Adult Book Group Reads The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry for December 6th or 8th
Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is the chosen title for All Booked Up’s discussion on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:30PM or Friday, December 8th at 1:00PM. Copies of the book are available in the upper level “New” room.
About the Book
Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village
with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he
does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one
day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the
stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky
scrawl from a woman he hasn't seen or heard from in twenty years.
Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.
Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce's remarkable debut. Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live.
Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside. Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him--allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years.
And then there is the unfinished business with Queenie Hennessy.
Labels: all booked up, book discussion for adults, events/activities for adults, ReaDiNG RooM News, reading suggestions
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