The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

This charming novel is somewhat reminiscent of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, in that it deals with someone embarking almost accidentally on an unlikely journey. But where 100-Year-Old Man dealt with whimsy, Rachel Joyce delves into deeper and meatier territory.

All Harold Fry intends to do, really, is to post a brief note in response to a letter from a former co-worker delivering sad news. And before he really understands his own motivations, he finds himself having decided to deliver his message of hope by hand -- at the end of a 600 mile walk.

The novel alternates between following him, step by step,was he discovers both inerior and exterior landscapes, and dealing with the thoughts and responses of show more his wife, Maureen, who remains at home, puzzled, then fearful, then angry, at the actions of the man to whom she has been married for decades but who she is not sure she even knows any longer.

Bit by bit, as slowly as the miles unwind under Harold's unsuitable shoes, the story of these two people reveals itself. Ultimately, it's a testament to love and loss and the potential of reconciliation and rebirth.

Highly recommended. show less

First things first, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce was a delightful surprise.

This is one of those instances where the cover perfectly captures the essence of the story. (Trust me when I say that I appreciate this cover design for its brilliance even more now that I've read the book.) The reader follows Harold Fry, recently retired from the local brewery, who receives news that a friend from his past (as in distant past) is dying from cancer. So naturally he decides to mail her a letter but then he passes by the mailbox...and the next one...and the next one...until suddenly he's on a journey across the length of England firm in his belief that she will stay alive until he gets there. On his journey (or pilgrimage show more as it comes to be known) he examines moments from his past that he had repressed (his tumultuous home life, distant relationship with his son, and his strained marriage to name a few) while also discovering his inner strength and fortitude. It's a beautiful (and at times tragic) story about love, loss, and faith. If you enjoy reflective tales with lots of descriptive prose then this book is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon or maybe take on a trip. ;-) 9/10 show less

Harold Fry has recently retired after working as a salesman for a local brewery for many years. He was competent but quiet, nondescript and largely anonymous to his co-workers. He lives with his wife Maureen in a modest home in Kingsbridge, a small village in South West England. Their marriage has been strained for years, as Maureen harbors bitterness and a deep seated hostility toward Harold, although she does not openly express a desire to leave him.

On one ordinary day Harold receives a letter from his former colleague Queenie Hennessy, who resides in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed, the northernmost town in England. She informs him that she has end-stage cancer, and writes to say goodbye to him. Harold is deeply affected by this show more news, and he immediately writes a letter of sympathy to her. He leaves home to mail the letter, and in doing so he encounters a teenage girl who works at a garage. After Harold informs her of the purpose of his trip, she tells him about her aunt's case of cancer. He is led to believe that the girl's belief led her aunt to overcome her terminal illness. He is greatly inspired by this, and he spontaneously decides to walk from Kingsbridge to Berwick-upon-Tweed, a journey of over 500 miles, in the hope that doing so will cure Queenie.

As Harold walks, wearing only the street clothes, rain jacket and yachting shoes that he wore when he initially left the house, he reflects on his past mistakes in his relationship with his wife, their son David, and Queenie, who was fired from her job at the brewery in an incident that also involved him. He soon realizes that he has been an indifferent and reserved husband and father, unknowable to them, or to himself:

It occurred to him it was Maureen who spoke to David and told him their news. It was Maureen who had always written Harold's name ("Dad") in the letters and cards. It was even Maureen who had found the nursing home for his father. And it raised the question—as he pushed the button at the pelican crossing—that if she was, in effect, Harold, “then who am I?”

He encounters a variety of people on his journey, most of whom support and encourage him once he tells them his story, and they eagerly share their experiences with him. Maureen is initially furious at him after she learns about his decision, but later her feelings transform to jealousy, despair, concern, and longing for him.

As the journey becomes more arduous and the constant walking takes a toll on his mid-sixties body, his spirit begins to flag, and he wonders if he should have undertaken this foolhardy journey.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is meant to be an inspiring story of secular faith, self-discovery and love. However, I found it to be a banal and saccharine novel, which was largely pleasant but not one which was affecting or filled with wisdom, although the ending was easily the best part of the book. It, like Harold before his journey, was largely forgettable and mildly annoying in spots, and although it wasn't a bad book, it was the least favorite of the 2012 Booker Prize longlisted books I've read so far. show less

The elderly Harold Fry gets a letter telling him that his friend Queenie Hennessy is dying in a hospital in northern England. Under the grips of nostalgia and guilt, he undertakes a journey on foot to “save” her. Despite his being weak and frail, and lacking footwear and money, his pilgrimage takes him the entire (south-to-north) length of England. Along the way, he reflects on his life, his marriage, his wife and son; he meets varied people, many of whom help him on his way (and some of whom try to accompany him, turning his journey into a spectacle); and he reflects on the nature of life and mortality, and the wonders of the world around him.

He had learned that it was the smallness of people that filled him with wonder and show more tenderness, and the loneliness of that too. The world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other; and a life might appear ordinary simply because the person living it had been doing so for a long time. Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowledging the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a tender and touching tale that is full of humor, grief, and longing. I would never have read this book except for my sister’s strong suggestion. I’m glad I did, and likewise am glad to recommend it to others. show less

Sixty-five year old Harold Fry has been married to Maureen for 46 years but for the last two decades the two have been physically and emotionally estranged. Although they live in the same house their lives rarely intersect as Maureen obsessively cleans and Harold just tries to stay out of her way. One morning a letter arrives for Harold from a woman, Queenie Hennessey, he has not seen in twenty years. The two were friends and co-workers and now Queenie has written to tell Harold 'good-bye' as she is soon to die in a Hospice care center 600 miles away. Harold is touched by her letter and immediately writes a reply. As he walks to the nearest mailbox Harold is overcome by a feeling that he must walk to see Queenie and that as long as he show more is walking she will hang on to life and await his visit. Suddenly Harold has embarked on a massive pilgrimage that stuns both himself and Maureen.

Along the many miles Harold travels he meets with many people who touch his life in many ways allowing Harold to look back at his own life and reflect on where things went so wrong for him. He was an unwanted child whose mother left when he was only 13 and whose father showed him the door at 16. It was love at first sight when he met Maureen and the two married quickly and had a son, David. David was a brilliant child who imperiously looked down upon his common laborer father and the two had a strained relationship. Maureen sided with her only child which only added to the distance Harold felt from his own family. As Harold walks he remembers his friendship with Queenie and an extreme kindness she once did for him that he never thanked her for. That, more than anything else, is what drives Harold forward. Through emotional highs and depressing lows Harold plods across England.

I cannot remember when a book has moved me as much as this one. It is, of course, unrealistic to think a senior citizen with nothing but the clothes on his back and a debit card could undertake such a journey. But I love Harold Fry. His soul-searching trip is touching, funny, and a growth experience he never expected. This book made me smile and it absolutely made me cry buckets. A big reveal towards the end of the book was not completely surprising but I cried anyway. It will be a very very long time before I forget Harold and his pilgrimage. show less

One day Harold Fry, a retiree getting on in years, sets off to post a letter of condolence to a former friend, Queenie Hennessey, who is dying of cancer. Instead of just posting the letter, he ends up embarking upon a 600 mile journey to see Queenie without even a very solid idea of where he is going.

On one hand, this is a book that can be read as an allegory about life. Or, you might see it as a novel about faith—certainly that's how the publishers billed in their introduction to the advance reader copy. As I see it, however, it's a novel about a man finally connecting with his own humanity.

On the other hand, you can forego searching for meaning in it and read it simply as a tale of a journey that is, by turns, light-hearted, show more unsparing, comical, poignant and, generally, captivating. This isn't an action adventure, nor quite a comedy, and it doesn't rely upon surprise to keep you interested. Instead, Joyce relies upon her capacity to convey what it means to be human...and she's rather good at that.

This isn't to say the book is without flaws. Some, though not all, of the secondary characters are a bit cliché. Yet, there were other characters who surprised me with their humanity: the annoying neighbor who shows unexpected depths of loss or the immigrant physician who articulates the line between faith and hopelessness.

And, I will admit that, about two-thirds of the way through the book, Harold spends some time wandering aimlessly and my attention followed suit. However, he pulled himself together and pulled me back in before an ending that was fitting for this story.

Though she has some twenty radio plays to her credit, this is Rachel Joyce's first novel. In it she has created something that might not be labeled as grand or compelling, but which I picked up, read straight through until I was finished, and thought the time well-spent. show less

The thing Rachel Joyce did so well, I think, is capture the particular agony of wanting to talk to someone, to fix something, to explain, to say you're sorry—and just not being able to say words. When you can feel what's wrong, and maybe you even feel like you can fix it, but then you go to speak and it's so overwhelming that your brain can't find a starting place. And even though you know the not speaking is making it worse, you're completely helpless to do anything about it.

Jim Broadbent was the perfect narrator for this beautiful, heartbreaking journey.