I picked up a book in the New Books section at the library recently. It caught my attention for two reasons--the title and that the cover showed it to be a national bestseller. Two good reasons to read the summary and pop the large paperback into my book bag. I thoroughly enjoyed the story as I read.
It's been several days since I finished the book but bits and pieces of the story keep popping into my mind. I have to say that the story and so many looks at life and what it brings us left an indelible impression on me.
Harold Fry and his wife, Maureen, are pensioners who live in a small village in the south of England. Their marriage leaves much to be desired. Maureen harps at Harold for the smallest of transgressions and he quietly listens and ignores most of what she says. Then, one day, a letter arrives for Harold from a woman he had worked with at the local brewery. He was a sales rep and Queenie had been in the accounting division. They were thrown together when Queenie was assigned the job of checking pub accounts in the places where Harold called upon the owners. Thus, they spent many hours on the road together.
The simple letter informed Harold that Queenie was in a hospice in the far north of England, dying of cancer. He writes a short note to her and sets out to post it. Before he can slip it in the letterbox, a chance meeting gives Harold an idea. One that takes hold of him with a strength that he cannot fight. He decides that he will walk the 600+ miles to the hospice to see Queenie in person. She'll stay among the living as long as he is walking. He calls the hospice, informs a nurse and asks her tell Queenie he is coming.
He sets out in the yachting shoes and light jacket that he is wearing, never returning home to tell Maureen. The rest of the story is about Harold's walk, the people he meets, the difficulties he faces over and over again, and the determination he has to finish what he set out to do. When the entire country gets wind of Harold's journey, chaos ensues but he manages to endure and move on again alone.
As he walks, thoughts about his entire life keep popping into his head. The sad childhood he had, the joy of meeting Maureen, the event that changed their life together for the past twenty years, and much more.
O magazine said this about the book--"A gorgeously poignant novel of hope and transformation."
The New York Times review said: "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is not just a book about lost love. It's about all the wonderful everyday things Harold discovers through the mere process of putting one foot in front of the other."
The reader gets to know both Harold and Maureen quite well as the book moves back and forth between the two--Harold's journey and her reaction. The book is beautifully written and filled with a look at life in general for all of us. Kindness is a theme we see often as so many strangers offer help to Harold as the journey progresses.
Does Harold reach the hospice? Is Queenie still alive? Does he return to the same marriage he had? Was it a crazy idea to walk over 600 miles taking nothing but what you are wearing? So many questions that all get answered as you work your way through this wonderful story. An editorial review in the Minneapolis Star Tribune described the story as one of "...faith, fidelity and redemtion." I would heartily agree.
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