Review
With 24 out of 25 reviewers rating it 4 or 5 stars,The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
is a hit with BookBrowse readers! Here's what they have to say:
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is an inspiring story and one that will not be forgotten for a long time (Linda M). If anyone were to pitch the idea that walking an excess of 600 miles would give hope to an ailing friend in hospice, how many of us would have the courage to do so? Harold embarks on a journey that takes him not only to his destination but into the realms of memory that have isolated him from the outside world (Marjorie C). The book is uplifting, spiritual, emotional and sad. It is a great novel (Colleen L). I loved this book, not only for the storyline but also because it caused me to reconsider my own life journey and what truly matters in the end (Patricia E).
Many...
Beyond the Book
In Rachel Joyce's debut novel, Harold Fry sets off on what the book title refers to as an "unlikely pilgrimage"; but can his journey correctly be called a pilgrimage if it doesn't have a religious destination?
Although most of us probably think of a pilgrimage as having religious connotations, the word has its roots in the Latin
peregrinus, meaning coming from foreign parts. Thus, the lead definition in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) of a pilgrim is simply "one who travels from place to place: a wanderer, a sojourner".
Many reviewers refer to Harold's journey as a quest. Is that also an accurate description?...
