I received an ARC of this book and I really, really enjoyed it. I cant wait until it is released (July 2012) because I am going to have to buy a final copy of it for my shelves. I will have to read it again and push it on to my family and friends. It doesnt have a lot of action but instead a quiet, reflective novel about an unlikely hero, Harold Fry. Harold is a recent retiree, he and his wife sleep in separate bedrooms hardly talk, and each new day is much like the last. That is until he receives a goodbye letter from a former friend and colleague, Queenie Hennessy whom he hasnt seen for 20 years. Queenie is writing to say goodbye. She has cancer and is in hospice. Harold writes a few sentences that dont amount to much and sets off in deck shoes and whatever he is wearing to post his letter. Because it feels good to walk and the well of emotions that start to bubble up, Harold decides to make it to the next letter box. Through a chance conversation, he decides to walk the 500 something miles to see Queenie with the conviction that she will live if he can make it.

This journey is both literal and metaphorical. He travels a great distance and goes through physical and emotional pain to get where he needs to go. He is a modern day pilgrim walking the length of England to find a cure for what ails his friend, but while Queenies need is dire, so is his relationship with his wife and son. Getting out of his daily grind is exactly what he needs to do to remember, reflect and understand where he is, how he got there and what changes he needs to make to survive his life and relationships.

The narrator is omniscient, so the reader can follow Harolds walking and internal adventures as well as those of his wife Maureen. She misses her husband for the first time ever, and finds it is no fun to clean like a dervish and bang things around like a martyr if there is no one there to feel guilty. (I love that by the way, I have done that a time or two, not that I am proud of it.) We find out what is really going on in their quiet lives as they do. Huge realizations are made and they decide if they want to stay with each other and fix things, or not.

Besides these two main characters we get a load of amazingly interesting character cameos. Harold becomes famous, a little like Forrest Gump when he is doing his cross-country running, and finds himself having to rely on the goodness of strangers. I loved the movie star bit, the doctor waiting for her boyfriend who never returned and the dog. Things arent all fluffy, the book can be dark, melancholy and sad at times sprinkled with silly. A bit like life, really.

It is an impossible quest and I wanted to go out and help him along. I really became immersed in this book and enjoyed these very real people so much. It makes you laugh, cry, want to hug your family and friends and made me appreciate the power of faith, just a little bit more. I give this book 5 stars.

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This book is just a treasure. It is so simply written, telling an interesting and compelling story with great characters and descriptions of the emotions, as well as the countryside that Harold travels. It is almost like a meditation with many twists and turns. I highly recommend it!

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This is my hidden gem this year- I was so connected to this story it really touched my heart. I almost felt like I was walking with Harold and loved experiencing the English countryside with him. 5 stars *****

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This is a beautifully written novel about a quiet, unassuming man who receives a letter from a former friend and colleague, Queenie, informing him of her impending death. He immediately writes a note expressing his concern and sets off to mail it. Thus begins the six hundred mile pilgrimage of Harold Fry to save Queenie. It is an extraordinary walking journey by an ordinary man, which brings clarity to his memories and to the life he shares with his wife, Maureen. I was deeply moved by the gentle, giving nature of this man and the exquisite writing of Rachel Joyce who brought him into our hearts.

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enjoyed this book very much i felt all of harolds aches and pains. think it is wonderful that a person would do something for another to give them hope. very inspirational. will definitely read again

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I highly recommend this book! It is one of those books you will likely read in a weekend because you will NOT be able to put it down. Celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinary.

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I thought this book was going to be a light-hearted romp through the English countryside with an eccentrically, uptight older man, perhaps along the lines of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.

Look at the rather whimsical cover. Consider the intriguing title. And take a look at Joyce's simple, straight-forward prose.

The letter that would change everything arrived on a Tuesday. It was an ordinary morning in mid-April that smelled of clean washing and grass cuttings. Harold Fry sat at the breakfast table, freshly shaved, in a clean shirt and tie, with a slice of toast that he wasn't eating. He gazed beyond the kitchen window at the clipped lawn, which was spiked in the middle by Maureen's telescopic washing line, and trapped on all three sides by the neighbors' stockade fencing.


It's clear that not all is right with Harold and Maureen's marriage, although at first it could be normal old couple crotchetiness.

Harold studied the mysterious envelope. Its pink was not the color of the bathroom suite, or the matching towels and fluffed cover for the toilet seat. That was a vivid shade that made Harold feel he shouldn't be there. But this was delicate. A Turkish Delight pink. His name and address were scribbled in ballpoint, the clumsy letters collapsing into one another as if a child had dashed them off in a hurry: Mr. H. Fry, 13 Fossebridge Road, Kingsbridge, South Hams. He didn't recognize the handwriting.


The letter is from a former co-worker of Harold's, a woman he hasn't seen in 20 years. Queenie is dying of cancer and has written to thank Harold for his friendship. She did something for Harold, made a great sacrifice, that he never thanked her for. The details are slowly revealed through the novel, with the full revelation coming at the end. After writing a brief reply, Harold walks to the mailbox to post the letter, then just keeps walking. By the end of the day, he has decided to walk from his home along the English Channel to the hospice where Queenie is dying, near the Scottish border.

Harold's walk becomes a form of therapy. Numerous events in his life have damaged him, but he's clearly never dealt with them, or even really allowed himself to think about them. In his absence, Maureen must also tend to her own emotional wounds. And as he walks, Harold interacts with people from many different backgrounds, all dealing with their own baggage. Eventually, a reporter Harold meets writes an article about his "pilgrimage" which makes its way to the national newspapers. Equally, but differently, troubled people join Harold along the road, turning his lone journey (at least temporarily) into something else entirely. This was my least favorite part of the book, which is fitting as it was probably Harold's least favorite part of his journey.

This parallel between the writing and Harold's state-of-mind occurs throughout the novel. When the story drags, it's because the journey is dragging for Harold. When it rambles, it's because Harold is rambling without a clear goal. When it's confusing, it's because Harold is confused. Overall, the story, like Harold, continues to head in one general directions, although the outcome isn't one Harold or the reader would have predicted.

Although there are a few moments of humor and joy, this novel is about how people are damaged, and in turn blame and damage others, and ultimately, it's about redemption.

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Though I enjoyed reading this book for its uniqueness. I happened to read its sequel first, the Love Life ofQueenie Hennessey and preferred it quite a bit.

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