The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was Rachel Joyce’s first novel and it was an immediate critical success with both readers and critics.   A retired man living in Dorset receives a letter from an old friend who is in hospice with terminal cancer in Scotland.     She (Queenie) wants to say goodbye.    Harold writes back immediately and walks out to the post box, but he decides right there and then to keep walking north.    He believes he can keep his friend alive by walking (600 miles) to visit her.    He has not prepared for the walk in any way and early on he has problems with his feet (wearing yachting shoes), his legs, his clothing, his lack of planning, and  a weak sense of navigation.    The pilgrimage is outside of his experience, but he continues in spite of the challenges he faces.    Along the way he meets people who support him or sometimes share their own problems.    Much of the book is a series of chapters of days of walking, meeting people, and reflecting.    In bits and pieces we find out what drives Harold to continue on.    He has some great unresolved sorrows, for his son, for his marriage, and from a life without vitality.    He becomes a short-term celebrity and other pilgrims join in, but the pilgrimage has been interpreted by the media and the public as some kind of deep commitment, an overt event to show his dedication and friendship.    In reality, Harold cannot adequately express his goals.     It is a pilgrimage of discovery in which he reflects on his life, his role as a father and husband, as a friend, and as a human being.    The final chapters are emotionally charged and the ending provides a sense of circularity, a type of resolution, and a level of personal redemption.   It is a moving and rewarding novel, admired by many, and highly recommended.    4.6 out of 5.0 stars4.6