The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

nerd teacher [books] reviewed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Harold Fry, #1)

Completely adorable but takes a bit to get into.

3 stars

The story felt completely adorable, even charming. There were a lot of aspects that were pretty enjoyable and a little cute.

But it was rather slow to start, and it felt like the premise wasn't fully fleshed out in the beginning. I couldn't get my head around the fact that a letter from an estranged friend that read varying degrees of "I'm dying of cancer" would prompt someone to start walking 600+ miles to get to them, but I suppose it was due to the mostly predictable spin that was being set up that made the beginning... pretty dull.

TowerOfTheArchmage reviewed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Review of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Have you ever just needed to walk? To move, to go, to put one foot in front of the other? Sometimes you start because you’re walking toward something, or walking away from something. The truth is that it’s always both.

Over the course of this book we walk with Harold across England as he goes off to visit an old friend dying of cancer, encountering everyday people who, like him, carry the invisible pains of life. He connects with these people, with the land, and even with a dog. He humbles himself by giving up all the unnecessary things that he carries. He strips himself down, over the course of his walk, to the core of the man he is. How that changes his relationship with his wife, his son, the woman he's walking to visit, and everyone he encounters on the way.

And having experienced some of that myself, …

Have you ever just needed to walk? To move, to go, to put one foot in front of the other? Sometimes you start because you’re walking toward something, or walking away from something. The truth is that it’s always both.

Over the course of this book we walk with Harold across England as he goes off to visit an old friend dying of cancer, encountering everyday people who, like him, carry the invisible pains of life. He connects with these people, with the land, and even with a dog. He humbles himself by giving up all the unnecessary things that he carries. He strips himself down, over the course of his walk, to the core of the man he is. How that changes his relationship with his wife, his son, the woman he's walking to visit, and everyone he encounters on the way.

And having experienced some of that myself, this book grabbed hold of that feeling, and never let go. I don't give many 5 star reviews, but the entire last disk of the audio book left me sobbing, so I think it deserves it.

Didactylos reviewed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Review of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A lovely book, Superb, with a real elegiac quality. Highly recommended.

Dunedinmouse

rated it

Aug. 7, 2016