The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

By Rachel Joyce

  • Release Date: 2012-07-24
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 925 Ratings

Description

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.

Reviews

  • What a remarkable book! I loved it!

    5
    By clearliquids
    It was so real, so detailed, it is so believable, and also an ending that I didn’t expect! I want to read more of this author’s works now. Reminds me of Eric Backman, tough topics written beautifully!
  • One of those books

    5
    By elwayne62
    That make you feel good. I didn’t want the book to end. The author has a way of writing that’s flows so elegantly, almost like pros. Just a fantastic book.
  • The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold fry

    5
    By kendykem
    Very good story of love and forgiveness. I loved the book.
  • Off putting

    3
    By 4488662
    Most of the time a woman author writing in a man’s can get things right but this story was a man’s voice with a woman’s sensibilities and observations. It felt like a forced movie script of A Man named Ove meets Forest Gump.
  • Walk On.

    5
    By Orbitnow
    This is a wonderful book. It tells the story of a person much like you and me, struggling to get through this life and to make things right. In the end, the answers are clear, even through our tears. Life is a journey, Look around you, Listen to the world, Love yourself and others , Laugh heartedly with them. We are all in this together.
  • Beautifully written

    5
    By jlfantome
    The simple, stunning beauty of Chapter 31 alone is worth the entire book.
  • The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    5
    By 💗123
    Thought provoking!
  • The unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    4
    By Mississippi H
    Questions of worldview permeate this book and need to be read, shared and discussed with other pilgrims like those of us who read and enjoyed this book. Questions at end excellent places to land.
  • The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    3
    By Jcnlmo
    It's a pleasant read with a few surprising moments. No great epiphanies, and the writing average, nothing superb. I read it for a book club.
  • What a pleasure

    5
    By Jeff Rudell
    Rachael Joyce has done the miraculous with her first book. Harold Fry is as real a person as any you are likely to meet. The story is at first improbable, then unlikely, and finally, by the end, almost inevitable. Harold, Maureen, and Queenie are as real as anyone i know; a god-like accomplishment for an author if ever there was one. I have already ordered a hardcover to share with friend since it is terribly difficult to press a digital copy into the hands of someone with the words, "You HAVE to read this. You will love it."