Reviews with content warning for Grief - Miss Benson's Beetle

This book is delightful. There’s so much more to the story than the blurb suggested — nuanced characters and universal themes wrapped up in a wildly entertaining story. Loved it.

Content Warnings

phoevincent's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

alayamorning's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

bobbijopmh's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“We are not the things that happened to us. We can be what we like.”

A story of adventure across the world and finding your true vocation.

This novel was not quite what I expected. I expected a light ‘book club’ type women’s adventure. But it was much more substantial than that. It’s somewhere between a crime caper, and adventure story, and a meaningful feminist journey of self-discovery. It’s about taking a risk to find what truly makes you happy.

I enjoyed this book and read it quite quickly (2 days). The characters are well developed. The locations are described well enough that they begin to come to life. There is humour, and emotion, and suspense in just the right measures. As a nature lover I certainly enjoyed the entomology references too.

Overall an easy four star read.

Content Warnings

arcookson's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

hollyd19's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Miss Benson’s Beetle follows Margery Benson, a middle-aged domestic science teacher in post-war Britain. After a mental break loses her her job in one dramatic day, she decides to throw caution to the wind and go on an expedition to New Caledonia in search of a beetle she has been infatuated with her whole life. She puts a call out for an assistant, and ends up with a hot mess of a woman, Enid Pretty, accompanying her on her adventure.

Y’all, I wanted to love this book. It seemed charming and fun and has a totally-up-my-alley premise. But on the whole, I was pretty disappointed.

First of all, this book has a lot more heavy themes than I expected given the synopsis and the various endorsements (words like “charming,” “brilliant,” and “marvelous”). I’ll put some content warnings at the bottom. Secondly, the character development felt spasmodic and inconsistent. Finally, there is a character called Mundic who I felt was an awkward, possibly even offensive, attempt at incorporating post-war PTSD into the narrative. Most of the chapters from his perspective left me unsettled and a little confused.

Admittedly, I liked the second half better than the first. The two women found a bit more of a rhythm and their relationship took on a more believable tenor. That said, I cannot say I found it to be a satisfying to read.

Content Warnings

bookstolivewith's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce follows the story of Margery Benson as she sets out to do what no one ever thought she would: find the Golden Beetle of New Caledonia. Encountering a new setback in every direction, she is accompanied by Enid Pretty, who, despite her bright personality, has a “pretty” big secret. So will they find the beetle, or was this all just too much for Margery to handle? (TW: suicide, miscarriage, death, stalking & PTSD.)

I was not initially loving this one and it took me a while to get into. However, I ended up really enjoying the overall story because of how it addresses (Western) womanhood — its assumptions and expectations vs its realities and desires, for the most part. This book is populated with different “types” of women and you really feel for most of them, even when they do something horrible. Even the men in this book are affected by this expected role of (British or Western) womanhood, and the story shows how men are done a disservice by expected gender roles, especially in the wake of a traumatic world war.

It’s not the best book I’ve ever read but it is totally different from what I expected and different from other things I’ve been reading lately. It’s a love story between self and others, as well as a story about women learning to love other women, forgiving their transgressions and the strength women have to move forward (maybe juxtaposed against men who are stuck in the past? I don’t know, that may be too analytical).

If you’re looking for something different that’s also a bit of a woman empowerment book, this might be for you! I think this is probably also a great book for book clubs, as there’s lots to discuss. Miss Benson’s Beetle out November 3rd (but it’ll still be there post-election)!

Content Warnings

More...