Has there ever been an event in your life where a friend took the heat for something you did and you responded in a way that you wish you could change? Or when a friend desperately needed you and you failed them by not being there? What about now? Are you in a marriage that has lopped along daily but you’ve forgotten why you are there? The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce addresses these subjects in a delightfully thoughtful way.

While the title of the story led me to believe the book would be boring, it is an error to judge it by a rather long, uninspired title. Harold Fry is a character with heart. A man who has long lived his life in autopilot, but, on a whim, has decided to change the past in his present and, in the process, he creates a ripple effect that causes a national movement. While rather unrealistic, haven’t we found that the most unlikely inspirations can pop up most anywhere?

I expected to wander through the novel much like Harold has spent his life: slow and bored and forcing myself to read it a page at a time; however, what I found was a likable set of characters and I found myself cheering Harold’s journey and wondering how it would end. There were some mystical elements in the novel, but not enough to distract me from what I needed to get from the book personally and what I wanted to see happen in the book. I cannot tell you whether or not Harold’s journey ends successfully, but I enjoyed the book throughout and hope you will give it a try.

I received this book as a free offering from goodreads in exchange for my honest review.