The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Synopsis.
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. 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 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.
THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY
Rachel Joyce
Harold Fry sets out to respond in kind the only way he knows how to a letter from a dying friend on their deathbed. He writes a hasty reply and sets off down the street only to arrive at the mailbox sooner than he would’ve liked.
He decides he’s not ready to let go of his letter yet and not quite ready to let go of his friend. He makes a plea and sets out on a journey-a pilgrimage of sorts.
And with each step he takes forward he takes a step back and looks over the stories that make up the man he’s become. Good or bad.
Will he ever come to rest? Or will he forever wander, walking or still?
I instantly felt at home within the pages. Many lines stuck with me and oftentimes I reflected on my own life and all of the moments that felt in line with Harold’s perspective and pondered those that didn’t.
I took the warnings written between the lines wholeheartedly about a life missed sitting within the confines of a comfortable lounge chair.
If only we could miss some of the harder lessons simply by gaining an ounce of knowledge from a book.
This was such a great book to read at the beginning of the year. It felt like a bit of self-help from the fiction section of the bookstore.
A book that’s hidden messages about faith and healing, grief, loss and sorrow, and the overwhelming power of being seen all wrapped up in a story about a man that wouldn’t stop walking.
THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chicago detective Annalisa Vega shattered her life, personally and professionally, when she turned in her ex-cop father for his role in a murder. Her family can’t forgive her. Her fellow officers no longer trust her. So when detective Leo Hammond turns up dead in a bizarre murder, Annalisa thinks she has nothing to lose by investigating whatever secrets he hid behind the thin blue line.
Annalisa quickly zeroes in on someone who had good reason to want Hammond dead: a wealthy, fast-talking car salesman who’d gotten away with murder once and wasn’t about to let Hammond take a second shot. Moe Bocks remains the number one suspect in his girlfriend’s brutal unsolved death, and now he’s got a new woman in his sights—Annalisa’s best friend.
Annalisa is desperate to protect her friend and force Bocks to pay, either for Hammond’s death or his earlier crime. But when no one else believes the connection, she takes increasingly risky chances to reveal the truth. Because both Hammond and Bocks had secrets to die for, and if she doesn’t untangle them soon, Annalisa will be next.
LONG GONE
Joanna Schaffhausen
This is the second installment in the Annalisa Vega series by Joanna Schaffhausen. It is a police procedural featuring an ex-married couple and detective partners, Annalisa and Nick.
Annalisa is still reeling from the after effects of her last case and the ramifications of seeing justice through. She is in a tough spot with her family and the situation is not better at work. She and Nick find themselves on the case of a cop shooting which is the last kind of case Annalisa needs right now. But perhaps she is exactly the right person because unlike anyone else we know what’s on the line for her.
This book is about complicated family dynamics, doing the right thing, right now-always and it’s also a lot about shield politics, which I wasn’t expecting so much of. There is a nice pace to the writing and it’s basically a pitch-perfect procedural.
I love the tension and the back-and-forth between Annalisa and Nick. But if you’re not here for that there’s also a solid mystery and a case to solve.
It reminds me a lot of Tess Gerritsen’s THE SURGEON series, which I’ve mentioned before. Both in the setting and in the nature of the characters. I do hope to see more from Vega and Schaffhausen.
This one is available now.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for the advance copy!
LONG GONE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A city bookshop owner heads to the English countryside for a holiday reunion— only to face her childhood enemy.
Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.
The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk.
MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE
by Jenny Bayliss
This is the third book I’ve read by Jenny Bayliss. I get swept up in her seasonal stories every time I pick up one of her books and they always feel like a nice escape, most of the time.
MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE is about Nory. Nory owns a small bookshop in the countryside, which I thought was a charming detail. She’s off to celebrate a wedding with a few of her friends and hopes all things will go well, knowing it’s not likely to go that way.
The holidays were featured but not as much as would’ve liked. I also would’ve liked a lot more of the bookshop details. Those that were given were nice but brief. I feel like there was more focus on the realistic details of everyday life and less focus on escapist details- which is what I’m here for.
Some of the subject matter from the material is heavy and I can see that being a turn-off for some readers. For me personally, it helped give the book something that I can hold onto as a reader. The complexities provided depth for the characters, although it was mostly still lacking the charm that I wanted in a holiday novel.
It wasn’t that the heavier subject matter was there it is more that the lighter subject matters were not.
Overall, I liked this book but not as an escapist read.
Thanks to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Penguin Random House Audio for an advanced copy of this book!
MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE…⭐️⭐️⭐️
