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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel Paperback – March 26, 2013

by Rachel Joyce (Author)

4.3 34,155 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Harold Fry

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “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.

Book 1 of 3

Harold Fry
Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Trade Paperbacks
Publication date

March 26, 2013
Dimensions

5.18 x 0.78 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0812983459
ISBN-13

978-0812983456
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Popular Highlights in this book

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It was as much of a gift to receive as it was to give, requiring as it did both courage and humility.
Highlighted by 4,976 Kindle readers
If we can’t be open, Maureen thought, if we can’t accept what we don’t know, there really is no hope.
Highlighted by 2,632 Kindle readers
There were times, he saw, when not knowing was the biggest truth, and you had to stay with that.
Highlighted by 2,547 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[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

“You have to love Harold Fry, a man who set out one morning to mail a letter and then just kept going. . . . Like Christian in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Harold becomes Everyman in the eyes of those who encounter him. . . . Harold's journey, which parallels Christian's nicely but not overly neatly, takes him to the edge of death and back again. It will stick with you, this story of faith, fidelity and redemption.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“From its charming beginning to its startling and cathartic denouement, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a comic and tragic joy.”—The Plain Dealer

“When it seems almost too late, Harold Fry opens his battered heart and lets the world rush in. This funny, poignantstory about an ordinary man on an extraordinary journey moved and inspired me.”—Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank

“There’s tremendous heart in this debut novel by Rachel Joyce, as she probes questions that are as simple as they are profound: Can we begin to live again, and live truly, as ourselves, even in middle age, when all seems ruined? Can we believe in hope when hope seems to have abandoned us? I found myself laughing through tears, rooting for Harold at every step of his journey. I’m still rooting for him.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

“Marvelous! I held my breath at his every blister and cramp, and felt as if by turning the pages, I might help his impossible quest succeed.”—Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

“Harold’s journey is ordinary and extraordinary; it is a journey through the self, through modern society, through time and landscape. It is a funny book, a wise book, a charming book—but never cloying. It’s a book with a savage twist—and yet never seems manipulative. Perhaps because Harold himself is just wonderful. . . . I’m telling you now:I love this book.”—Erica Wagner, The Times (UK)

“A gentle and genteel charmer, brimming with British quirkiness yet quietly haunting in its poignant and wise examination of love and devotion. Sure to become a book-club favorite.”—Booklist

About the Author

Rachel Joyce is the author of Miss Benson’s Beetle, The Music Shop, the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, as well as the digital short story A Faraway Smell of Lemon and a story collection, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her books have been translated into thirty-six languages and two are in development for film. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Booker Prize. Joyce was named the Specsavers National Book Awards “New Writer of the Year” in December 2012 and shortlisted for the “UK Author of the Year” 2014. Joyce has also written more than thirty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Brontë novels. She moved to writing after a long career as an actor, performing leading roles for the RSC, the National Theatre, and Cheek by Jowl. She lives with her family in Gloucestershire.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1

Harold and the Letter

The letter that would change everything arrived on a Tuesday. It was an ordinary morning in mid-April that smelled of clean washing and grass cuttings. Harold Fry sat at the breakfast table, freshly shaved, in a clean shirt and tie, with a slice of toast that he wasn’t eating. He gazed beyond the kitchen window at the clipped lawn, which was spiked in the middle by Maureen’s telescopic washing line, and trapped on all three sides by the neighbors’ stockade fencing.

“Harold!” called Maureen above the vacuum cleaner. “Post!”

He thought he might like to go out, but the only thing to do was mow the lawn and he had done that yesterday. The vacuum tumbled into silence, and his wife appeared, looking cross, with a letter. She sat opposite Harold.

Maureen was a slight woman with a cap of silver hair and a brisk walk. When they first met, nothing had pleased him more than to make her laugh. To watch her neat frame collapse into unruly happiness. “It’s for you,” she said. He didn’t know what she meant until she slid an envelope across the table, and stopped it just short of Harold’s elbow. They both looked at the letter as if they had never seen one before. It was pink. “The postmark says Berwick-upon-Tweed.”

He didn’t know anyone in Berwick. He didn’t know many people anywhere. “Maybe it’s a mistake.”

“I think not. They don’t get something like a postmark wrong.” She took toast from the rack. She liked it cold and crisp.

Harold studied the mysterious envelope. Its pink was not the color of the bathroom suite, or the matching towels and fluffed cover for the toilet seat. That was a vivid shade that made Harold feel he shouldn’t be there. But this was delicate. A Turkish Delight pink. His name and address were scribbled in ballpoint, the clumsy letters collapsing into one another as if a child had dashed them off in a hurry: Mr. H. Fry, 13 Fossebridge Road, Kingsbridge, South Hams. He didn’t recognize the handwriting.

“Well?” said Maureen, passing a knife. He held it to the corner of the envelope, and tugged it through the fold. “Careful,” she warned.

He could feel her eyes on him as he eased out the letter, and prodded back his reading glasses. The page was typed, and addressed from a place he didn’t know: St. Bernadine’s Hospice. Dear Harold, This may come to you as some surprise. His eyes ran to the bottom of the page.

“Well?” said Maureen again.

“Good lord. It’s from Queenie Hennessy.”

Maureen speared a nugget of butter with her knife and flattened it the length of her toast. “Queenie who?”

“She worked at the brewery. Years ago. Don’t you remember?”

Maureen shrugged. “I don’t see why I should. I don’t know why I’d remember someone from years ago. Could you pass the jam?”

“She was in finances. She was very good.”

“That’s the marmalade, Harold. Jam is red. If you look at things before you pick them up, you’ll find it helps.”

Harold passed her what she needed and returned to his letter. Beautifully set out, of course; nothing like the muddled writing on the envelope. Then he smiled, remembering this was how it always was with Queenie: everything she did so precise you couldn’t fault it. “She remembers you. She sends her regards.”

Maureen’s mouth pinched into a bead. “A chap on the radio was saying the French want our bread. They can’t get it sliced in France. They come over here and they buy it all up. The chap said there might be a shortage by summer.” She paused. “Harold? Is something the matter?”

He said nothing. He drew up tall with his lips parted, his face bleached. His voice, when at last it came, was small and far away. “It’s—cancer. Queenie is writing to say goodbye.” He fumbled for more words but there weren’t any. Tugging a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, Harold blew his nose. “I um. Gosh.” Tears crammed his eyes.

Moments passed; maybe minutes. Maureen gave a swallow that smacked the silence. “I’m sorry,” she said.

He nodded. He ought to look up, but he couldn’t.

“It’s a nice morning,” she began again. “Why don’t you fetch out the patio chairs?” But he sat, not moving, not speaking, until she lifted the dirty plates. Moments later the vacuum cleaner took up from the hall.

Harold felt winded. If he moved so much as a limb, a muscle, he was afraid it would trigger an abundance of feeling he was doing his best to contain. Why had he let twenty years pass without trying to find Queenie Hennessy? A picture came of the small, dark-haired woman with whom he had worked all that time ago, and it seemed inconceivable that she was—what? Sixty? And dying of cancer in Berwick. Of all the places, he thought; he’d never traveled so far north. He glanced out at the garden and saw a ribbon of plastic caught in the laurel hedging, flapping up and down, but never pulling free. He tucked Queenie’s letter into his pocket, patted it twice for safekeeping, and rose to his feet.

Upstairs Maureen shut the door of David’s room quietly and stood a moment, breathing him in. She pulled open his blue curtains that she closed every night, and checked that there was no dust where the hem of the net drapes met the windowsill. She polished the silver frame of his Cambridge portrait, and the black-and-white baby photograph beside it. She kept the room clean because she was waiting for David to come back, and she never knew when that would be. A part of her was always waiting. Men had no idea what it was like to be a mother. The ache of loving a child, even when he had moved on. She thought of Harold downstairs, with his pink letter, and wished she could talk to their son. Maureen left the room as softly as she had entered it, and went to strip the beds.

Harold Fry took several sheets of Basildon Bond from the sideboard drawer and one of Maureen’s rollerball pens. What did you say to a dying woman with cancer? He wanted her to know how sorry he felt, but it was wrong to put In Sympathy because that was what the cards in the shops said after, as it were, the event; and anyway it sounded formal, as if he didn’t really care. He tried Dear Miss Hennessy, I sincerely hope your condition improves, but when he put down the pen to inspect his message, it seemed both stiff and unlikely. He crumpled the paper into a ball and tried again. He had never been good at expressing himself. What he felt was so big it was difficult to find the words, and even if he could, it was hardly appropriate to write them to someone he had not contacted in twenty years. Had the shoe been on the other foot, Queenie would have known what to do.

“Harold?” Maureen’s voice took him by surprise. He thought she was upstairs, polishing something, or speaking to David. She had her rubber gloves on.

“I’m writing Queenie a note.”

“A note?” She often repeated what he said.

“Yes. Would you like to sign?”

“I think not. It would hardly be appropriate to sign a note to someone I don’t know.”

It was time to stop worrying about expressing anything beautifully. He would simply have to set down the words in his head: Dear Queenie, Thank you for your letter. I am very sorry. Yours Best wishes—Harold (Fry). It was limp, but there it was. Sliding the letter into an envelope, he sealed it quickly, and copied the address of St. Bernadine’s Hospice onto the front. “I’ll nip to the postbox.”

It was past eleven o’clock. He lifted his waterproof jacket from the peg where Maureen liked him to hang it. At the door, the smell of warmth and salt air rushed at his nose, but his wife was at his side before his left foot was over the threshold.

“Will you be long?”

“I’m only going to the end of the road.”

She kept on looking up at him, with her moss-green eyes and her fragile chin, and he wished he knew what to say but he didn’t; at least not in a way that would make any difference. He longed to touch her like in the old days, to lower his head on her shoulder and rest there. “Cheerio, Maureen.” He shut the front door between them, taking care not to let it slam.

Built on a hill above Kingsbridge, the houses of Fossebridge Road enjoyed what estate agents called an elevated position, with far-reaching views over the town and countryside. Their front gardens, however, sloped at a precarious angle toward the pavement below, and plants wrapped themselves round bamboo stakes as if hanging on for dear life. Harold strode down the steep concrete path a little faster than he might have wished and noticed five new dandelions. Maybe this afternoon he would get out the Roundup. It would be something.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Trade Paperbacks; 1st edition (March 26, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812983459
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812983456
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.18 x 0.78 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #38,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #937 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #1,266 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #2,869 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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4.3 34,155 ratings

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Rachel Joyce

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Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop, and the New York Times bestseller Miss Benson's Beetle, as well as a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her books have sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and been translated into thirty-six languages. Two are currently in development for film.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2012 and shortlisted for the ‘UK Author of the Year’ 2014.

Rachel has also written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. She lives with her family near Stroud.

You can follow Rachel on Instagram at rachelcjoyce, and find out more news at https://www.rachel-joyce.co.uk

Customer reviews

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Customers say

Customers find the story quality great, realistic, and believable. They describe the book as lovely, enjoyable, and well worth reading. Readers also find the story thought-provoking, inspiring, and heartwarming. They appreciate the wonderful, interesting, and endearing characters. They mention the humor makes them laugh and cry. Customers also appreciate the simplicity of the themes and language.

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Story quality Readability Thought provoking Character development Humor Simplicity Discussion value Pacing

1,667 customers mention "Story quality"1,458 positive209 negative

Customers find the story quality excellent. They say the author is a great storyteller, and the story is beautifully written. Readers also mention the idea of the journey itself is creative and unique.

"...Her father was her main inspiration for this novel. This fictional novel is so real because it engages real life situations and feelings celebrating..." Read more

"...This is a compelling, enjoyable, and warm story about the unlikely journeys we take, sometimes simply to prove we still have life inside of us...." Read more

"...Do not pass this book up. You will not be disappointed. She is a great story teller, and though the premise seems sad, the story is packed full of..." Read more

"...An ending which I felt was perfect, relevant and believable.Do I regret reading it? Nope. Not at all...." Read more

1,347 customers mention "Readability"1,347 positive0 negative

Customers find the book lovely, well worth reading, and pleasant to read. They say it's well presented and recommend it to lovers of literary fiction. Readers also mention the book starts out great but gets dull at about 50 pages in. However, they find it highly satisfying and charming.

"...I also cried but this is one of a kind. So worth the read. It was heart-wrenching but so profound and uplifting at the same time...." Read more

"...This is a compelling, enjoyable, and warm story about the unlikely journeys we take, sometimes simply to prove we still have life inside of us...." Read more

"...the premise seems sad, the story is packed full of life and well worth the read." Read more

"...An ending which I felt was perfect, relevant and believable.Do I regret reading it? Nope. Not at all...." Read more

1,001 customers mention "Thought provoking"998 positive3 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, heartwarming, and inspiring. They say it stirs up many emotions and gives a serious reminder about what we take for granted. Readers also mention the book is incredibly personal and rewards them with insight into human nature, relationships, and the wild.

"...The surrounding descriptions were just transforming and inspiring, full of hope reminding me at times of "La Terre des Hommes" by Antoine de Saint-..." Read more

"This sweet, heartfelt book reminded me of movies like Waking Ned Devine or The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain...." Read more

"...I enjoyed the book well enough with it's mostly happy and upbeat story about the budding friendship and support of two women traversing the globe in..." Read more

"...He's one of the sweetest, saddest, funniest and utterly endearing men ever to be cast into existence...." Read more

349 customers mention "Character development"323 positive26 negative

Customers find the characters wonderful, interesting, and likable. They say the book is full of great variety of people.

"...His voice performance of Harold and the other characters is just perfect. I could not have imagined a better voice...." Read more

"...He's one of the sweetest, saddest, funniest and utterly endearing men ever to be cast into existence...." Read more

"...The characters are believable and well developed as is the storyline, even though it does stretch reality just a bit...." Read more

"...I loved this novel and recommend it to lovers of literary, character-driven fiction who would delight in taking a romp through the countryside and..." Read more

192 customers mention "Humor"189 positive3 negative

Customers find the book funny, entertaining, and endearing. They appreciate the dialogues and unexpected events. Readers also mention the book is thoughtful and inspiring.

"...Jim Broadbent narration is excellent. His voice performance of Harold and the other characters is just perfect...." Read more

"...a unique plot -- so deceptively simple, and yet so jampacked and satisfying. She has put Harold on this earth and he will not stay down...." Read more

"...This book is big and written with a huge heart." Read more

"...Rachel Joyce's turn of phrase is unpredictable and sometimes perfectly delightful...." Read more

153 customers mention "Simplicity"110 positive43 negative

Customers find the book simple, joyful, and compelling. They say the author is a master of creating deep characterizations with an economy of words. Readers also mention the surrounding descriptions are transforming and inspiring.

"...The surrounding descriptions were just transforming and inspiring, full of hope reminding me at times of "La Terre des Hommes" by Antoine de Saint-..." Read more

"...genres, breaks molds, and has created such a unique plot -- so deceptively simple, and yet so jampacked and satisfying...." Read more

"...Harold and his wife were not worth my time. They were hopeless and helpless and they could not have bumbled through life more...." Read more

"...and the reader and I thought these were very well presented and not at all overdone as too many stories are...." Read more

103 customers mention "Discussion value"103 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and deep. They say it provides plenty to think about, especially with respect to marriage and death. Readers also mention the implications feel grand and the novel entertains. They appreciate that it explores real issues and people facing them.

"...An ending which I felt was perfect, relevant and believable.Do I regret reading it? Nope. Not at all...." Read more

"...It does, however, make this book a perfect choice for a book club discussion; there's a lot of meat here, if you want to talk about it." Read more

"...changes in tense and time are handled with admirable subtlety and seem relevant and well placed...." Read more

"...I think it will spark great book club discussion and allow us to see the story from different perspectives...." Read more

248 customers mention "Pacing"118 positive130 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some mention it's compelling and gradual, while others say it's quite slow and uneven.

"...I found the pacing uneven and the narrative bogged down at times. It just didn't move along at a fast enough clip for me...." Read more

"...with his harpy wife progressed over the weeks of his pilgrimage was so moving and heartfelt...." Read more

"...However, this story is slow at first but gets much better and everything ties together in the end...." Read more

"...This book is a slow reveal. At the start of Harold's journey, he builds his physical and mental strength and looks forward to what's in front of him...." Read more

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Ana'FichesdeLectures

examination of conscious, rediscovery, purification, renewal, new beginning

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

If you have not read this novel, I urge you to do so. It's one of the best novel I have read this year. It is one of these rich novels that you can read over and over and still discover new meaning. I read it with [immersion reading] and the audio narration is one of the best I've heard this year. Jim Broadbent narration is excellent. His voice performance of Harold and the other characters is just perfect. I could not have imagined a better voice.

Author Rachel Joyce wrote this novel at a time where her father was battling cancer. Her father was her main inspiration for this novel. This fictional novel is so real because it engages real life situations and feelings celebrating the beauty of ordinary life. The main character, Harold Fry, receives a letter from a long time coworker, Queenie, who is battling cancer. Harold decides to write her a letter but on his way to mail it he just realizes mailing a letter is not enough and he starts to walk. That's how Harold's sudden journey commence with no ulterior planning. He decides to walk all the way to "Berwick-upon-Tweed" which is, in average, a 500 miles distance.

Walking became the new terrain Harold was going to engage life: where he came from, who he was, his mistakes, fears. He started an examination of conscious that would purified him and make him anew. It would clear all the cobwebs of his marital life and heal his wounds. The nakedness of his soul is revealed and armored. It would become an opportunity to start over in life, freeing himself from anything that tied him down. He would be enriched by many encounters, strangers that would help him and encourage him. Queenie's letter will be the constant compass along the story. Harold will read it many times when he rests and every time a veil would be uplifted. The same words have a different dimension, meaning, a different reality.

The surrounding descriptions were just transforming and inspiring, full of hope reminding me at times of "La Terre des Hommes" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Through Harold's journey we will be reminded of life's fragility and universality. How we play a small part in this world that has a life of its own.

This is a story about friendship, the struggles of life but also the beauty of life in the mist of all. This novel will make you want to walk. It was impossible for me to seat and read this novel. Many times I had these urges to walk and I did. I was engrossed all along. Not once did I felt bored. I laughed, Martina was one of my favorite characters. I also cried but this is one of a kind. So worth the read. It was heart-wrenching but so profound and uplifting at the same time. The surroundings would offer the strength to accept these truths. The ending was majestically beautiful. Harold is with his wife, Maureen, in front of the sea. Reminding us how life is like a sea with its wrenching, sudden storms yet enigmatic. The element of unpredictability of Harold's journey is what gave beauty to this story.

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Larry Hoffer

A charming and heartfelt look at the ripples of one man's unlikely journey...

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2012

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This sweet, heartfelt book reminded me of movies like Waking Ned Devine or The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. It even had some Forrest Gump-ian characteristics (without the Southern accent or the meteoric run through historical events). But despite some similarities, this was a unique book with a story all its own.

Harold Fry recently retired from his job, and now doesn't feel motivated to do much of anything. His very presence seems to irritate his wife, Maureen. But then again, their relationship has been strained for some time, full of hurt and anger both spoken and unspoken, especially since their son, David, left home.

One day, Harold receives a letter from an unlikely source--Queenie Hennessy, a former coworker he hasn't seen or heard from in 20 years. Queenie wrote to tell Harold that she is in hospice suffering from terminal cancer, and wanted to say goodbye. Harold is shocked by this news and touched by the memories Queenie's letter stirred up, so he quickly dashes off a note of support, and heads to the corner mailbox. Yet as he arrives at the mailbox, he realizes it is a nice day outside, and decides to keep walking to the next one.

On his journey to the post office, from where he figures sending the letter will allow it to arrive quicker, Harold has a chance encounter that changes everything. And then he decides he must keep walking, all the way to visit Queenie in person to help save her--despite the fact it is a 600-mile journey from his home in Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-on-Tweed. Not to mention he hasn't had much physical exercise in many years, and isn't all dressed for that type of journey.

But walk he does, much to his surprise, and Maureen's shock, anger, and chagrin. Harold's walk opens his mind to memories both good and painful, as he relives his friendship with Queenie and tries to figure out exactly where his and Maureen's relationship went wrong. "Life was very different when you walked through it," he said, and along his walk he comes into contact with many different people and realizes that each has an interesting story to tell.

"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's journey takes many interesting twists and turns, and people's reactions to it become almost indicative of the world we live in today. And during Harold's absence, Maureen tries to figure out the root of her anger with Harold, and whether her life is worth living without him.

This is a compelling, enjoyable, and warm story about the unlikely journeys we take, sometimes simply to prove we still have life inside of us. It's also a story about the things we say and don't say to those we care about, and the ramifications of both. I liked this book quite a bit, although I could have done without the events around the public's embracing of Harold's pilgrimage, as I felt it took the book into more satirical territory than the story needed. Beyond that, however, this book had charm, the special charm you feel after a whimsical movie like the ones I mentioned above.

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Yashi Sinha

A very moving story

Reviewed in India on June 22, 2024

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Rachel Joyce

A most unusual story.

Harold is an honest man, now in his 60s, not very educated. He is one of those people who are unable to demonstrate their emotions. He has had troubled relationships with his parents, his only son, his wife; he has no friends. The one colleague with whom he had developed a warm relationship (a lady named Queenie) abruptly left her job and now, after two decades, sends him a letter from her death-bed in a hospice in the extreme north of England while he lives with his wife at the other end of the country. He drafts a reply, a true- to- form cryptic letter which he goes out to post at the nearby post-box.

Thoughts, basically a sense of guilt because of what he had apparently omitted to do before Queenie left, begin to assail him as he walks to the post box and he therefore decides to walk to the next post-box while he sorts out his thoughts. And gradually Harold does something totally untrue to form- he takes a spontaneous decision. And the decision is: he will not post the meaningless letter; he will go meet Queenie. He is convinced that if she knows he is coming, she will wait. She will not die - at least till he gets there. And for some obscure reason he decides to walk all the way.

Hie marathon 87-day, 627-mile long walk becomes a kind of “retreat” as he remembers and reviews some of the major milestones of his life, acknowledges his failings and comes to terms with them, and recalls the failings of others and learns to forgive them. He meets all kinds of strangers as he walks, talks to them freely and listens to them patiently.

For him, this is a new experience. This talking to strangers. And he realises a liberating truth: that he is not alone; everyone carries his own cross. As the book says, “People were buying milk, or filling their cars with petrol, or even posting letters. And what no one else knew was the appalling weight of the thing they were carrying inside. The superhuman effort it took sometimes to be normal, and a part of things that appeared both easy and every-day. The loneliness of that. (Harold is) moved and humbled….”

Harold reaches breaking point- both physically and mentally- a few times during these 3 months. But, “he wouldn’t stop, though his body cried out for rest. He was angry with himself for being so frail.”

In the meanwhile, his wife Maureen also undergoes a similar experience, sitting at home. Harold stays in touch with her through picture post-cards and telephone calls. She also reviews her past and realises how she had been unfair and unreasonable with her husband and she even rushes to join him (by now Harold has become a sort of celebrity as the press gets to know of his determined walk to “save” Queenie, and a whole procession is walking with him). But upon meeting him she feels somehow inadequate. She thinks, “Harold surely couldn’t have grown taller or broader, but looking at this weather-beaten pirate of a man, with his skin like dark leather and his curling hair, she felt she had become both one-dimensional and more fragile. It was the pared-down vitality of him that made her tremble…”. Maureen therefore decides to go back home and wait for his return.

The lingering question throughout the story is: why was Harold walking? A waitress he met at the beginning of his walk had told him how her faith had saved her aunt from dying of cancer even after her doctors had given up. So, was he walking to save Queenie? But Harold didn’t believe in God or miracles. As the book says, “no one knew the real truth about why he was walking to Queenie. They had made assumptions. They thought it was a love story, or a miracle, or an act of beauty, or even bravery, but it was none of those things. The discrepancy between what he knew and what other people believed frightened him.”

He almost gave up his walk, defeated in body and spirit. But he remembered the waitress and decided to walk on.

It's a slow-moving but very moving story.

Richard Ballina

wonderful book, more than expected

Reviewed in Australia on October 2, 2023

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a quite delightful book and certainly deserves all the praise it’s received.

It took me somewhat by surprise as it starts out as what seems a light hearted whimsical fable but, step by step, develops into something much more profound.

It’s a wonderful story that, personally, I found rather confronting at times as Harold finds a determination to face a troubling situation and as he does he comes to understand past events that have shaped his life.

It’s a transformational pilgrimage with a lot to offer readers.

Rick Snape

A true page-turner

Reviewed in France on July 22, 2018

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I’m rarely moved to tears by a book, I guess mostly due to the kind of books I’m used to reading but this one has definitely shaken me up.
Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a true page turner and has really changed my vision of life. A tad twee at times but mostly eye-opening, showing how important it is never to give up.
Harold is a character who has a very shattered past and who is doing his best to become a better man. Driven by a simple letter from someone he had long forgotten about, his journey through England takes us to many towns and cities through a myriad of plants and flowers that the character himself keeps learning about. He evolves through the book as an emotionally-complexed retiree who is walking because he has decided it was a way to save his friend. However, this walk is not really about his friend but more about him and how every single decision he makes changes him for good. I strongly recommend this book which I think has the power to put things into perspective.

Daniban

Lindo

Reviewed in Brazil on March 6, 2015

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Um livro q trata da solidão essencial do ser humano, lindamente narrado por um homem q repensa sua vida após receber uma carta inusitadoa. Recomendo.

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Wortmagie

Das Außergewöhnliche im Gewöhnlichen

Reviewed in Germany on November 6, 2014

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Wusstet ihr, dass „The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry“ ursprünglich ein Radio Hörspiel war? Rachel Joyce hat es für BBC Radio 4 geschrieben, in Gedenken an ihren Vater, der an Krebs litt und leider nicht lange genug lebte, um es zu hören. Später dann schrieb sie es zu einem vollwertigen Roman um. Dafür bin ich ihr sehr dankbar, denn hätte sie das nicht getan, wäre ich wohl nie in den Genuss dieser wundervollen Geschichte gekommen.

Harold Fry ist seit sechs Monaten pensioniert, aber maßgeblich verändert hat sich sein Leben dadurch nicht. Jeder Tag gleicht dem anderen und meist ist er seiner Ehefrau Maureen im Weg. Doch eines Morgens reißt ihn das Eintreffen eines Briefes aus seinem Trott. Es ist eine Nachricht einer alten Freundin. 20 Jahre lang hat Harold Queenie Hennessy weder gesprochen noch gesehen. Nun liegt sie im Sterben. Wie soll er nur darauf antworten, nach allem, was Queenie für ihn getan hat und nach all den Jahren? Als er seine ersten Schritte in Richtung Briefkasten macht, um sein Antwortschreiben einzuwerfen, ist das der Beginn einer fantastischen Reise. Denn während Harold läuft, kommt ihm die Idee, dass er genau das für Queenie tun kann: laufen. Über 600 Meilen, von Kingsbridge im Süden Englands bis nach Berwick-upon-Tweed ganz im Norden, wo Queenie in einem Hospiz ihre letzten Tage verbringt. Harold ist fest überzeugt, solange er läuft, wird Queenie leben. Sie wird auf ihn warten. Erst während seiner Reise merkt Harold, dass diese ihm weit mehr abverlangt, als nur einen Fuß vor den anderen zu setzen: sie konfrontiert ihn mit Erinnerungen. Und nicht nur mit Erinnerungen an Queenie.

Fragte man mich, wovon „The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry“ handelt, wüsste ich keine andere Antwort als „Vom Leben“. Verpasste Chancen, genutzte Gelegenheiten, enttäuschte Erwartungen, Liebe und Freundschaft, Schmerz, Verlust, Leidenschaft, Unausgesprochenes – um all das geht es in diesem Roman. Ich wage zu behaupten, dass sich einfach jeder in Harolds Geschichte wiederfinden kann, weil sie in ihrer Gewöhnlichkeit absolut außergewöhnlich ist. Es sind die kleinen Dinge, die ein Leben besonders machen; das Wesentliche liegt nicht an der Oberfläche, sondern steht zwischen den Zeilen. Rachel Joyce hat genau diese Eigenheit des Daseins mit erstaunlicher Klarheit herausgearbeitet und in den Mittelpunkt ihrer Erzählung gestellt. Ihre Art zu schreiben ist dabei unmissverständlich und direkt, sodass ich keine Probleme hatte, eine Verbindung zu Harold und auch seiner Frau Maureen aufzubauen, obwohl uns etwa 40 Lebensjahre trennen. Harolds Reise entfacht das Leben und die Liebe in ihnen beiden aufs Neue; Gefühle, die jahrzehntelang geschlafen haben, werden wiedererweckt. Während er läuft, verschwimmen für Harold die Grenzen von Realität und Erinnerung. Während er läuft, überwindet Maureen uralten Groll und Schmerz. Je mehr geografische Distanz zwischen ihnen liegt, desto näher kommen sie sich emotional. Joyce ließ mich hautnah an dieser Entwicklung teilhaben; es war so wunderschön, sie zu beobachten. So etwas warmherziges, sanftes, zärtliches und intimes habe ich schon lange nicht mehr gelesen. Es hat mir ein Lächeln ins Gesicht gezaubert, auf jeder einzelnen Seite. Ein bisschen erinnerte es mich an „Schiffbruch mit Tiger“. Vermutlich hätten Harold und Maureen es jedoch nie geschafft, die Gräben zwischen sich zu überwinden, wäre Queenie nicht gewesen. Queenie Hennessy hat schon einmal sehr viel für Harold getan und jetzt tut sie es erneut. Noch mit ihrem letzten Atemzug macht sie ihm ein unschätzbares Geschenk. Sie bringt die Liebe zwischen Harold und Maureen erneut zum Glühen und lässt sie verstehen, dass manche Momente des Lebens einfach zu groß und zu schmerzhaft sind, um sie allein zu verarbeiten. Ist das nicht schlicht bezaubernd?

Ich bin noch nicht 60, aber auch ich habe Teile meines Ichs in „The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry“ entdeckt. Eine Botschaft nehme ich ganz sicher daraus mit und hoffe, ich habe sie nicht vergessen, wenn ich so alt bin wie Harold. Es ist niemals zu spät, um etwas zu tun, zu sagen oder zu verändern. Es ist oft nicht das Alter, das uns aufhält, es sind unsere negativen Erfahrungen. Niemals möchte ich den Mut verlieren, einfach zu springen und etwas Verrücktes zu tun, mein Leben noch einmal völlig umkrempeln, wenn es sein muss – ganz wie Harold.
Ich empfehle dieses Buch an LeserInnen, die in der Lage sind, das Besondere im Gewöhnlichen zu erkennen. In jedem Leben steckt ein wenig Magie. Manchmal muss man nur genauer hinsehen, um sie zu finden.

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