The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: Book Review

Published 15 Mar 2012

I don't know how this book escaped my attention, but I saw a trailer for the film based on Rachel Joyce's 2012 novel, so I decided to read it.   The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry describes the journey that pensioner Harold Fry takes from the southwest of England (Devon) to the northeast (Northumberland). This is no small matter. It's a trek of over 500 miles. 

Fry kind of stumbled into this exertion.  He had intended just to mail a letter to a former co-worker, so he went out his front door without his phone and with the inadequate pair of deck shoes on his feet.  He finds himself lost in thought, so he decided to walk to the town post office, only to decide to walk the entire distance to see his former co-worker, Queenie Hennessy, who is in a hospice dying of cancer. 

The book does describe the English countryside and a number of characters whom Fry meets. However, the primary task of the novel is a life review for Fry. He spends those hours walking thinking about his life: his childhood, his career in sales at a brewery (from which he has retired), his marriage, his son David.  

Fry does think about his affiliation with Queenie. He initially declares the purpose of the journey to be for Queenie's benefit. He calls her hospice and leaves a message, imploring her to hold on to life until Fry makes the trip (which will take weeks). However, Queenie's welfare does takes a backseat to the personal inventory Fry takes of his life on the whole. Well, he does pay considerable attention to the poor relationship with his son David.  Fry has regrets, and his uninspired role as a father is perhaps the biggest one. 

At times, the book switches settings to Fry's wife, Maureen, who is at home waiting for him to call from time to time. She experiences a range of emotions in response to her husband's spontaneous hike across the country.  

He is not alone for the entirety of the trip. At times he walks with other hikers. He meets some cyclists. He talks to shopkeepers, hotel clerks, and others. He eventually attracts the attention of the media, which brings a number of hikers joining him on his quest. 

Eventually, Fry does reach the hospice. I will let you read the novel to see what kind of condition Queenie is in upon Fry's arrival. I will also let you see how Fry and his wife interact after this spontaneous journey.  And I will let you see how Fry manages his regrets, which range from feeling so average as an employee, a husband--as a person--to feeling so inadequate as a father. 

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Books on Aging