The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life.

'The odyssey of a simple man, original, subtle and touching'. - Claire Tomalin

'From the moment I met Harold Fry, I didn't want to leave him. Impossible to put down.' - Erica Wagner, The Times

As a reader, great quotes from respected sources are much appreciated. As a reviewer, they make things difficult. Ultimately, I'm struggling here to describe this book in a better way than Claire Tomalin. She even stole my name. Or arguably she had it first, but whatever.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is one of those books that has sat on my proverbial shelf for a long time but, as so often happens with me, everyone keeps saying 'you must read this' and so I don't read it for fear of it not living up my consequently heightened expectations. Foolish, it turns out in this case, as it was honestly brilliant.

It's really rare that I find a book deeply touching but there's something about old people isn't there? About lives lived (or not, as the case may be)? I don't mean that in a patronising way, I'm always oddly envious of people who have experienced life, whatever route it took, and have something to talk about rather than having to hype up for themselves what they might do.

The Frys, though, aren't talking. Rachel Joyce gets across the rural and domestic silence so well. Somehow she combines the lonely sadness of it all with the enlightening, refreshing feeling when you read about people whose lives are not over-complicated. With that said, though, (and I realise I keep making one point then backtracking and saying the book did something else entirely...), this book reminded me of how everyone's lives are more complicated than they seem. A classic 'what goes on behind closed doors' tale, and not just in the case of the Frys, but also all the people who Harold meets along the way. The little secrets and lies we tell ourselves that we think will make everything that bit easier.

Underpinning the whole narrative, of course, though, is the main premise. The is something wonderfully bizarre about the whole concept of a man who goes out to post a letter one day and just keeps on walking, and that light, quirky, humorous side is something that carries on throughout the novel and brings it all together - a classic British read where subtle humour and sadness come hand in hand.

If you have any heart at all, you will love this book, and you'll probably feel a little weepy...

9/10