From the Bookshelf of Diversity in All Forms!…

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry, #1)

Rachel Joyce

Start date: July 1, 2018

Finish date: July 30, 2018

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Diversity topic in July is Ageism

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry, #1) by Rachel Joyce
[close] Diversity topic in July is Ageism

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry, #1) by Rachel Joyce

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What Members Thought

Oct 18, 2012 Richard Derus rated it liked it

Three star review has moved to Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.

But really, there are better ways to spend your eyeblinks than reading this mawkish treacle. ...more

154 likes · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 JanB rated it really liked it

A quiet, deceptively simple, and poignant book about Harold's walk through England to save Queenie, a former co-worker who is dying. Harold’s story is more complicated than it first appears and his story slowly unfolds as we read. We discover the real reason for his walk and the reason behind his estrangement from his wife and son.

The walk is the vehicle for exploring the idea that we are all on a pilgrimage and life is as much about the journey as it is the destination. Each of us lives with ba ...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Ammar rated it really liked it

If one has a goal and works to get it, the universe will conspire to help him achieve it.

Harold Fry, 65, retired sales person at a brewery. He walks over 500 miles from the south of England to the North to visit a dying former coworker. A 21st century pilgrimage.

Queenie Henessey. In a hospice. Cancer ridden. Sends Harold a letter and this letter accompanied by a sense of guilt triggers Harold's Odyssey.

Maureen Fry. Married to Harold. English and proper. Life and events lead to a schism with Haro ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 18, 2012 Chris Blocker rated it really liked it

Shelves: booker

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a quiet and moving novel that borders on being overly sentimental. At times it may toe the line, but I personally did not find it gimmicky or sloppy. It does require a reader to be open minded (hearted?) about matters of the heart and to accept the fact that the elderly are people too. If this kind of novel appeals to you, you're more like to remember the feelings that accompanied the story than the story itself. The story is slow at times, and while the ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 20, 2012 Susanne rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, 5-audiobook, 7-books-i-own, 1-adult

I enjoyed the progression of Harold and Maureen, but they also infuriated me. Harold with his inability to speak and his go-with-the flow attitude, even when the flow is going in the wrong direction. And Maureen's blame and wanting to emotionally hurt Harold. And her actions towards the end of his walk confused me.

It was a good book. The characters had their flaws, as we all do. It was slow paced, but not boring.

Rating: 3-1/2 stars ...more

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Aug 30, 2018 Tippy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fables, instructive, 2018, diversity-in-all-forms-group

An old man goes for a walk. That's the entirety of the book. And it's wonderful. Beautiful.

It's never too late.

This book explores grief and shame in a variety ways and it can be hard but it is also beautiful.

...more

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