1666 Coffman
  • Home
    • Virtual Tour
    • Art Gallery >
      • Dreams & Woodcraft
      • Botanicals & Gold
    • Exercise Room
    • Flora & Fauna
  • Activities
    • Events Calendar
    • Ongoing Activities
  • Residents' Realm
    • Newsletter
    • Coffman Office >
      • Coffman Calendars
      • Exchange
      • Resident Absence
      • Accident Form
      • Room Reservations >
        • Social Room Reservations
        • Dining Room Reservations
        • Guest Room Reservations
        • Other Room Reservations
    • Dining >
      • MealOrder Calendar
    • Maintenance >
      • Maintenance Calendar
      • Trash
    • Governance Documents
    • Operational Documents
    • Board & Committees >
      • Long-Range Planning
      • Architectural Integrity Committee
    • Health & Safety >
      • COVID-19
    • Suggestion Box
  • Library
    • News & Updates
    • Book Checkout
    • Tour the Library
    • Recommended Reading >
      • Reader Reviews
      • Acquisitions
    • Book Night >
      • Book Night Archive
    • Donating Books
  • Available Units
    • Application Form
    • Condos for Sale
    • Floor Plans
  • Contact

Review: "Miss Benson's Beetle" by Rachel Joyce

4/18/2022

 
By David Maschwitz
Originally published in the April 2022 issue of the 1666 Coffman Newsletter

It is said that when a theologian asked the eminent twentieth century evolutionary biologist JBD Haldane if there was anything that could be concluded about God from the study of natural history, he answered, “God must have an inordinate fondness for beetles.” If true, God is not alone. Miss Margery Benson also has an inordinate fondness for beetles. Her obsession starts at age ten when her father shows 
Picture
her a picture of a small gold-colored beetle in a picture book of mythical animals. She is spellbound. She will go to New Caledonia, wherever that is, and find the beetle. 

​Rachel Joyce’s fifth novel, Miss Benson’s Beetle, is the story of two women on a life-altering quest to find this undiscovered beetle. It is clear from the text that the author has either some entomological training or has done her beetle research (the latter, as revealed in acknowledgments). The year is 1950 in war-weary London; rationing is still a fact of life in England.

Margery Benson is a forty-six-year-old spinster teaching domestic science to girls who are bored stiff. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she is the butt of a cruel joke perpetrated by her students. Humiliated, she abruptly ends her lesson on how to make a cake in wartime, and walks out of the classroom never to return. She realizes this is her moment. It’s time to risk everything, fulfill her dream and find the gold beetle. She advertises for an assistant to help with the expedition to the other side of the world. Out of candidates and desperate, she offers the job to Mrs. Enid Pretty, who appears unsuited for the position in every respect. Mrs. Pretty also seems suspiciously eager to get out of town. The two women could not be more different. Physically, Margery is a large woman, tall and big-boned. Enid is petite, young, blond and attractive. Enid is a risktaker and not reluctant to use her charms to get what she wants.

Joyce’s writing style is clever, full of surprises and occasional humor. I found it captivating. For example, when describing one of the British wives of government officials stuck in New Caledonia, Joyce writes, “She was a sweet person, but her intelligence she saved for special occasions.” Or in describing history, “History is not made up by events alone, but also by what lies between the lines.”

As the search gets underway in New Caledonia, the two women, completely out of their depth, face unimaginable hardship, cyclones, illness, a deranged stalker, and the threat of arrest.

​Enid becomes surprisingly insightful and a source of strength, reminding Margery, when she gets discouraged, that her vocation in life is to find the beetle. Enid’s vocation is to bring a pregnancy to a successful conclusion. In the weeks of searching they become more and more interdependent, and they reveal more and more intimate facts about their past lives that cements the closest of friendships. In the end, do they find the gold beetle? Can’t say. Does it even exist at all? I’m an entomologist, and I have no idea if it does or not. Among the 200,000 species of beetles worldwide, maybe it does. In a postscript, Joyce interviews her two fictional characters, an intriguing literary device that answers some questions not divulged in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite being a little disappointed with the ending. I would recommend it to any reader, not just women or beetle lovers. A copy was recently added to the Coffman library.

Comments are closed.

    Newsletter

    Coffman residents, signup for monthly updates from the Library!

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    Posts by Year

    All
    2011
    2013
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2022
    2023

    Posts by Month

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    January 2015
    April 2014
    February 2014
    September 2013
    September 2011


1666 Coffman Condominium Association

Amenities

Library

Activities

Virtual Tour

Sales info

Condos for Sale
  • Home
    • Virtual Tour
    • Art Gallery >
      • Dreams & Woodcraft
      • Botanicals & Gold
    • Exercise Room
    • Flora & Fauna
  • Activities
    • Events Calendar
    • Ongoing Activities
  • Residents' Realm
    • Newsletter
    • Coffman Office >
      • Coffman Calendars
      • Exchange
      • Resident Absence
      • Accident Form
      • Room Reservations >
        • Social Room Reservations
        • Dining Room Reservations
        • Guest Room Reservations
        • Other Room Reservations
    • Dining >
      • MealOrder Calendar
    • Maintenance >
      • Maintenance Calendar
      • Trash
    • Governance Documents
    • Operational Documents
    • Board & Committees >
      • Long-Range Planning
      • Architectural Integrity Committee
    • Health & Safety >
      • COVID-19
    • Suggestion Box
  • Library
    • News & Updates
    • Book Checkout
    • Tour the Library
    • Recommended Reading >
      • Reader Reviews
      • Acquisitions
    • Book Night >
      • Book Night Archive
    • Donating Books
  • Available Units
    • Application Form
    • Condos for Sale
    • Floor Plans
  • Contact