and poor weather impact on her plans, forcing her out of her comfort zone. Her arrival at her destination seems to spoil her idea of closure, and a great deal of emotion is packed into the final pages.
This novel is short but engaging, and beautiful, compassionate and emotional; a fitting tribute to the Maureens of this world who struggle to be open in relationships.

A beautifully written tale of love and friendship and life. Truly refreshing and made me laugh and cry at the same time. Loved it.

Ok, I’ll put my hand up to this: I haven’t read the first two books in this trilogy! But I’ve heard enough about them that it feels as though I have! And they’re on my bookshelf. It’s not actually unusual for me to read trilogies out of order, and I can say in this case that I didn’t feel as though I’d missed anything major that made it incomprehensible. Maureen Fry to me was perfectly readable and very enjoyable on its own. That’s not to say that I won’t read Harold and Queenie’s stories though!

Maureen isn’t an instantly likeable person. She’s standoffish, rude and has experienced enough trauma in her life to make her attitude and personality unpleasant, yet understandable. As a child she was described as difficult, and she describes herself as a difficult adult. Harold clearly adores her, and finds this part of her just as endearing as the rest. We’ve all met difficult people like Maureen, possibly made sure that we avoided them afterwards, and this novella goes some way to explain how and why Maureen became the person she was.

Maureen doesn’t have an easy time during her journey, mainly because of her ‘spikiness’, but at the same time, it shows how intolerant some people can be (Maureen is included here!). We meet one of Harold’s friends from his walk who proves particularly invaluable for Maureen.

At the centre of this is Maureen’s loss. When her son died by suicide many years before this story takes place, he takes a piece of Maureen with him. This journey, which is, incidentally to Queenie’s garden, helps Maureen to come to terms with her sons death and life without him.

It’s quite beautiful. I’m not saying that Maureen transforms into a wonderfully kind, light-hearted woman (she doesn’t), but I do believe she comes to an understanding with her grief.

This was well worth the reading.

An absolutely brilliant follow up to Queenie Hennesey and Harold Fry. Characters so warm and rich that you feel you know them, this is a beautiful,soft and gentle book.

This third book in the Harold Fry series gave an intriguing glimpse into his partner, Maureen and her feeling throughout his expeditions. This was a short and sweet third instalment and could be classed as a novella, given its short length.

This book was probably my least favourite of the three books. However, this did still answer a lot of questions I had about Maureen's feelings. In the previous two books, she isn't presented as the most personable character and I often questioned her motivations and feelings.

The latest instalment presents Maureen as an individual and adds a lot of depth to her character. I truly hope others read the series and enjoy it as much as I have.

I have not read the first two books in this series. Basically, I had no prior knowledge of Maureen Fry's husband's trek nor of the unintended consequences of that journey. I have (obviously) seen the books discussed in places, but when I started this, I knew nothing of the connections.
Maureen Fry has never been a gregarious and cheerful person. She has taken a few knocks in her life, and some of them have left a lasting impact. She has been harbouring an urge to see this garden that supposedly has a memorial for her son. This is something that bothers her for more reasons than she can name. Maureen decides to take a road trip to the garden and back, and this is the story of things turns out.
At every stage, there are struggles of varying degrees. She is not young enough to take the long journey that easily. What I found fascinating about this book was that, although I knew nothing about all the previous tales which had Maureen in the fringes, I felt like I was fully invested in everything that was mentioned. There was a strong emotional reaction to the personal realizations Maureen achieves. There is catharsis to be had, and I feel like if I was following this series, this might be a good way to end it. Even without that, this story felt like a finale.
Our leading lady is not a likeable person, nor does she try to be. She is perplexed by the effort it takes to make one presentable or friendly to others, and this translates well into bringing a unique protagonist to the forefront. There was no change in her style by the end, just something to help her feel at peace.
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a well-written emotional story.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

If you haven’t read the two previous books in this trilogy, please don’t start ‘Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North’ by Rachel Joyce until you have. This novella can standalone but you will miss many references. It’s as delightfully funny and painfully sad as ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ and ‘The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy,’ and neatly completes the Fry story. It supplies the missing piece in the jigsaw, that hole in the middle.
It is ten years since Maureen Fry’s husband Harold returned home from his walking adventure in search of old friend, Queenie. Maureen has a minor presence in the first two novels, so this is her painfully supressed story about unbearable grief. Not always a sympathetic character, Maureen has always felt different. Until she met Harold, she felt as if she were ‘being measured against something she didn’t understand and would never get right.’ Always lacking in self-confidence, Maureen struggled first after the death of their son David and later to accept Harold’s quest to see Queenie one last time. This book tells of Maureen’s quest, to find herself.
Deeply emotional and simply written, this is about the longevity of grief and how it can permeate every minute of your day. The depth of Joyce’s understanding of human nature, the poetically simple language and the parallel rather than sequential storytelling reminds me of Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy Barton novels.
There are some ‘chuckle out loud’ moments such as the scene with the assistant in a diner. Like Harold, Maureen meets people on her winter journey who surprise her in positive and darker ways. But principally it is about Maureen learning the confidence to accept – and love – herself as she is, to accept each person as an individual and to understand that David was his own person too. She cannot mould the real person David was into one that fits her memory of him.
A quick read, it can be read in one sitting, but for all its brevity it packs a punch. I was still thinking about it days after I read the last page, always a good sign.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

So this one was a no brainer for me after reading and being ruined by Joyce’s first book in the Harold Fry series The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. (Fun fact - the film version, starring Jim Broadbent who narrated the audiobook, lands in April - take tissues if you haven’t read the book!!)

It’s been 10 years since her husband Harold went on his pilgrimage, to see his dear friend Queenie, before she died. A lot has happened since, they’ve got older, they’ve come out of the other side of a worldwide pandemic. But Maureen has a pilgrimage of her own to compete - to visit the garden that Queenie started before she died, where there is a memorial to her late son, David. I should warn you that there’s a theme running through Maureen’s story that some might find hard to read - check out at the end for more information.

Whilst Maureen’s story is much shorter than Harold’s, the ending packed most of the punch for me. She’s not an easy character to relate to, she’s private, she’s stubborn and she’s hurting.

I don’t know if I didn’t enjoy Maureen’s story as much as Harold’s because it’s so short. I think a longer story would have enabled the exploration of her prickly character a bit more - and the characters that she comes across and how they impact on her. But the moments that she remembers and had about David are just heartbreaking. You can tell that she’s holding onto so much grief and anger. And guilt.

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⚠️Content warning/potential spoilers: continues the aftermath and grief following the death by suicide. ⚠️

Maureen Fry & The Angel of The North

Rachel Joyce

This novel is short, sweet and just lovely. I love Rachel Joyce’s writing and this book was the perfect end to the trilogy., answering questions I had from the previous two books and making me see why Harold loves his Maureen. Have recommended to friends and family.
Gorgeous.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Such a fabulous book, well written, great characters. Can’t believe it’s the last one in the trilogy.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

A hugely enjoyable read from my favourite author. With an enriching storyline and deep characters, I couldn’t put this down!

I couldn’t love this any more if I tried. Another beautiful instalment of the Harold Fry story. The wonderful thing about these stories, is you don’t have to read them in any particular order.

I really enjoyed this series - the characters feel so thoroughly realised that you could have grown up with them. An excellent story beautifully told with meaning and great power.

This is a really great book to end the trilogy. This book brought back lots of emotions from reading the previous 2 books and seems a fitting conclusion to the trio’s journeys.

If you enjoyed Harold Fry then you will love Maureens story. Rachel Joyce has a way of observing human behaviour to create quirky characters that you can relate to and empathise with.

I've read all of Rachel Joyce's books even though she's on the extreme twee end for my taste. Those who have read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (Joyce's best book by a mile) will want to finish out the story with this novella about Maureen's mishap-laden road trip up to Northumberland to see Queenie's driftwood garden. Maureen has always been a difficult person, all the more so since her son's suicide, which she has never come to terms with. This trip has the potential to crack her hardened heart open.

I thought the portrayal of her as a stuck-in-the-mud older person was a little stereotyping, but I don't mind spending time with unlikable characters and she does get some opportunities to redeem herself. The message is a timeless and simple one, to be kind to others because you never know what they're going through.

A pleasant enough coda to the two previous books about Harold and Maureen Fry, perhaps a little overly sentimental, but it gives the reader a chance to get to know Maureen better and certainly we gain a greater insight into her grief over her son David. Little more than a novella it’s a quick and enjoyable read but for me it fell a bit flat after the earlier novels. This time it’s Maureen herself who goes on a journey and things don’t always go according to plan.

A good read .I did not realise that this was the last book of a trilogy but I still enjoyed it .A story of love ,loss and forgivenes and as I followed Maureen's journey It was quite an emotional read. It was only a short story but I will try and read the others in the series