Book Club and "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry"

I enjoy being a member of a book club!  It took being away from it for me to realize just how much I enjoy it!  Book club opens up opportunities for me to experience new books I may not otherwise have ever picked up.  "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce is a perfect example.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage is a novel about a retired man, Harold Fry, who lives with his wife, Maureen.  Harold leads a colorless life without love from his wife.  One morning he receives a letter from an old friend, Queenie Hennesy, saying she has cancer and nothing more can be done.  This letter puts into motion Fry's unlikely pilgrimage.  It didn't sound very exciting, however, having committed to the book club that I will read the chosen book, I requested the book both on CD and hard copy from the library.

I'm fortunate the CD version came first.  The book is read by British actor, James Broadbent, who reads it wonderfully.  It was a pleasure to listen to Broadbent read to me, perform would be a better word.  The beautiful prose of Joyce came to life.  The story unfolded and the characters came alive.  I became engrossed.  The story unfolded in such a lovely, delicate, yet powerful way. 

For those who read a lot, the "coming of age" novel is a familar theme.  I asked myself while listening to the novel, how old is a person when they "come of age"?  "Coming of age" to me means that a character experiences an epiphany, gains insight into themselves through their reaction to a situation, they view their world and their part in it in a way they hadn't before.  "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" is a novel about a retired man who comes of age.  Through remembering the past, Harold Fry while on his jorurney, gains insight and wisdom he didn't have before.  At first Fry is timid, doesn't want to offend anyone.  Once the seed of "if I walk and hand deliver this letter to Queenie Hennesy, I can save her from cancer.  She will live", is planted, it seems nothing will stop him and nothing can stop the changes Harold Fry goes through.

The word cancer I took to mean both a medical condition and a condition of the soul, an analogy for the "ills" that Harold and others suffer from.  Does he make it?  Does Queenie live, is she cured of her cancer?  Joyce has created and written a very believable character in Harold Fry.  Read "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, meet the characters and find out.  I am glad my book club chose this book and I can't wait to discuss it.