Charles Schulz (1922-2000) was the creator of Peanuts, the world's most widely read comic strip. His work appeared in more than two thousand newspapers around the world and was translated into twenty-one languages. He is one of the most influential cartoonists of all time. Since Snoopy is my favorite dog, I love the cover showing him dancing and smiled when this book showed up among my boxes of books in storage.
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.
Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.
3 comments:
I wish there were more novels with older characters. I enjoyed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry very much.
My Aunt Karen, only six years older than me, loved Snoopy, so, of course, I did, too. Charles M. Schulz really understood humans.
Isn't it amazing how chance encounters can change everything in the blink of an eye, at least in novels and movies? Nice review.
Harvee
https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Deb, it's good to know you enjoyed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
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