Rachel Joyce's Blog, page 2

Start the year with a pilgrimage

Whether you consider the holidays a delight or a distraction, those busy weeks have now been followed by a spell of bad weather that has broken records and really messed up our schedules! I’ve lived in the Chicago suburbs for my entire life, but this time of year always has me yearning for another locale: England. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to the United Kingdom on three occasions, and my trips were always in January, when I had a long break from my college library job. It is one of my favorite places on earth, and if you, too, are an Anglophile, or just someone who enjoys a change of scenery, I think you’ll enjoy reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Random House: 2012) by Rachel Joyce. The English countryside and the cities and towns scattered throughout are some of the stars of this best-selling novel, published in 2012. Of course, the real star is Harold Fry. Read the rest of the article on the Barrington Courier-Review website

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Rachel Joyce and Peter Ackroyd look at fate through different lenses

MONTREAL — Do we have control over the lives we lead, or are we all at the mercy of fate? Two worthy novels, both set in class-conscious England, look at the way people play the hands they are dealt. Both stories start by letting us know that something bad is going to happen, but Perfect, by Rachel Joyce, has a soft edge that helps us cope with the foreboding. In Three Brothers, by Peter Ackroyd, we understand early on that we continue reading at our own risk: Destiny is not kind. Both stories unfold from alternating viewpoints. Joyce’s Perfect begins with Byron Hemmings, a hapless, lovable boy worrying over news from his best friend, James: Two seconds will be added to 1972, a leap year, to put the movement of the Earth in sync with time. Even at 11 years old, Byron’s instincts are good: Only disaster can come from messing with the universe. Within months, everything had changed and would never be put right. Read the rest of the article on the Montreal Gazette website

The post Rachel Joyce and Peter Ackroyd look at fate through different lenses appeared first on The Official Rachel Joyce Website.

Welcome to the News & Events

Welcome to Rachel’s News & Events page. For the latest updates about Rachel’s writing, her UK tour dates and more, make sure to look through the blog posts below.

The post Welcome to the News & Events appeared first on The Official Rachel Joyce Website.