The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

By: Rachel Joyce

Narrated by: Jim Broadbent

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner: New Writer of the Year - Specsavers National Book Awards 2012

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. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof, or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking - to save someone else's life.

Harold Fry is the most ordinary of men. He just might be a hero for us all.

Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent has starred in a huge range of films, from British favourites including Bridget Jones, Hot Fuzz and The Iron Lady, to Hollywood blockbusters such as Moulin Rouge, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the Harry Potter films. He is set to star in the upcoming film adaptation of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Critic reviews

One of the sweetest, most delicately-written stories I've read in a long time. One man's walk along the length of England to save the life of a dying woman. Each chapter describes a different encounter along the way, with a definite nod to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Philosophical, intriguing, and profoundly moving.

Uplifting, funny and delicate (Jon Stock)

A wonderful book ... Full of sadness, hope, and ultimately love. I found it very moving.

Tender and funny, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry shows that even our frailties can be uplifting and redemptive.

Harold Fry is infuriating, hilarious and completely out of his depth, but 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. Marvellous!

Compelling and truly wonderful. It made me laugh out loud at times and brought tears to my eyes. There are sentences that are just brilliant and well observed. (David Headley)

I was completely blown away. I thought I was about to read a comic novel but what can I say - it was indeed funny, but tender, ironic and deeply moving, a really wonderful book. (Pat Abrehard)

‘Jim Broadbent reads Rachel Joyce’s first novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, in a splendidly deadpan manner.’ (Sue Gaisford)

Fabulous

I really loved her book. It captured the reality our journey as humans, how delicate life and living is. Inner feelings we all have and how they change. A beautiful story of real life and enduring love and friendship.
Thank you.

what an enlightening read

loved it. loved the story line. kept me listening as every chapter passed I wanted to know more

Great narration, story needed a good edit

This book should have been inspiring and in parts it was but it was let down by the length and meandering that gripped the book.

One of those books

I had it in my library for quite awhile until I decided to start it and then I just couldn’t stop listening

An unexpected delight

A man receives a letter from an old friend who is terminally ill. He walks to the post box to send a reply, but keeps walking. He continues walking across England because he is convinced it will save his friend's life. The premise 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' is based on is so unlikely that I didn't read it for a long time, despite glowing reviews. I can't say, even now, why I changed my mind, only that I am glad I did.

The story is so much more than a man's physical journey from one end of England to another. It is a journey through his life, through his triumphs and disappointments, his regrets and if-onlys. Along the way he meets people who help him, people who hinder him, and somewhere along the way he finds a sort of peace. I know this sounds rather fanciful and neatly-tied-with-a-bow. It isn't. It is about life being about connections and wonder and fear and laughter and a collection of memories of interconnections and opportunities missed and taken. And it's funny - laugh out loud funny in parts. Jim Broadbent is a brilliant narrator. Rightly or wrongly I pictured him as Harold, but it wasn't because he injected himself too far into the story, but rather because he sounded to me like he got Harold.

The problem I am finding with audiobooks is that when the author uses a particularly brilliant turn of phrase, or expresses something perfectly I can't dog-ear a page and come back to it later. Rachel Joyce is a talented writer, and there were quite a few times I wished I wasn't driving (I listen to audiobooks in the car) so I could write something down. You'll just have to discover these treasures for yourself. Recommended.