The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy
Rachel Joyce, 2015
Random House
384 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780812996678
Summary
From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry comes an exquisite love story about Queenie Hennessy, the remarkable friend who inspired Harold’s cross-country journey.
A runaway international bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry followed its unassuming hero on an incredible journey as he traveled the length of England on foot—a journey spurred by a simple letter from his old friend Queenie Hennessy, writing from a hospice to say goodbye. Harold believed that as long as he kept walking, Queenie would live.
What he didn’t know was that his decision to walk had caused her both alarm and fear. How could she wait? What would she say? Forced to confront the past, Queenie realizes she must write again.
In this poignant parallel story to Harold’s saga, acclaimed author Rachel Joyce brings Queenie Hennessy’s voice into sharp focus. Setting pen to paper, Queenie makes a journey of her own, a journey that is even bigger than Harold’s; one word after another, she promises to confess long-buried truths—about her modest childhood, her studies at Oxford, the heartbreak that brought her to Kingsbridge and to loving Harold, her friendship with his son, the solace she has found in a garden by the sea.
And, finally, the devastating secret she has kept from Harold for all these years.
A wise, tender, layered novel that gathers tremendous emotional force, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy underscores the resilience of the human spirit, beautifully illuminating the small yet pivotal moments that can change a person’s life. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1962
• Where—London, England, UK
• Education—N/A
• Awards—Tinniswood Award
• Currently—Gloucestershire, England
Rachel Joyce is a British author. She has written plays for BBC Radio Four, and jointly won the 2007 Tinniswood Award for her To Be a Pilgrim.
Her debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, was on the longlist for the 2012 Man Booker Prize. In December 2012, she was awarded the "New Writer of the Year" award by the National Book Awards for the novel. Her second novel, Perfect, was published in 2013 to critical acclaim. The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, a companion novel to Harold Fry, was released in 2015.
She is married to actor Paul Venables, and lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and four children. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 8/18/2015.)
Book Reviews
In the end, this lovely book is full of joy. Much more than the story of a woman’s enduring love for an ordinary, flawed man, it’s an ode to messy, imperfect, glorious, unsung humanity.... [Queenie’s] love song is for us. Thank you, Rachel Joyce.
Washington Post
Joyce’s writing at moments has a simplicity that sings. She captures hope best of all.
Guardian (UK)
Joyce has a wonderfully evocative turn of phrase and like her other books this is a delightful read. . . . Queenie is an uplifting and moving companion to Harold.
Daily Express (UK)
Joyce nicely calls the book a companion rather than a sequel. But The Love Song is bolder than a retread of the same material from another angle. . . . After two such involving novels, readers are bound to wish for a third.
Telegraph (UK)
A wonderful read.... It is not necessary to read Harold’s story before reading Queenie’s to enjoy this bittersweet novel, which is a pleasure in its own right. However, reading both will only serve to double that pleasure.
Independent (UK)
[A] deeply affecting novel.... Culminating in a shattering revelation, [Queenie’s] tale is funny, sad, hopeful: She’s bound for death, but full of life.
People
Like Harold Fry, Queenie is delightful and dark.... But Joyce is so deft that when the book is over and you close the cover, the darkness fades. What sticks with you is the light of Queenie’s unwavering love.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fans of Harold's story will appreciate a chance to meet him again and hear his story from a new angle, and after a slow and slightly confusing start, even newcomers to Queenie and Harold's doomed love story will not be immune to its charms. A bittersweet final twist is a fitting cap to a tragic, touching tale.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) [A] beguiling follow-up.... In telling Queenie’s side of the story, Joyce accomplishes the rare feat of endowing her continuing narrative with as much pathos and warmth, wisdom and poignancy as her debut. Harold was beloved by millions; Queenie will be, too.
Booklist
[A] sometimes-funny, sometimes-sad reflection on life's bitter end. Any pathos is mostly subsumed by wry humor and clarity regarding life's foibles, the story ending with a beautiful twist reminding us we all journey through life as lonely, sometimes-inarticulate pilgrims. Reading Harold Fry first will allow this deeply emotional novel to resonate more fully.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Although Queenie is waiting for Harold Fry, she too is on a journey. Did you notice any parallels between the journeys in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy?
2. In her letter, Queenie notes that "we write ourselves certain parts and then keep playing them as if we have no choice." Do you agree with this statement?
3. "When I woke, I had a visitor. She had a grapefruit on her head. She’d also brought her horse." From the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Queenie is under the influence of morphine. With hindsight, how far do you think reality blurred with illusion?
4. Queenie describes her sea garden in exquisite detail. What is the relevance of the sea garden to the novel as a whole?
5. In her letter to Harold, Queenie describes how she witnessed David’s declining mental health. Do you put David’s troubles down to nature or nurture?
6. "Sometimes we like to laugh at ourselves. We like to be silly." How does Rachel Joyce use humour throughout The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy?
7. "I am starting again, I thought. Because that is what you do when you reach the last stop. You make a new beginning." How do beginnings and endings interact throughout this novel?
8. In her own letter, included at the end of The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Rachel Joyce says that the patients at St Bernadine’s are a "chorus for Queenie—her backing vocals." However, Finty and her fellow patients are described in vivid detail. What backstories might you give them?
9. The doctor of philosophy argues that "when we love, it is only to fool ourselves that we are something." Queenie’s unrequited love for Harold is sustained for twenty years. What do you make of this? Is it true love or something else?
10. At which point in her life do you think Queenie is happiest?
11. Is the Harold of this novel the same man that walks out of his home in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry?
12. Queenie writes "I was to blame. I am to blame." Is her guilt justified?
13. Has the book changed your perception of hospices?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)