The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel

"...and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." - Hebrews 11:13

This novel reads like an inverted bildungsroman. It is a novel about the pilgrimages we all must take later in life and the penance that we all must finally pay. That indeed sounds like a dreary novel, but with Joyce's talent for prose and pacing this novel absolutely flows with funky characters and breathes with a gentle humor. For me, it was like I was reading a great novel by Peter Carey, or David Mitchell or Brady Udall. Those are the peers that she belongs with. The story of Harold Fry's pilgrimage is beautiful and the characters are vivid. Ultimately the book, like a soft hymn sings that we are all important to the people we come in contact with, no matter how simple and ordinary we may at first appear.

Jim Broadbent reads this novel with a nuance, liveliness, and sensitivity that one rarely find outside the theatre. One of the best narrations I've EVER listened to.

What can I say about Harold. He captures your heart and reminds me of the days of my grandparents and their stiff upper lip and absurd way of thinking of putting one foot in front of the other. I was captivated by the story even the pilgrim nonsense that is a brilliant way to show how social media is usually wrong and sensational seeking. The reader was excellent. Loved the book - it was GOOD and I haven't really listened to a GOOD book in awhile. Ignore the nonsense that people will post about it being a spiritual book and comparing it to this and that. It is a great story told by an engaging story teller.

This book is one of the best books I have listened to in many years.

The entire book was wonderful but the ending was so unexpected ( Iwill say no more)

Harold Fry, the book is his story

A film about healing.

I cannot wait for the movie. If properly done it will be an award winner.

in an ordinary way."
...so Joyce describes her own book, a story she was originally writting for a BBC radio broadcast, while experiencing her own father suffering from cancer. [And in about a month from this review, the author will find out whether or not Harold Fry will continue his journey from the Man Booker long 12 to the Man Booker Short List.] Joyce obviously is a very talented writer. She has a sparse style and the ability to write descriptive and poetic sentences with simple ordinary words that have an almost child-like purity. Whether or not the book is short-listed, I expect to see many beautiful reads from this new author.

"It seemed to Harold that he had been waiting all his life to walk. He no longer knew how far he had come, but only that he was going forward."

As reviewers have said, this is beautifuly written and the journey the listener embarks on with the very buttoned-up Harold is both heart warming and heart wrenching. I see the brilliance in Harold Fry, but have to admit it wasn't one that I couldn't wait to get back to each time I had to pause; I didn't look forward to continuing the journey--it was somber. But, maybe that was the brilliance -- that it made me feel so sad and ache-y inside, so much like Harold. The characters that join in the pilgrimage add some levity, but seem to serve more as vehicles just to move along Harold's melancholic reminiscing. I'm glad I finished and I recommend, but this isn't a story for everyone. I couldn't help but be moved by "Night Music's" review; she mentioned that she was an elderly woman and found that "looking back can be very disheartening," and she couldn't finish listening. I wish I could tell her to continue the journey--there is redemption. Towards the end, Harold questions whether his journey was just folley and gets this simply put lovely reply,

"You got up and you did something. And if trying to find a way when you don't even know if you can get there isn't a small miracle; then I don't know what is."

Lovely and bittersweet; not ordinary at all.

I tend to avoid stories that I know will make me cry, but this one had such a great premise that I listened to it anyway. Who hasn't taken a walk or driven down a road and felt the urge to just keep going? I know I have. This story did make me cry, as I expected it would, but it was just lighthearted and oddball enough to keep me smiling as well.

Yes. 'The Pilgrimage' is fiction at its best: everything about the characters and story connects and rings true. The language is lyrical but never flowery or sentimental.

The story could not exist without each and every character - no particular favorite.

His narration is flawless. Broadbent has the chops and humility to keep it simple at let the story shine.

I can't remember the last time a book (or movie) made me cry but this story elicited a surge of joy, gratitude, and amazement at the goodness that comes from 'little lives' well lived. I listened to the penultimate section standing completely still at the kitchen counter. The language so beautiful, so perfect - literally stopped me in my tracks.

I am normally quite careful to avoid selections that may be sad or maudlin since I skew a bit melancholy anyway ( I shall NEVER EVER read 'Marley and Me', for example) but this book broke my heart in the best possible way. Each character displays nobility and frailty while their story is told. The plot itself is intriguing as each character's perceptions bring more understanding to "the facts." Granted, I am writing this while still under the spell of the book, but I loved 'The Pilgrimage' as much as the book of Chekhov's short stories I've been reading this summer. I highly recommend this title for one and all.

This is a debut novel, beautifully written. Harold Fry has recently retired from a job he hated, along with his boss, for at least 20 years. He believes that he has failed at everything he’s ever done, including raising his son. His wife, Maureen, seems to agree that he’s failed at everything since she scolds him for every little thing, even the way he butters his toast. So one day he gets a letter which is from a co-worker who he hasn’t seen in 20 years, Queenie Hennessy. She is apparently dying and has written a letter to let him know that and to thank him for being kind to her at one time. Harold is immediately grief-stricken as well as feeling very guilty. He believes that while Queenie was kind to him, he failed her and let her get fired for something he had done. He sets out to send her a note that just says he’s sorry. He has on casual clothes and very casual footwear to go to the mailbox. But he keeps walking. He stops for a burger and is told by the worker there that her aunt lived and recovered from cancer because people had faith that she would. Harold decides to undertake a pilgrimage of walking 600 miles to the hospice where Queenie is dying with the idea that if he can walk that distance he’ll keep her from dying. So he starts on a two-month odyssey to reach his goal. He meets all kinds of people, some generous, some taking advantage of him. His pilgrimage becomes a celebrated cause with the newspapers getting hold of it. The results of all of this reveal his family secrets and in some ways has a very surprising result. This debut novel is already being listed as a possible Booker Prize winner, and we can expect more wonderful books from this author who seems very good at telling stories.

I really liked this book. It touched on so many facets of life that are so easy to push under the carpet. It examines the secrets people hold inside of them, eat them up but feel hopeless to discuss them. While being blunt and honest with the problems of the characters the story also fills you with compassion and hope. Harold and Maureen come to life and you become very close to them. You cheer Harold on - laugh at some of his encounters and shake your head at others. It is a thought provoking, tender, moving book that stays with you long after you're finished with it.

Harold Fry and his wife Maureen have been holding on to what has become a truly dreadful marriage over the past 20 years. One morning, while Maureen bickers at him about the jam, Harold opens a letter from his old friend Queenie, who writes to let him know that she is dying of cancer. Harold hasn't heard from Queenie in many years and decides to write her an answer right away, but as he is about to drop off the letter in the mailbox, he decides that a letter just won't do and that instead he should make his way to see her in person. On foot. Over a distance of some 600 miles. He's told Maureen he was just dropping off the letter at the mailbox, he hasn't taken his mobile phone, isn't wearing adequate gear to make such a long journey; his sailing shoes aren't likely to hold up or be very comfortable on such a long trek. But no matter, he's determined that positive thinking will somehow save Queenie from her terminal cancer, and what starts as one man's journey eventually becomes a national sensation.

I was prepared to like this book very much. I loved the premise and knew it wouldn't be a cheery affair, but perhaps I wasn't in the right mindset to fully appreciate it. As we follow Harold through his long march, we are made to witness the wanderings of his mind, with remembered glimpses from an unhappy past. I fully appreciate the message here, that his journey is one to save himself and his marriage, that walking helps him mull over difficult things he would have otherwise kept buried away, that it's all about self-healing, but I wasn't comfortable with the repetitive nature of Harold's thoughts, circling over and over around events that are only hinted at, and that we know will be revealed towards journey's end. It all reminded me too much of my own journey, my own obsessive thoughts over past hurts and tragedies, and perhaps felt too close for comfort. Or perhaps this just wasn't a great fit for me, though I'm sure this story is and will be fully appreciated by many. Fantastic narration by Jim Broadbent.

This was a great story. When I started it was a bit slow. Not enough of a reason given for me on why he started walking to see Queenie. It didn't seem plausible. However, I'm so glad I stuck with it. One of the best I've read this year.

I compared it to another similarly themed book, The Memory of Running. In that book a mentally slow, fat, drunk, slob (it's words, not mine) set off on his bike to reach his sister. It too was a good book that jumped from past events to present. The main character was a changed person by the end of that journey but you didn't like him much along the way.

In this story you love Harold right away. I even love the complexity of his relationship with Maureen and how the journey begins to unfold all of its layers. Harold and Maureen both are able to finally deal with the grief of losing their son and find their way back to each other.

I would definitely recommend.