'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' follows the story of Harold, a recently retired man who embarks on a 600-mile walk across England to visit his dying friend, Queenie. As Harold walks, he meets various people who impact his journey and reminisces on his life, leading to revelations and self-discovery. The narrative delves into themes of love, loss, redemption, and the complexities of relationships, portraying Harold's transformation and his wife Maureen's parallel journey of self-discovery.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of terminal illness, cancer, death, and emotional struggles related to relationships and regrets.
From The Publisher:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"[Rachel] Joyce's beguiling debut is [a] modest-seeming story of 'ordinary' English lives that enthralls and moves you as it unfolds."-People (four stars)
IN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning a letter arrives, addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl, from a woman he hasn't heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. But before Harold mails off a quick reply, a chance encounter convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. In his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold Fry embarks on an urgent quest. Determined to walk six hundred miles to the hospice, Harold believes that as long as he walks, Queenie will live. A novel of charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry introduces Rachel Joyce as a wise-and utterly irresistible-storyteller.
Praise for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
"[A] gorgeously poignant novel of hope and transformation."-O: The Oprah Magazine
"A cause for celebration . . . [Joyce] has a lovely sense of the possibilities of redemption. In this bravely unpretentious and unsentimental take, she's cleared space where miracles are still possible."-Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is not just a book about lost love. It is about all the wonderful everyday things Harold discovers through the mere process of putting one foot in front of the other."-Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Ratings (32)
Incredible (2) | |
Loved It (16) | |
Liked It (9) | |
It Was OK (5) |
Reader Stats (64):
Read It (33) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (21) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (8) |
3 comment(s)
When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. But the walk becomes a poignant prayer for the recovery of his terminally ill soulmate. It’s a beautiful, life-affirming novel.
I thought that this was a very well written, clever and emotionally charged story. Rachel Joyce is great at bringing real feelings in to focus through unreal action and events in simple scenarios. Harold is moved by a letter he recieves and does something realy quite incredible and unlike him. He's not sure what he doing or how things will work out just that he has to do this. What Haorld thinks he is doing and what he actually achieves are two very different things. The journey that Harold takes, like any true pilgrimage, is not just about covering a distance to reach a destination but travelling through life and being immersed in it and altered by it. Harold has things that he needs to come to terms with and once free of the life that he has surrounded himself with he unwittingly is exposed to adventures and experiences that challenge and encourage him. He faces down doubt and does reach his set destination but it would be telling to give away any more detail than that. It's the journey that counts and if you pilgrimage with Harold you too will experience plenty of emotions and be alterered in way you cannot yet know. Rachel Joyce is a master at her craft and weaves with great care a simple yet magical tale that I am sure you will enjoy as much as I did.
Harold Fry does something totally unexpected, surprising himself and all those around him. The book keeps a wry and realistic note reflecting that reality has many shades of meaning.
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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry?
About the Author:
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, and Perfect. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was short-listed for the Commonwealth Book Prize…
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