BOOK REVIEW: Maureen by Rachel Joyce

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Maureen by Rachel Joyce is the third book in the Harold Frye trilogy. I loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye. It’s hard to believe I read it more than a decade ago. A lot has happened in ten years and Maureen takes this all into account, up to and including the pandemic.

Harold’s unlikely pilgrimage was a 500 mile walk to see a dying friend. The walk helped heal the heartbreak he felt after the death of his son, a tragedy that fractured his marriage. Maureen is Harold’s wife, the woman he found his way back to all those years ago. For a while, their marriage seemed repaired, but Maureen is still not over David’s death. How could she be? So now, it’s time for her to make a pilgrimage of her own.

Queenie (the dying friend of Harold from book 1) created a sculpture garden before she died. The garden consists of driftwood pieces and artifacts left by others as remembrances of lost loved ones. It was dedicated to David – Maureen and Harold’s son. Maureen has never seen the garden and, partly prompted by the cabin fever of the pandemic, she has become obsessed with it. At Harold’s prompting, she sets off (in her car, not on foot) to see it.

She has a good deal of trouble along the way. She does not find the journey uplifting. Unlike Harold, who thrived on his interactions with strangers who became friends, Maureen is cranky and does not deal well with people. But the garden does move her – to anger first, but finally to understanding and acceptance.

This is a lovely story about unbearable pain and the redemptive power of kindness and love. I didn’t read book two, Queenie’s story, and I don’t think you need to in order to enjoy this one, but I do think you need to read Harold’s story first to fully appreciate Maureen’s.