The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry By Rachel Joyce: Book Review

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If somebody asks me to name a list of my favourite books, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will now be a book that I name.

SYNOPSIS: The story follows Harold Fry, a recently retired man who lives in a small English village with his wife  Maureen. One morning he receives a letter from an old acquaintance, Queenie Hennessy who is staying at a hospice and is writing to say goodbye. As he is on the way to post a reply, a chance encounter — one that convinces him that he must deliver his message to her in person, leads Harold to begin his unlikely pilgrimage from one end of the country to the other to save her life.

REVIEW: I remember picking this book up last year, reading the blurb and liking it enough to buy and then placing it on my bookshelf and expecting it to remain there as a TBR (To Be Read) for whenever I felt like it was time to read — admittedly it was very far down on my TBR list. However because I made the decision to read more books that I normally wouldn’t read, I thought this would be a perfect pick.

What I absolutely loved about this novel is that I was able to relate to a married, retired, sixty-something year old English man. Other than being born in the UK I have absolutely nothing in common with Harold Fry, yet through Joyce’s writing, she manages to effortlessly explore the most vulnerable sides of the human condition such as grief, love, faith, adolescence, aging, acceptance and so much more, which makes this story (at least for me) so relatable because it’s not just trying to get you to understand the character but also connect with the characters journey. Harold’s story is told alongside his wife, Maureen who left alone, is also forced to come to terms with her own life which serves as an interesting foil to Harold’s because of how differently the pilgrimage affects them both.

“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 everyday. The loneliness of that.”

Joyce chooses to tell this story through memory, the further Harold goes on his journey the more we learn about his life. It is told in such a way that when there are big reveals about his past, they resonate more because they’re being told through his own visceral, repressed memories and as a result, we get to know these characters on a far more personal level.

The only thing I didn’t initially like about this story was the ending. It wasn’t what I expected… it wasn’t the spectacle I was hoping for it to be — it was stark and realistic which I ended up appreciating because it is how the majority of the book is written.

It’s rare that a book leaves such a lasting impression on me, I am so glad I chose this book to read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a light but impactful read. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is truly a wonderful book.

4.9/5