Hallelujah for Vinyl

Book Review of "The Music Shop" by Rachel Joyce Rachel Joyce's newest novel begins with this simple line, "There once was a music shop." No, this isn't a fairy tale; instead, what follows is a complex journey of two people on the backdrop of a soundtrack that’s equally as eclectic as they are. It’s the … Continue reading Hallelujah for Vinyl →

The Eves of Winter Stories

Book Review of "A Snow Garden & Other Stories" by Rachel Joyce In this collection, Rachel Joyce connects seven stories spanning from just before Christmas Eve through New Year's Eve. Joyce not only arranges these tales chronologically, she also links them with other elements. The stories here are: Faraway Smell of Lemon - Binny wasn't … Continue reading The Eves of Winter Stories →

The Other Side of a Journey

Book Review for "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy" by Rachel Joyce. Readers of Joyce's debut novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will know Queenie Hennessy, or at least know of her. She is the woman Harold Fry worked with, who is dying of cancer. When Harold Fry gets the letter telling him … Continue reading The Other Side of a Journey →

The Scent of Letting Go

Review of the story "A Faraway Smell of Lemon" by Rachel Joyce. Binny isn't in the Christmas mood, so she ducks into the first shop she can find to avoid the cheer of another mother. What she finds there is far more than some items she has no interest in buying. Hello, my name is … Continue reading The Scent of Letting Go →

When Even the Smallest Moments in Time Make All the Difference

Book Review for "Perfect: A Novel" by Rachel Joyce. Byron Hemmings is a clever boy with an equally clever best friend James Lowe. When they hear about adding an extra two seconds, the idea astounds them both. But then Byron notices his watch moving backwards at the exact time the accident happened, and nothing will … Continue reading When Even the Smallest Moments in Time Make All the Difference →

A Trek of Self-Discovery

Book Review of "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce. Queenie, an old colleague of Harold's, is dying. When Harold gets the news, he finds he can't post the letter he's written to her, so he just keeps on walking. And so he starts his 627 mile walk that takes him 87 days … Continue reading A Trek of Self-Discovery →