The Homemade God - Rachel Joyce

54%

08.06.26

This wasn't as tragic as some of Joyce's other books but it was still pretty dark. But it was frustrating, too. Beautifully written, of course, but it didn't finish where it should have done and I was hoping that karma would get the utterly unlikable and entitled adult siblings, too dependent on their manipulative father, and it sort of did, but then... it didn't. Because having siblings is apparently always preferable to not, even if they're horrible. 

The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce

56%
10.06.18

Unlike Joyce's other books, this is sad but not tragic, and [spoiler] even has a happy, cheesy ending, which is unexpected from this author. It's also so slow, with such tedious characters, that I nearly gave up several times. Well-written, of course, but unremarkable.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy - Rachel Joyce

61%
21.01.16

This 'companion novel' to 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' is really more a back story for the goal of that pilgrimage. Beautifully written and tragic, as you'd expect from Joyce, but Queenie is not the most compelling character and ultimately it all seems rather unnecessary.

Perfect - Rachel Joyce

61%
24.04.15

"Uplifting", says one of the reviews on the back cover. If that means ominous, pessimistic and tragic then, yes, it is uplifting. Of course, there's nothing in itself wrong with a depressing book - and this one is poetic with well-drawn characters - but it doesn't quite pull it off convincingly and, as with Joyce's equally sad novel, Harold Fry, the "twist" is pretty clear from early on.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

69%
22.11.12

My daughter runs from the room if a story hints at anything sad or uncomfortable. She's only four but I've got 30 years on her and I still know how she feels. While often billed as a gentle, bitter-sweet humorous novel of manners, I found it dark, tragic, even, right from the start, when it's clear at once why the couple at its centre are so estranged. The language was beautiful, the descriptions of nature flawless, which is appropriate for a novel that highlights the balance between the joy of life and its apparent futility.