January is all about making fresh starts, new plans and wildly unrealistic promises. Most of us fall by the wayside within days. But not Harold Fry. The hero of our Booker-longlisted, January Book of the Month, THE PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, is a retired and unhappily married pensioner living in Devon, who receives a letter from an old friend in Berwick Upon Tweed telling him she has cancer. He writes a reply, but on his way to the postbox, he decides that this is not enough. He must walk to Berwick in person, there and then. Only this, he knows, will keep her alive. And so begins a remarkable journey through the roads, cafes, tourist centres, towns and lanes of Britain. Along the way, a cast of diverse characters support, encourage and empathise with him, eventually turning into a cult following. Meanwhile, Harold's own memories begin to bubble up, and resolve the regret and sadness that have blighted his marriage and his relationship with David, the son who dramatically left home.
An exploration of grief and regret, as well as a celebration of love, faith and hope, this is a charming, moving and peculiarly British book.
Our book of the month page has more details about THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY. You can get a paperback or Kindle edition here.
We are thrilled that Rachel will be joining us to discuss the book and answer any questions about THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, the Booker longlist and her writing career on Tuesday 29 January, 9-10pm.
Hope you can join us...
Book of the month
Join Rachel Joyce to talk about January's Book of the Month, THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, on Tuesday 29 Jan, 9-10pm
TillyBookClub · 04/12/2012 22:31
I'm getting an idea about the twist now....I'm desperately resisting cheating and googling the ending! 
I'm not going to be devastated if you post questions with spoilers, gaelicsheep!
Well if we can talk about it, their son 
I still haven't quite got over that tbh.
I finished reading it last night. I found that as Harold became disheartened near the end of his pilgrimage I was actually gathering momentum in my interest in the book.
I seem to recall from English O Level that we used to discuss the picaresque novel, a journey and this quietly but beautifully epitimised the emotional and physical. I very much loved the walk. I have holidayed in the Kingsbridge part of Devon and the Northumbrian part of the journey is my home turf so I could picture Harold doing his walk and it made it seem more real. I physically felt as if I was there with him all the way.
I loved the amazing array of characters he met along the way and yes felt that for whatever reason the Slovakian doctor played a beautiful part in helping the story to progress. I am not sure why but I get the feeling that a lot of Mumsnetters, like me, would be rooting for her to have a better life.
In almost seemed to me that Queenie was Harold's guardian angel. She saved him from total melt-down after David's death, but then helped him save his marriage and 'wake up' from his inertia and twenty year depression. In a way she seemed to be like the mother he never had. In fact all the talk of twists in the tale made me suspect (wrongly) that Queenie was his mother who had come back in a totally different guise to look after him. It was all the talk of her providing him with chocolate goodies on their work-related trips that made me think that.
I didn't entirely anticipate that Queenie was going to be at death's door when Harold arrived. One question for Rachel is to ask why Queenie had to have been so ravaged by cancer that she seemed more monster than human? I do appreciate that cancer whittles away at people until they are shadows of their former selves (and perhaps this description related to her memories of her father's death ) but I am not sure that after all the emotional pain that Harold suffered (in allowing his suppressed feelings to come out in the course of his walk) that he really needed quite such a shocking meeting/resolution with Queenie. Or was it a case of him having to stare at the worst of life and death (in what had happened to Queenie and David) to complete his catharsis and fully enable him to move on with his life and Maureen.
I think it is one of those novels that will stick with one for a long time. I found it quite discomforting and challenging in a way that seemed at odds with the way in which the novel started - it all seemed so suburban and normal. A bit like a David Lynch film with the veneer of everyday life hiding ghosts and ugliness. I think we can all be capable of sinking into inertia in our lives and relationships and it is sad but true that often it takes some type of bereavement/catastrophe to wake us from this state.
I think it would make a fabulous film - have you had any approaches from film companies yet, Rachel?
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