The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is an inspiring, uplifting story that’s also tinged with sadness. It’s a book that will make you think about relationships, the kindness of strangers, and life’s journey. Here’s my book review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
Overview of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce follows the story of Harold Fry on his long walk across the UK. This book doesn’t really have any major plot twists, but my book review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce will still try not to give away too much of the plot.
Harold lives with his wife, Maureen, in Devon. One day, he received a letter from Queenie, an old friend he used to work with. The letter is telling him that Queenie has cancer and is dying, in a town called Berwick-upon-Tweed in the far North of the UK. Harold writes a reply to the letter, and then heads outside to post the letter to Queenie.
However, when Harold gets to the post box, he decides to keep walking. And he keeps walking past the next post box. Then the next.
And so begins Harold’s pilgrimage walk to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The rest of the book follows Harold’s walk. He doesn’t have any walking equipment, and struggles at first. But then he turns a corner mentally, and after some inspiring encounters with people along the way, he finds new energy for his walk. He believes that if he can walk to Queenie, then that will stop her from dying.
Harold’s walk starts to get press attention, and soon people start wanting to join him on his walk. Throughout the book, we see Harold’s struggles with the walk and his mental health. He also reminisces about the past heavily during the walk, thinking about his relationship with his wife and son. The book also follows Harold’s wife’s story as well. Maureen is left behind at home, giving her time for her own reflections as well. And throughout the book, we wonder if Harold will make it, and also what will happen to Harold and Maureen’s relationship by the end of his walk.
What I liked about The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Overall, I did enjoy this book. There were elements I wasn’t so sure about, but there were lots of positives too.
Inspiring a journey across the UK
I enjoyed Harold’s journey, both physical and mental. I enjoyed reading about Harold’s journey through the different towns and cities of the UK, and I thought the geography and route was described well. Through the whole book, I could really visualise where Harold was throughout his journey. Reading this book made me want to visit all the places in the UK that Harold walked through. And it also inspired me to want to walk more. But maybe not across the whole of the UK in one go!
The kindness and inspiration of strangers
One of my favourite parts of the book was how the people Harold met along the way helped him and also inspired him. There were many examples where just one conversation would completely change Harold’s mindset and his emotional state. I found it really interesting to think about how many small conversations we have with strangers throughout our life – and how just one of these small conversations has the potential to really change someone’s outlook on life. I was also inspired by the examples in the book of the kindness of strangers. Often, complete strangers would be so kind to Harold, offering him shelter and food and help. Again, it made me think of my own life and the opportunities I could take to show kindness to strangers, like so many people did for Harold.
Relationships
I also really enjoyed the sections from Maureen’s point of view as well. I felt like I connected well with Maureen’s character. Her emotions were well described as she adjusted to life with Harold away, and had the time and space to think about their relationship.
I enjoyed reading a story about an older married couple. So many of the books I read focus on falling in love and new relationships that are just beginning. But this book focuses on the relationship of an older couple. Harold and Maureen are an older couple who have been married for years and been through a lot in their lives. Harold and Maureen had grown very distant in their marriage over the years, since having issues with their son. I found it moving to see their relationship start to grow again.
I feel like there are so many examples of people giving up on their marriages when things get difficult. Or people learning to just live together but without love. So it was moving to read a story where an older couple were able to reinvigorate their relationship and love, even after so many years of hardship. This theme throughout the book really made me think about life and relationships. And it made me think about how there can so often be hope.
What I wasn’t so sure about
Although I enjoyed this book and found many aspects inspiring, I found the book more sad than I was expecting to. I was expecting it to be a really uplifting, inspiring story of a man who is able to conquer his physical and emotional limitations and achieve something amazing. And while there was an element of that, there were also so many sad parts of the book.
Harold struggled so much with the walk. There were many details in the book of his blistered feet, which weren’t always the most pleasant to read. And a lot of the time, Harold felt like a lonely, sad, struggling old man who was losing his mental capacity. I found it quite sad reading the parts of the book where Harold was struggling. And in some ways this felt like the majority of the book was focussed on the negative aspects of his journey. I completely understand that a journey like this wouldn’t be entirely positive, and there would be a lot of hardship as well. But I feel like the book focussed too much on the hardship. I would have preferred more focus on the inspirational and positive side of Harold’s journey.
The ending
The ending of the book was quite depressing as well. I’ll try not to give too many spoilers about the ending. But it wasn’t the happy ending that I was hoping for. Again, I understand that in real life, there often aren’t happy endings. And of course it wasn’t medically possible for Harold’s walk to save Queenie’s life when she had terminal cancer. But the ending of the book left me feeling quite deflated. I would have liked Harold to have felt happy when he arrived in Berwick-upon-Tweed, and not be a physical and mental mess at this point. And maybe just one proper conversation with Queenie would have been nice. There are so many ways that the ending could have been changed to leave me feeling happy and inspired, rather than a bit sad.
I wanted this book to be really inspiring and uplifting. And there definitely were elements of that. But a big theme throughout, and especially at the end, was that Harold was an old man who was fading away from life. The book portrayed old age quite negatively, focussing on Harold’s failing body and mind. It was sad to read.
Would I recommend The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
My book review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is mostly positive, so I would recommend reading this book. There are many positive, uplifting and inspirational elements that I really liked. However, I would have liked more of the positive themes, and less of the sad, negative themes. This wasn’t quite the joyous book I was hoping for, even if it may be a more realistic version of real life. But there are still lots of positive themes from this book that I found inspiring and made me think about life.
Hope you enjoyed my book review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Make sure you check out my other books reviews here. If this book has inspired you to travel, start planning your trip. Read my blog posts on the top experiences in California, Florida and North West USA to get inspired. Or get inspired to travel in Europe, visiting Wales, Lisbon, Austrian Alps, Vienna, Barcelona and Iceland.
