A Green Journey

by Jon Hassler

"Hassler's characters have old-fashioned values and typical human failings; they make this a novel to restore your faith in humanity."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Agatha McGee is following a dream, though it might be late in the game. She's just retired from a career of teaching and travels to Ireland in search of the romance she never had time for. And along the way, she not only discovers people she would never have let herself know before, but learns through experience, at long last, that love is unpredictable, unstoppable, and never appears as we dream it will.


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Novels, Book Club, Literary Fiction, Travel, Faith

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 1984

About the author

Jon Hassler was born in Minneapolis, but spent his formative years in the small Minnesota towns of Staples and Plainview, where he graduated from high school. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. John's University in 1955. While teaching English at three different Minnesota high schools, he received his Master of Arts degree in English from the University of North Dakota in 1960. He continued to teach at the high school level until 1965, when he began his collegiate teaching career: first at Bemidji State University, then Brainerd Community College (now called Central Lakes College), and finally at Saint John's, where he became the Writer-in-Residence in 1980.

During his high-school teaching years, Hassler married and fathered three children. His first marriage lasted 25 years. He had two more marriages; the last was to Gretchen Kresl Hassler.

In 1994, Hassler was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a disease similar to Parkinson's. It caused vision and speech problems, as well as difficulty walking, but he was able to continue writing. He was reported to have finished a novel just days before his death. Hassler died in 2008, at the age of 74, at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[1]

The Jon Hassler Theater in Plainview, Minnesota, is named for him.

Reviews

[Shea · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story of a retired Catholic teacher from Minnesota who takes a trip to Ireland to meet her long time pen pal.

The ending was not satisfying, so I had a difficult time enjoying this story.

*Note: This was recommended by Gladys Hunt in Honey for a Woman’s Heart.

Content: a few swear words, mentions of teenage pregnancy, alcohol, etc.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Agatha McGee, other characters were good too, Janet, James, Bishop Baker to mention a few, but Agatha made the book special! You can almost hear the waves as Agatha makes the green journey to Ireland- beautifully descriptive- even the violent clashes with Northern Ireland don’t dim my enthusiasm for this story. The episode with the poisoned mushrooms was so funny- laughed out loud to the consternation of my dog!

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago I watched the film of this book set in a small American town and have unsuccessfully tried to obtain a copy of it but with no luck. I recently decided to buy the actual book and am glad I did so. As is often the case there is so much more depth to this gentle and a little old-fashioned tale, The main wonderful character is Miss Agatha McGee who is a 'dyed in the wool' traditional member of the Roman Catholic Church and has dedicated her life to serve as a schoolteacher in the local Catholic School in the fictional town of Staggerford. Strong and determined in her ways and following the rules of the Church, nevertheless she loves her pupils past and present and under her stern and upright outer character there lives a heart of gold too. She is at the point of retirement as the tale begins and this allows her to travel to Ireland in search of the romance she has never had the chance or the time to find in her personal life. All the main characters are extremely well drawn in their contrasting places in life at that time. Agatha has strongly opposing views to the Bishop who has much more modern ideas but has met his match in Agatha. Without revealing the core of the story with its mixture of humour, sadness, tenderness and insights into so many different characters and their points of view I do recommend this book. I found myself with a lump in my throat on more than one occasion. My attention flagged a little when the main story veered off into the life of Randy, one of Miss McGee's past pupil's husband and I did find myself skipping a few pages here, but overall I enjoyed immensely in a quiet and gentle way. I really felt for Agatha and the quandary she finds herself in. Values were different back in the fifties. It is interesting to wonder how different things might have turned out today?

[Rachel M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Agatha McGee. She is not the type of character I would expect to love, though - she is full of harsh edges and what some might call "religious spirits." But there is something so endearing in the chaos of her story among her inner certainty of how life should be. She wants to orient the world to her inner rightness, and yet it will not be righted: in the meantime she learns the gift of acceptance - acceptance of the people life throws her way.

I was not sure how to think of James O'Hannon - as I see it now, he seems like a good complement to Agatha: while she walks into life sure of how it ought to be, he is a seeker, responding to life by questions where she reacts with rules. And then there is the bishop, who infuriates Agatha with the number of changes he wants to make to the rich Catholic traditions she has known.

The larger lesson I gleaned from this book is that we don't really get to choose the people in our lives, especially if we live in small towns. They can make uncomfortable companions through life. Sometimes, like Agatha, we meet a "James," who is a true kindred spirit and to whom we are able to respond warmly. Sometimes, however, we meet a "bishop," who evokes our anger or passionate dislike. And sometimes we meet with a neighbor like Lillian, who is kind and a friend on some level, but with whom we will never be able to reach a friendship of any depth. Yet, as Hassler so deftly portrayed, each person in our lives serves a purpose and serves to catalyze our growth in some way.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it had not been for Gladys Hunt’s mention of Green Journey in Honey for a Woman's Heart, I would never have heard of it. Although the blurbs called it “charming,” “heartwarming,” and “lovely,” I approached the book with my usual skepticism toward anything written in the 20th Century. The beginning was awkward – a stilted conversation between an unwed mother, her father and a stodgy old maid. But as the character of Agatha McGee takes shape, you really begin to care about her and words like “stodgy” and “old maid” don’t fit anymore.

Agatha is in a crisis. She’s looking for meaning in her life after decades of teaching in a parochial school. Her staunch catholic faith seems threatened by the many modern changes occurring in her local church. Her correspondence with another disgruntled Catholic is her only comfort. The book is about her journey to Ireland to meet him and about all the people she touches with her sweet, faithful life. A few off-color moments were not enough to distract me from this compelling story. As one reviewer noted, these characters don’t always do what you want them to do, but they always act according to their beliefs, which is satisfying in its own way.

I loved this book. Hassler has a gift for writing a tender narrative that never crosses over into sentimentality.

[Em Parac · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Jon Hassler book and since then got me hooked. With books, I care more about the writing rather than a grand plot. Hassler's style and his "laid-back" plots are exactly what I want.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

A choice for my bookgroup. I was familiar with the author (a popular local author from my bookselling days), but I don't think he's really my cup of tea. There were lovely descriptions in the book and a real sense of place, especially in Dublin, however, the characterizations were often broad (Janet's mother-in-law) and the Troubles almost seemed to be used as simply a plot device. Agatha's obsession with the changes in the church only made her seem out of touch and unwilling to change. Did I want her to get a happy ending, yes. I think the Bishop was actually my favorite character because his inner voice was honest. But even he was not happy, always overfed. NO one seemed happy. Situations were repeated (see the Bishop's full stomach, above) and huge hunks of time passed for no reason. Would not recommend

[Marne Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this book is set in rural Minnesota in the early 1980's, and it certainly did remind me of my childhood across the river in North Dakota. Hassler is able to represent all the exasperating foibles of small-town folk while still letting you care about them. I actually didn't like Miss McGee very much in Staggerford, where she serves as a foil to the main character, but in this book she takes center stage and is a much more sympathetic figure. Just as we're getting settled in to Minnesota small town life, many of the characters pack up and travel to Ireland for the rest of the novel. Ireland at that time seems like a very distressing place to be, but I still wanted to go there and see the beautiful countryside. While this is not the masterpiece that Staggerford was, it is still a very good book, sensitively written, and I'm glad I read it.

Sept. 2020 addendum: In the book is a hilarious scene involving a cat and some mushrooms, and I gradually realized while reading it that I’d already seen it in a movie. After doing some digging, I found out the book was adapted into a film in 1990 starring Angela Lansbury as Miss McGee. (She’s certainly not the Miss McGee that I pictured, but she seemed to be the only woman in her 60’s that got cast in anything during this time period, so what are you gonna do?) I didn’t mention this in my original review because it seemed impossible to locate the movie anywhere, but recently I found it on Amazon Prime while looking for something else. We just watched it, and while it is somewhat lighter than the book, it was very well done and would be worth checking out.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t want this story to end - it had wonderful characters (especially the marvelous Miss McGee) humor, challenges, and reflections on life. I shall have to read Jon Hassler’s “Staggerford” one day.

[Geri Degruy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful read! The book is well written. The characters were well drawn, human and ultimately lovable. One of the main themes was figuring out how to negotiate and be with people/groups with whom one has differences. Can we let go of our personal rigidities and staunch beliefs in order to make peace with another?

[LeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been described as "feel-good" and restoring "your faith in humanity," and both are true. The tragedy at the end of the previous book made me feel tense as I neared the end of this one that something awful was going to happen to characters that by that time I cared about, but it didn't. By the end I was thinking, "There were no bad guys in this," but there were. It was set against the Troubles in Ireland. Yet the main characters were all good people--flawed, but not evil. Their conflicts were not brought about by egregious sin that could have been avoided by a commitment to actually live their Catholic faith. What kind of book has as its main conflict failing to mention that you are a priest? And yet it works. I knew it would be resolved because the sequel is called "Dear James," but I nevertheless felt Agatha's disappointment. I don't often give 5 stars to a book. (I only gave 3 to the first book.) But I think this one would be worth rereading.

[Amy Boucher Pye · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet novel that seemed more old fashioned than its publication date of 1985. A spinster who has spent her life teaching in a Minnesotan Catholic school, and one who is firmly opposed to any and all reforms, faces retirement. And changes in her life when she welcomes her latest "hardcrabble girl," as she calls them, to live with her while waiting to have her baby. Then Agatha, or Miss McGee as she's more generally known, strikes up a penpal relationship with a gentleman in Ireland, and then decides to go visit him...

3.5 of 5 stars, and nearly 4, for a wholesome read with depth of characters and added nostalgia

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in the Staggerford Series (although the books aren’t numbered I’m reading in order of publication date). This story follows Agatha the now retired school teacher who takes a trip to Ireland where she meets her pen-pal James, a man to whom she feels romantically inclined.

Agatha, who suffers no fools and devoutly Catholic, she lives a life according to her rigid moral interpretations. Once in Ireland Agatha realizes all is not what she imagined.

I’m enjoying the quiet imperfect humanity of Hassler’s books.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms Mcgee is a Catholic school teacher in the strictish sense. She has extremely strong opinions on how one should live their life. It is time now to retire. A new priest is also taking over the church and he has a more open approach which conflicts with Ms Mcgee. But Ms Mcgee is not without her surprises. She takes in an unwed pregnant girl and decides to travel to Dublin to visit a pen pal. There are life lessons to be read here.

[Mary Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of 3 Minnesotans who travel together to Ireland with very different expectations. A retired school teacher, a Roman Catholic Bishop, and a recently married young woman who leaves her new husband and young son back home. While this book was published 34 years ago, their desires and anxieties aren’t that much different than ours today.

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising 8.5/10
This turned out to be a well-told story—finished it in a day! Complex, interesting characters with more depth than their initial chapters indicated against a backdrop of change in the Catholic Church and the turmoil of The Troubles in Ireland. Ultimately a story of forgiveness and of finding oneself.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little character driven story. The characters are relatable, sufficiently flawed, but likable and redeemable. the setting interesting, and even a few plot twists. I love finding older books that were once bestsellers. If they were good once, they usually still are!

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit old fashioned, but a book to pay tribute to the Irish during the month of March. Agatha delivers some very funny lines to the clergy: "Were you ordained a priest or a politician?" and "...he might appear...blowing a trumpet in a jazz band or playing tennis with some Democrat."

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pleasant enough read, but the plot was all over the place. I would also say that the book hasn’t aged all that well, especially with the too-liberal, post Vatican II bishop who wants everyone to call him by his first name- bleh. This was easily the weakest book of Hassler’s that I have read.

[Lara Grossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about regular people living in a small town in Minnesota, events in their lives and relationships, and each one learning throughout the story. Ireland and the Troubles provide a unique setting for part of the book.

[Mary Zurn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book with some wonderful characters. Just a feel-good read.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very pleasant read. Happy to have been introduced to this author.

[Deborah Gaspar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is the 5th and last book for our Public Libraries summer reading challenge.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful.

[Susan Kendrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but a little too melancholy for my taste. Characters were really well developed and engaging. I especially liked feisty Agatha McGee. But more contemplative than joyful.

[Joan Horkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm, subtle, and sometimes funny. Very satisfying.

[Tricia Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has the feel of a classic. Hassler is becoming one of my favorite authors.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. it's a great story with twists and turns. Agatha McGee reminded me of the Alice Kittridge character from the book of that title.

[Sophia Barsuhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Very funny, characters that felt like real people, a Minnesota setting that actually feels Minnesotan. As a Minnesotan myself, I need to read all of Jon Hassler's work.