David,the character I met in this book has haunted me till date.If the characters in the books you read are so real that you meet and become them in real life you know the shit is real and the book is one of the bests you have read till date.
So this book,’The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy’ is the Queenie side of the book ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ and my god have I never loved the second part of books as much as I have loved this one.
The main character of this book is Queenie (Duh! the book is named after her! ) who is dying of cancer, (this is not a spoiler so no need to stop reading).
She gave me a clearer window to look at things I love how Joyce created her,how to the point she was and how brutally sincere and honest she was but my most favorite character in this book was undoubtedly David.
David Fry’s vulnerability,his lies,his attempt to leave a mark in the world not caring if the mark was a scar,his fear of being ordinary,his desperation to be different……all of this packaged into one hate worthy human being whom I fell in love with was the best part of the book.
He is scared to be invisible but I guess we all are,we all want someone to know that we were here,to notice our lives and to care for us.
I was heartbroken with how Queenie could not do what she was supposed to do I guess we all are Queenie Hennessy too…victims of circumstances who have noone to blame.
I loveeeeeed how Joyce portrayed Queenie’s relationship with her parents shaped her personality and how she was still trying to be accepted by her mother in unimaginable ways during her adult life.
It was easy to love Queenie as a reader ,easier than it was for Harold Fry to love her.As an outsider I was in awe with her strength to make peace with her past and literally build a garden with blooming flowers out of the things that decayed inside her.
All in all I think this is a must read,a heartbreakingly beautiful tale of life which gives you a fresh perspective of self The Love Song of Queenie Hennesy has to be one of my most favorite books of all times.
P.S-I love Mary too basically most characters of this book are amazeballs and hence that’s why I think Joyce is one underrated writer and more people should read her.
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