Name: Fran Lewis's review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Item: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Rating: 1
Author: Fran Lewis

Rachel Joyce

A novel of unsentimental 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. 

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn't seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. 

Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce's remarkable debut. Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live. 

Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside. Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him - allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years. 

And then there is the unfinished business with Queenie Hennessy.
(jacket flap)

a novel

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Fran Lewis

Emily Burns

I really loved this book. It was very close to my heart.

Such a lovely read. Easy to visual Harold walking. 

Joanna Tweedale

Kayleigh Vermeij

Harold Fry is convinced that he must deliver a letter to an old love in order to save her, meeting various characters along the way and reminiscing about the events of his past and people he has known, as he tries to find peace and acceptance.

A Novel

Izza

The story starts on a Tuesday, when Harold, a 65 year-old, receives a letter from an old friend. In her letter, Queenie tells Harold that she has cancer. He promptly writes a letter, and sets out to mail it, but when he gets to the mailbox, he starts walking to the next one, and to the next one, until he’s inspired by a girl working in a garage and decides to walk all the way to deliver the letter in person. Harold believes that if he walks, Queenie will survive.

At first, I really had a hard time getting into the story. Harold and his wife haven’t been in a good relationship in about 20 years. They both sleep in different room and barely talk to one another. The author was able to create a really awkward and tensed atmosphere within the first few pages. I hated Harold’s wife, Maureen. She was mean to her husband for no apparent reason; she talked to him as if he was an idiot. They talked about their son who sounded like a conceited prick, and then there was Harold who acted like a wimp. I couldn’t care less about the characters, and I started to worry I wouldn’t be able to finish the book.

But as I turned the pages, the story became a lot more interesting. Well, I don’t think the beginning was bad. Not at all. I just personally wasn’t pulled in. But then we slowly learn about Maureen and Harold’s past. What their son was like when he was younger. I found myself not caring so much about Harold, but about all the other characters: Rex, the people he meets along his walk, and even Maureen.

Full review over @ The Hungry Bookster

Janice Hopper

Oh my, I loved this book. It's about losing and finding, making amends, and reconciliation. It's about how we're broken sometimes, but yet we still soldier on. It's sweet and sad and complicated, just like life. It's about how there really aren't many happy endings. But we can go on, through our own valley of shadows, out to whatever there is to find on the other side.

Yeah, it's maybe a little sentimental, but it worked for me.

I listened to it on audio and the narrator, Jim Broadbent, was just perfect. 

I adored this book so much.

I loved the suspense creating! There is so much emotion along with motivation! Truly a ride of ups & downs. This shows how you should never give up on anything in life! A memorable & remarkable adventure, finished with a pure ending. 

Sairaaa

A wonderfully simple story about a man who ends up doing something he believes in. Easy to breeze through, it's a wholly satisfying read.

Clodagh Nolan-Smith

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry

A delightful and charming read. I felt it was a little slow in the middle but soon picked up pace and led to a beautiful ending.

Sian Wadey

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was recommended to me by my Mum, and our local book shop Booka. 
It's not normally the kind of thing I read but I was looking forward to it, everyone I'd spoken to about it absolutely loved it.
It's a fairly simple story. Harold Fry is a retired man, living unhappily with his wife in Kingsbridge. He receives a letter from a woman named Queenie who he used to work with and decides to write a letter back to her. Only, he doesn't post it, he continues walking to Berwick Upon Tweed. We follow Harold on his journey, his ups and downs and the people he meets along the way.
At first, I thought each chapter followed a basic pattern, which disappointed me a bit. Harold met someone, walked a bit and reminisced about an old memory, normally involving his wife or son. The memory often turned out to be depressing. But as the story continued and Harold's pilgrimage evolved into something much bigger than he had anticipated it became better. The people he met brought the story to life and the problems he faced were realistic. In most books, the hero would walk all the way in yachting shoes and have no problems at all, but it detailed Harold's injuries and obstacles. The whole time I willed Harold just to buy a pair of walking boots, but Harold wasn't that kind of person.
Overall, this book is a lovely, simple story, filled with happy, sad and surprising moments. It makes you think about how you live your life, what's important to you and what you'd do for those you love.

Kaya

Ich habe keine Ahnung warum ich weiter gelesen hatte, obwohl ich Harold Fry und seine kleine Heimeligkeit nicht mochte. Aber es hat sich gelohnt.

Kelly Westraat 

This was my set work book 
The beginning and middle was nice to read and the story was good but when I got close to the end I felt that it dragged 
And there was an anti-climax with Queenie
The end was kind of cute with Maureen and Harold  

Nadine 

This is a book that lingers. Cleverly written as the past comes through in drips and drabs and one final devastating reveal.

Fran Lewis &
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

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Fran Lewis &The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce