Rachel Joyce Knihy

Londýn, 1950 Mesto sa spamätáva z druhej svetovej vojny, keď sa jedného dňa hlavná hrdinka príbehu, Margery Bensonová, rozhodne pre obrovskú životnú zmenu. Opustí prácu učiteľky a vyberie sa na tajuplnú a dobrodružnú expedíciu do Novej Kaledónie, aby si splnila svoj veľký sen z detstva. Z celého srdca túži objaviť zlatého chrobáka, o ktorom nie je isté, či vôbec existuje. Keď uverejní v novinách inzerát na asistenta, ktorý by sa spolu s ňou zúčastnil tejto netradičnej výpravy, spozná sa so ženou, ktorá ju priam šokuje. Zábavná Enid v priliehavom ružovom kostýme a sandáloch so strapcami už na prvý pohľad vyzerá, že kamkoľvek príde, pritiahne nejaký problém. Nakoniec sa však spoločne ocitnú na vzrušujúcom výlete za oceánom, ktorý prekoná všetky očakávania a prinesie im do života niečo, v čo ani jedna z nich na začiatku nedúfala – ohromujúcu silu skutočného priateľstva.

Harold Fry býva v malej anglickej dedinke s večne napajedenou manželkou Maureen. Obaja sú na dôchodku, dni im plynú jeden ako druhý. Raz ráno však Harold objaví v pošte list od ženy, ktorú nevidel dvadsať rokov. Volá sa Queenie Hennessyová a píše mu z hospicu, aby sa s ním rozlúčila. Harold jej narýchlo odpíše niekoľko riadkov a odíde vhodiť list do schránky. Jeho manželka zatiaľ vysáva na poschodí a netuší, že Harold Fry má pred sebou cestu na druhý koniec krajiny. Lebo, ako to už v dobrých knihách býva, cestou stretne niekoho, kto mu vysvetlí, že jeden list po dvadsiatich rokoch je málo. A tak sa Harold vydáva naprieč celým Anglickom na neuveriteľnú cestu plnú nečakaných stretnutí a rozpomínania na zabudnutú minulosť, aby priateľku ešte aspoň raz videl osobne, lebo kdesi hlboko vnútri veľmi dobre vie, že jej má čo odplácať. Nemá turistické topánky ani kompas, plášť do dažďa ani mobilný telefón. Vie len, že musí ísť. Aby zachránil niečí život.

From the author of the 2 million+ copy, worldwide bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, an exquisite, funny and heartrending parallel story.When Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she was dying. How can she wait?A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything. In confessing to secrets she has hidden for twenty years, she will find atonement for the past. As the volunteer points out, ‘Even though you've done your travelling, you're starting a new journey too.'Queenie thought her first letter would be the end of the story. She was wrong. It was the beginning.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.

From the author of the world-wide bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry- ' A beautiful novel, a tonic for the soul and a complete joy to read.' Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. 1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann. Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind ... 'Hits all the right notes...a love story that's as much about the silences between words as what is said - the spaces between people that can be filled with mystery, confusion and misunderstanding as well as hope." Observer RACHEL JOYCE'S NEW NOVEL, MISS BENSON'S BEETLE, IS OUT NOW.

Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on his epic journey on foot to save a friend. But the story doesn't end there. Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make. Maureen Fry has settled into the quiet life she now shares with her husband Harold after his iconic walk across England. Now, ten years later, an unexpected message from the North disturbs her equilibrium again, and this time it is Maureen's turn to make her own journey. But Maureen is not like Harold. She struggles to bond with strangers, and the landscape she crosses has changed radically. She has little sense of what she'll find at the end of the road. All she knows is that she must get there. Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North is a deeply felt, lyrical novel, full of warmth and kindness. Short, exquisite, powerful- it is about love, loss, and how we come to terms with the past in order to understand ourselves and our lives a little better.

Summer, 1972 : In the claustrophobic heat, eleven-year-old Byron and his friend begin 'Operation Perfect', a hapless mission to rescue Byron's mother from impending crisis. Winter, present day : As frost creeps across the moor, Jim cleans tables in the local café, a solitary figure struggling with OCD. His job is a relief from the rituals that govern his nights. Little would seem to connect them except that two seconds can change everything. And if your world can be shattered in an instant, can time also put it right?

Seven stories to span the Christmas holidays: A Faraway Smell of Lemon: The School Term has ended. It is almost Christmas but Binny, out last-minute shopping couldn't feel less like wishing glad tidings to all men. Ducking out of the rain she finds herself in the sort of shop she would never normally visit. The Marriage Manual: Christmas Eve. Two parents endeavour to construct their son's Christmas present from a DIY kit and in the process find themselves deconstructing their marriage. Christmas at the Airport: A glitch in the system, travellers stranded and all sorts of lives colliding in the face of a sudden birth... The Boxing Day Ball: Maureen has never been out with the local girls before. Who knew that a disco in the Village Hall could be life-changing? A Snow Garden: Two little boys, dumped with their divorced father for his share of the Christmas holidays and none of them with a clue how to enjoy it. I'll Be Home for Christmas The most famous boy in the world comes home hoping to escape the madness with a normal family Christmas. Trees: As if Christmas wasn't wearing enough, now his elderly parent is asking for a hole in the ground ... Father and son break old habits and plant a tree to mark the start of the new year. Six stories as funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should be.

As read on Radio 4, seven linked stories set in the Christmas holidays - all as funny, joyous, poignant and memorable as Christmas should be: A Faraway Smell of Lemon: The School Term has ended. It is almost Christmas but Binny, out last-minute shopping couldn't feel less like wishing glad tidings to all men. Ducking out of the rain she finds herself in the sort of shop she would never normally visit. The Marriage Manual: Christmas Eve. Two parents endeavour to construct their son's Christmas present from a DIY kit and in the process find themselves deconstructing their marriage. Christmas at the Airport: A glitch in the system, travellers stranded and all sorts of lives colliding in the face of a sudden birth... The Boxing Day Ball: Maureen has never been out with the local girls before. Who knew that a disco in the Village Hall could be life-changing? A Snow Garden: Two little boys, dumped with their divorced father for his share of the Christmas holidays and none of them with a clue how to enjoy it. I'll Be Home for Christmas The most famous boy in the world comes home hoping to escape the madness with a normal family Christmas. Trees: As if Christmas wasn't wearing enough, now his elderly parent is asking for a hole in the ground ... Father and son break old habits and plant a tree to mark the start of the new year.

Summer, 1972: In the claustrophobic heat, eleven-year-old Byron and his friend begin âe~Operation Perfectâe(tm), a hapless mission to rescue Byronâe(tm)s mother from impending crisis. Winter, present day: As frost creeps across the moor, Jim cleans tables in the local café, a solitary figure struggling with OCD. His job is a relief from the rituals that govern his nights. Little would seem to connect them except that two seconds can change everything. And if your world can be shattered in an instant, can time also put it right?

Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Italian lakes, this tense family drama explores complex relationships and emotional turmoil. Written by a Booker-Prize longlisted author, the narrative promises to resonate with fans of Ann Patchett and Maggie O'Farrell, delivering a compelling story filled with intricate character dynamics and profound themes.