I’ve struggled quite a bit with writing this review as I’m not really sure what to say. I had high expectations of it as I absolutely loved Room, by the same author. However, whilst this was a good story and well written, I found I just didn’t really care about the characters and what happened to them!

The novel is set in the nineteenth century (probably another reason why I didn’t like it, as I only really like books set in the century they were written) and is actually based on a real life scandal. The main character, Fido, is caught up in a scandal involving an old friend, her husband and a number of extra man friends, if you get m’drift. As a good friend, Fido tries to help, but things are not all they seem and that’s all I’ll say… Where Fido is plain, intelligent and career-minded, her friend (Helen) is beautiful, passionate and fanciful. Their friendship is quite intriguing because of its unlikeliness and there is plenty of drama with secrets hidden and uncovered. 

One reason I didn’t enjoy the book so much was because it’s quite predictable. I could see quite a lot of the twists and turns coming, which makes them lose some punch. Furthermore, it’s a very long book, but it is easy to read so didn’t take me too long. As it’s such a long book, there isn’t really a quote I can pick out as a favourite.

So I apologise for the lack of depth in this review! If you like books set in Victorian England with drama, intrigue and the occasional bit of sauce, you may like this one. However, I would not recommend this book to just anyone.

I truly did not want this book to end. If you have read The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, you will be familiar with Queenie. This book sits as a companion to The Pilgrimage, so whilst it’s not essential to read the latter first, you will probably get more out of it if you do.

Queenie is in a hospice in the last months of her life and she writes a letter to Harold Fry, who she hasn’t seen for 20 years. Harold then decides to walk the length of England to see her before she dies. So he asks her to “wait for him”. You may think that since the novel is set in a hospice, it would be horribly sad and dark. Some parts are, of course, heartbreaking. But the other characters in the hospice, the patients and the nuns, are so wonderfully full of life that you can’t help fall in love with them. They provide humour and offer a glimpse into what it’s like to live knowing you’re soon going to die. 

The book is largely written as one long letter, from Queenie to Harold, telling the story of how they met and how she became involved in his life in a way he had never known. She writes it, with the help of a nun, whilst waiting for Harold to reach her.

It is a story of two very ordinary people and the space between them. It is about unrequited, secret love, the glorious ordinariness of life, the friends we make along the way and, finally, the end of life. The book is written in a beautiful, moving, delightful way with snippets of comedy alongside the occasional heartache. 

One of my favourite quotes from the book is the following: “It is a hard thing, as I said, this learning to love. But it is an even harder thing, I think, to learn to be ordinary.”

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, and also The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. 

If you’ve read Jonas Jonasson’s (great name) other novels, like The Hundred-year-old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared, you will love this. It’s quirky, funny, surprising and a great story. A hitman finds Jesus and decides to not kill people anymore. Which enrages the Stockholm underworld. Of course, hilarity ensues.

The priest, Per Persson (again, great name) and Hitman Anders are brilliant characters and the twists and turns off the plot make it a real page-turner. It’s a wonderfully weird book and I really enjoyed reading it.