Rachel Joyce has written a sentimental and sweet novel about Harold Fry who receives a letter from a past acquaintance, Queenie Hennessy. Queenie is dying at a hospice 627 miles north of Harold’s home near the English Channel. When Harold reads the letter he writes her a postcard and walks down his road to mail it...and then keeps on walking.
Book group members met Tuesday afternoon, February 18, for a spirited discussion of this book. The group generally agreed that the book was a good read. In the beginning the characters were not very likeable but then they became more interesting as the story moved along and incidents in their lives were revealed. Rachel Joyce wrote the story after her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She said that, “I had begun writing a radio play when my father told us he had weeks to live and we didn’t want him to die. So I suppose, looking back, writing it was about me trying to keep him alive.” The author’s personal connection to her own family enhanced the believability of the fictional story.
The discussion continued with comments about the breakdown of marriages and the resulting dysfunction in families. No one in Harold’s family was able to take responsibility for their actions until Harold started his pilgrimage for Queenie. His actions jump-started changes in those who were associated with him, and especially in Maureen, his wife. In the end, he could not save Queenie but he did save himself and created a good start on repairing his marriage as well.
The author’s latest novel, Perfect, is the story of two outcasts and their parallel lives in British society.
Have you read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? Click on Comments to share your thoughts!
