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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The uplifting and redemptive No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

By: Rachel Joyce
Narrated by: Jim Broadbent
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner: New Writer of the Year - Specsavers National Book Awards 2012

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.

Harold Fry is the most ordinary of men. He just might be a hero for us all.

Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent has starred in a huge range of films, from British favourites including Bridget Jones, Hot Fuzz and The Iron Lady, to Hollywood blockbusters such as Moulin Rouge, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the Harry Potter films. He is set to star in the upcoming film adaptation of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

 Action & Adventure Contemporary Dark Humour Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Feel-Good Heartfelt Tear-jerking Funny

Critic reviews

One of the sweetest, most delicately-written stories I've read in a long time. One man's walk along the length of England to save the life of a dying woman. Each chapter describes a different encounter along the way, with a definite nod to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Philosophical, intriguing, and profoundly moving.
Uplifting, funny and delicate (Jon Stock)
A wonderful book ... Full of sadness, hope, and ultimately love. I found it very moving.
Tender and funny, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry shows that even our frailties can be uplifting and redemptive.
Harold Fry is infuriating, hilarious and completely out of his depth, but I held my breath at his every blister and cramp and, felt, as if by turning the pages, I might help his impossible quest succeed. Marvellous!
Compelling and truly wonderful. It made me laugh out loud at times and brought tears to my eyes. There are sentences that are just brilliant and well observed. (David Headley)
I was completely blown away. I thought I was about to read a comic novel but what can I say - it was indeed funny, but tender, ironic and deeply moving, a really wonderful book. (Pat Abrehard)
‘Jim Broadbent reads Rachel Joyce’s first novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, in a splendidly deadpan manner.’ (Sue Gaisford)
All stars
Most relevant
Thanks to a friend’s recommendation I listened to this exceptional book. I was swept along eagerly wanting to hear how Howard’s journey to save Queenie Hennessy, would end. On impulse he embarks on a journey on foot from the South West of England to Berwick-on-Tweed in the belief that this will keep his former colleague, now suffering from terminal cancer, alive. Why he feels he needs to do this isn’t revealed until near the end. It’s a pilgrimage without a religious basis, though there are episodes that remind one of biblical stories and later parts of his journey have echoes of the Canterbury Tales when other ‘pilgrims’ join him. It is a deeply moving story that delves deep into human relationships and how resentments and misunderstandings can fester and sour a marriage. The book is steeped in melancholy, leavened by humorous episodes.

The author couldn’t have a better narrator than Jim Broadbent. As I listened to his lovely voice tinged with sadness and regret I could picture him trudging the roads North. It sounds depressing: but it isn’t. It’s an uplifting story of how an ordinary man can do something extraordinary and get redemption by his simple courage. I think it’s a marvellous book and I look forward to listening to the companion book telling the story from Queenie’s perspective.

A memorable, moving and marvellous story

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There is pain, love, lose, peace, sadness and also joy and laughter, but I think this book is very much like a mirror to your own life experience. I am sure if I read this book a decade ago it would be different for me but still doesn't take away from the fact that it is touchingly written and beautifully read.

Exquisite - a road 'movie' with a difference.

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If you could sum up The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry in three words, what would they be?

Surprising, motivational, satisfying

What did you like best about this story?

Like Harolds journey, the book kept moving, each chapter as rewarding as the last

What does Jim Broadbent bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His quality that he delivers in everything that he does

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both, frequently

Far more to this uplifting story than I imagined

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Beautiful story, not to be missed. You will follow the storyteller, and you will follow Harold Fry with all your heart. The meaning of broken love, of irreversible loss, and of human mercy.This is a joyful story, despite it is sad...

follow your heart

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This is a beautiful story, yes it's far fetched but it does make you think about how much we miss by being preoccupied with the past or future, rather than trying to enjoy the present. I loved it, it has a lovely message and I found it such an uplifting story. The narration was excellent, I will definitely be looking for more by Jim Broadbent.

Uplifting

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