Harold believes as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live. This is a lovely tale of an ordinary man setting off on a pilgrimage to visit an old friend who is dying. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years.Īnd then there is the unfinished business with Queenie Hennessy.Ī novel of unsentimental charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry introduces Rachel Joyce as a wise - and utterly irresistible - storyteller. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him - allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside.

Harold Fry is determined to walk 600 miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce's remarkable debut. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn't seen or heard from in 20 years. Little differentiates one day from the next.

He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast.

The unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry