LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COMMONWEALTH BOOK PRIZE
AN AMAZON.CA and AMAZON.COM TOP 100 BOOK OF THE YEAR
"Very rarely, you come upon a novel that feels less like a book than a poignant passage of your own life, and the protagonist like an acquaintance who has gently corrected your path. . . . Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry starts off in just this way. . . . A smart, subtle, funny, painful, weirdly personal novel."
—The Globe and Mail
"Joyce captures Harold's emotions with a tidiness of words that is at times thrilling. It's a trip worth taking."
—Maclean's
"Surprisingly steely, even inspiring, the kind of quirky book you want to shepherd into just the right hands. . . . In this bravely unpretentious and unsentimental tale, [Joyce]'s cleared space where miracles are still possible."
—The Washington Post
"Joyce writes with precision about the changing landscape as Harold trudges his way across England."
—Publishers Weekly
"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is not just a book about lost love. It is about all the wonderful everyday things Harold discovers through the mere process of putting one foot in front of the other."
—The New York Times
"Joyce's beguiling debut is another modest-seeming story of 'ordinary' English lives that enthralls and moves you as it unfolds."
—People
“A funny book, a wise book, a charming book. . . . It’s a book with a savage twist, and yet never seems manipulative. Perhaps because Harold himself is just wonderful. . . . This book may follow a pattern set by another radio dramatist-turned-novelist, David Nicholls, whose One Day has now sold more than a million copies and been made into a successful film simply because one reader said to another ‘I love this book’ over and over again. So I’m telling you now: I love this book.”
—The Times
“A gentle adventure with an emotional wallop. It's a smart, feel-good story that doesn't feel forced.”
—USA Today
“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is not just a book about lost love. It is about all the wonderful everyday things Harold discovers through the mere process of putting one foot in front of the other. . . . it is very much a story of present-day courage. She writes about how easily a mousy, domesticated man can get lost and how joyously he can be refound.”
—The New York Times
“Joyce’s beguiling debut is another modest-seeming story of ‘ordinary’ English lives that enthralls and moves you as it unfolds.”
—People (four stars)
“[A] gorgeously poignant novel of hope and transformation.”
—O, the Oprah Magazine
“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is not just a book about lost love. It is about all the wonderful everyday things Harold discovers through the mere process of putting one foot in front of the other.”
—The New York Times
“It’s a deceptively simple novel about the anguish of regret, the importance of faith, and the redemptive power of love. . . . [Harold’s] story is humorous, moving and profound—one of those you keep thinking about weeks after you’ve finished it. . . . I promise it’s one of the best books you’ll read this year.”
—Daily Mail
“The redemption Joyce offers at the end of this novel is haunting, unexpected and inspiring. She makes you want to leave your phone at home and walk out to discover things.”
—The Times
“When it seems almost too late, Harold Fry opens his battered heart and lets the world rush in. This funny, poignant story about an ordinary man on an extraordinary journey moved and inspired me.”
—Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank
“There’s tremendous heart in this debut novel by Rachel Joyce, as she probes questions that are as simple as they are profound: Can we begin to live again, and live truly, as ourselves, even in middle age, when all seems ruined? Can we believe in hope when hope seems to have abandoned us? I found myself laughing through tears, rooting for Harold every step of his journey. I’m still rooting for him.”
—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry isn’t just a book I enjoyed reading, it’s a book I feel lucky to have read. It takes the most ordinary and unassuming of men and turns him into a hero for us all. Harold Fry faces the same questions we all do as we age, questions about the meaning of our lives, faith and love, but confronts them in a most surprising way. To go on this journey with him will not only break your heart, it might also just heal it.”
—Tiffany Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
“The odyssey of a simple man. Original, subtle and touching.”
—Claire Tomalin, author of Charles Dickens: A Life
“A delightful story of faith, hope and redemption. Harold encounters human nature in all its guises, becomes a minor celebrity, learns to manage with few possessions and takes pleasure in the smallest of things. It's funny and touching, a celebration of life and a reminder that it's never too late to change.”
—The New Zealand Herald
“Life-affirming delight. A comic pleasure.”
—Woman & Home
“A tender, funny debut about second chances and regained love as a man takes to the road on an unusual quest.”
—Marie Claire
“Tender and funny, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry shows that even our frailties can be uplifting and redemptive.”
—Edward Stourton
“A wonderful book . . . Full of sadness, hope, and ultimately love. I found it very moving.”
—Esther Freud
“[A] charming début . . . Deeply affecting.”
—The Bookseller
“While [Joyce] handles her material with deceptive lightness, Harold’s journey towards a better version of himself is totemic. To read about him is to be moved to follow him.”
—The Telegraph
"Oh to be a pilgrim in yachting shoes and waxed cotton jacket, fueled only by a microwaved burger from a roadside garage and a sudden burning need to save a dying friend. Harold Fry is infuriating, hilarious and completely out of his depth, but I held my breath at his every blister and cramp and felt, as if by turning the pages, I might help his impossible quest succeed. Marvelous!"
—Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
