Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Having recently graduated from university with an English Literature degree, the last three years of my life have been dedicated to wading through Wordsworth, deciphering DeLillo and labouring over Lawrence. Only now have the second hand collections of Dickens been neatly filed onto heaving bookshelves in my wardrobe, the Bronte sisters resigned to the university library, have I made an avid return to the chart fiction which first sparked my love of literature.

My first port of call was a book which dominated last year's commendable parade of popular fiction. Rachel Joyce's quirky debut novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry bagged its author the UK National Book Award for New Writer of the Year whilst also scooping a top 12 place at the Man Booker Awards.

Whilst wildly speculating about the deep and meaningful purpose of disembodied clothing in Woolf succinctly crammed into 3000 words prevented me from venturing into Joyce's novel at the time, post-graduation boredom quickly directed me towards this charming novel.

Opening with the staid retired life of an aging Devonshire couple, The Unlikely Pilgrimage kicks off with a letter. News that an old friend is dying in the distant North, causes Harold Fry's initial stroll to the post office to evolve into an epic trek across the length of Britain, a staggering feat of faith and optimism in the belief that his efforts will save cancer-stricken Queenie.

"Unlikely" is certainly the right word here-- verging on implausible the novel offsets the dubious image of an aging hero armed only with his faithful yachting shoes with the pure charm of his journey as Harold potters between familiar and quintessentially English landscapes. Perhaps more important than the journey is the rich cast of characters Harold meets, their often tragic and heartfelt stories creating a poignant tension between what could otherwise be a sickly-sweet tale of tooth-ache worthy proportions; the most valuable element of Joyce's writing talent clearly lies in this wryly observed cast.

Although the archaic nature of Harold's modern "pilgrimage" -- delightfully complimented by the old-fangled style map at the start of the book-- could easily lay the way for a rambling fairy tale, Joyce beautifully weights the journey with Harold's old memories, unravelling a far deeper side to the snippet of middle-aged life we spotted at the Fry's breakfast table. Marriage, parenting and rejection all play a key part to the steady development of character tantalisingly and richly revealed throughout Harold's travels. Just avoiding what could have been a tired metaphor, Harold's spiritual journey is perfectly and insightfully unpacked alongside his physical travels.

The true wonder of Joyce's impactful novel is the fine line she walks between the quaintness and sheer optimism of the novel, and her absolute honestly when facing up to the realities which lie behind Harold's walk. Evasion becomes a poignant theme as we realise that even the most heroic of actions can be a method of avoiding the baser and truer facts of life.

However, it's not all doom and gloom; Joyce also does a relatively good job of lightly mocking the twenty-first century cult of celebrity culture, focusing the latter part of the novel on Harold's colourful followers. Unfortunately, these chapters do feel somewhat rushed, as Harold spends over half the novel laboriously struggling across Devon, yet leaps through most of the Midlands in a single sentence. Resultantly, these characters emerge significantly more two-dimensional than they could have been. Whilst this manages to pass off suitably well as reflecting Harold's own increasing distance from anything but his own journey, a little more development could have deepened a rather staid section of the novel which is almost skimmable.

Nevertheless, the overriding tension of what lies at the end of Harold's journey manages to keep the story flowing despite a fairly significant pre-finale dip. Thankfully, Joyce does not disappoint, delivering an excellent conclusion weighted with all the poignancy and heart needed from a novel of such unfathomable optimism and whimsical charm.

Escapism with an edge, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is sweet and touching light reading. More gritty than your average summer read and with just enough lightness of heart to bring a smile to the darkest moments Harold Fry is a highly recommended read.