Friday, May 3, 2013

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Coming in at 11th place in the Fiction category of 2012 Choice Awards. It received 2731 votes which is about 8700 less than the winner received.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce



Harold Fry is a retired gentlemen with a lackluster marriage when he receives a letter from an old friend saying goodbye. With intent of mailing a quick reply, he sets off for the mailbox down the street. However, Harold Fry feels the need to keep walking. What follows is an unexpected walk to the hospice where his old friend lay dying with an urge for her to keep living, while he keeps walking.

Since 9/10ths of this book is spent walking, we get to spend a lot of time in the mind of Harold Fry. We get to learn about his past, his regrets, his accomplishments, and what plagues his mind. We get to be there with him on good days and on bad.

I had read from others that they felt this novel was unspectacular. To me, this seemed the point. An unspectacular guy does something  unexpected.

The unfortunate part about this sort of literature, is that it is meant to reflect on life in a way that you can reflect on your own life with the same lessons that Harold Fry is learning. I suppose, if you cannot see the lessons he is learning, or if you aren't the type to speculate, you might not get as much enjoyment from this type of novel.

I found this novel to be well-written, with interesting thoughts on our lives and how we conduct them or are left by them. I want to remind potential readers, however, that this novel is all about the deep thoughts inside our head and lacking in action or events. 

That being said, when it comes to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? 

Shut Up and Read It.

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