The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

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This book moved me to tears, made me laugh, made me think about me relationship with my mother, with my grandmothers, with my sons.

The cast of secondary characters helps to develop the deeper meaning of this book. From the Harold Fry that was missing in the first novel to the handful of hospice residents with their own stories and who help Queenie prepare for the arrival of the wandering pilgrim. Perhaps the most interesting secondary character is David Fry, a young man who has so much potential, though is lost to many. Queenie breathes much life into him and their connection is almost able to overtake that of Queenie and Harold. Readers who are familiar with the first novel will want to pay close attention to this subplot, as it is highly important and offers a quasi surrogate parent/child interaction. Joyce] manages to both add depth to an already strong work and build something new and beautiful upon it.” — The A.V. Club The nuns are kind and helpful, especially Sister Lucy, who attends to Queenie with care. Between reminiscences, she reminds us of her condition, which is a cancer that has destroyed much of her jaw and her speech.I would recommend reading this after The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which is technically the first in the series of three books but it could be easily read as a stand-alone. These ordinary people mean so much to those around them that they are not ordinary at all.

This one is a truly dark horse and it is one of the top five books I've ever heard. I'm sad I can only give it 5 stars. This is a book about love and loss, living and dying. I loved this, ‘If only memory were a library with everything stored where it should be. If only you could walk to the desk and say to the assistant, I’d like to return the painful memories about … and take out some happier ones, please.’ And also, ‘sometimes you cannot clear the past completely. You must live alongside your sorrow.’ And, for the record, I still would say that I have not written a sequel to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I have not written a prequel either. What I have written is a book that sits alongside Harold Fry. They really should come that way—her in the passenger seat, him in the driver’s seat. Side by side. Told in simple, emotionally-honest prose, with a mischievous bite, this is a novel about the journey we all must take to learn who we are; it is about loving and letting go. And most of all it is about finding joy in unexpected places and at times we least expect.When news of Harold Fry’s pilgrimage spreads throughout the hospice, so does a new atmosphere of hope. A banner is constructed and a special corner set up for Harold Fry’s postcards and to pin up any news of his pilgrimage. It becomes a great occasion any time a postcard arrives and everyone becomes part of the excitement. Where does The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It made me remember how selfish we are as young adults, so uncertain in ourselves, but so certain that we know so much more than our parents. Queenie knows Harold is on his way to visit her, and she realizes she must confront the past she quietly left behind twenty years ago. 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 In the hospices we talked a lot about dying. We talked, too, about my father and his own death. At the end of one meeting, the manager said to me, “You need to write this book.” I probably cried, because it had been an emotional day. But I cried also because he was right.An extraordinarily touching portrait - all dangers of sentimentality are banished by a final twist that makes you realise that what you've been reading is even sadder, and far tougher, than it seemed. Readers Digest Have you read, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce? https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

You have not read the small print,” grumbled Mr. Henderson. And then, louder: “The woman has not read the small print.” Queenie had an unrequited love for Harold Fry the entire time they worked together at the brewery. She left the brewery decades ago and moved to the other end of England. Now, she is dying of cancer. When Harold learns, he begins walking the length of England to see her. The story of that walk encompassed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Now, we hear from Queenie, as she awaits Harold’s arrival at her hospice. Unable to talk, she writes out her story, basically a confession of the secrets she hid years ago.

Rachel Joyce

Sister Catherine studied her yellow note. “He said to tell you that as long as he walks, you must wait. He also said he’s setting off from Kingsbridge.” She turned to the other nuns and volunteers. “Kingsbridge? Does anyone know where that is?” A] deeply affecting novel…Culminating in a shattering revelation, her tale is funny, sad, hopeful: She’s bound for death, but full of life. People Magazine Joyce nicely calls the book a companion rather than a sequel. But The Love Songis bolder than a retread of the same material from another angle. . . . After two such involving novels, readers are bound to wish for a third.” — The Telegraph We learn so much about Queenie from her letter, about her childhood, university days where she studied classics, her losses, her time with Harold and her beloved beachhouse and stunning sea garden, complete with representations of the important people in her life.