The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

One cannot help but love Harold Fry: a dour, recently retired salesman who lives in a small English village with his wife Maureen. Their relationship is strained, and what should have been the fulfilling retired life they dreamt of all those years ago now seems like one long drag with little difference from one day to another.

That is, until Harold receives a letter from an old colleague of his, Queenie Hennessy. He hasn’t heard from Queenie for more than twenty years, who now only writes to say she has been diagnosed with cancer and would like to say goodbye.

Harold walks to the closest mailbox to post his prompt reply to her. But then changes his mind and decides to walk all the way to the post office. Something happens to him on his way – as things tend to in good stories – that changes his mission completely. He decides that he has to deliver his letter to Queenie in person.

And so he sets out (without a phone and only wearing a light jacket and a pair of yacht shoes) on an unlikely pilgrimage – a six-hundred-mile walk from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed armed with the firm belief that, as long as he keeps on walking towards her, Queenie would stay alive.

The beauty and joy of this book lies in Rachel Joyce’s unerring ability to weave a good story. Of course, Harold meets a string of interesting characters along the way, and each encounter enriches him. As he walks he reflects, and delves deep into his own past and his relationship with his wife and his son. He remembers his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy of becoming a father. Facing up to his losses and myriad mistakes he starts to heal, allowing him to forgive himself and to accept who he is.

It is a quirky tale, for sure, but serves up a variety of messages that stay with you for a long time. Perhaps it is, as one reviewer remarked, almost like a painting unfolding in front of you. Yet, in its simplicity it captures the essence of human nature and addresses the issue of what the true meaning of life is.

A rare find.