At one point he attracts a growing band of fellow pilgrims and becomes the centre of a media storm. Some are moved by his act, others bemused. Along the way he encounters many different people. There are Biblical overtones and elements of parable to Harold's story. Joyce's writing is clean and simple, at times deceptively so. She remembers her husband as he once was and everything he once meant to her. Without maps or waterproofs and only yachting shoes on his feet, he walks and walks, while his wife Maureen waits at home at first she is angered by what she perceives as abandonment but eventually his distance allows her emotions to resurface. He believes that in some way his journey will help his friend to live. When Harold Fry, a timid man in his later years, discovers that a former friend and colleague is seriously ill, he sets out with the intention of posting her a letter but instead embarks on 600-mile walk from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed. T his Booker long-listed debut novel begins with the arrival of an unexpected letter and an impulsive act.
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