The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

“The letter that would change everything arrived on a Tuesday.”

The narrative opens with the inciting incident: A letter arrives that shapes the story until the end. Harold is surprised to hear from Queenie for the first time in many years. His reaction reveals she was someone who once mattered a great deal to him but has become lost to him over time. Queenie’s direct, matter-of-fact delivery of the news of her terminal illness shocks Harold. The letter becomes the impetus for transformative change in Harold both physically and spiritually.

“Men had no idea what it was like to be a mother. The ache of loving a child even when he had moved on.”

As Harold processes an old wound while considering Queenie’s letter, the narrator reveals Maureen has her own grief to bear. She mourns no longer having her son in the home and keeps his room spotless with the hope he might one day return. This quote also reveals the distance that exists between the couple.

“Their front gardens, however, sloped at a precarious angle toward the pavement below, and plants wrapped themselves round bamboo stakes as if hanging on for dear life.”

The author emphasizes descriptions of the natural world as Harold begins his journey. As he moves from inside his home to outside, he gains a greater appreciation of the outside world. Small things like plants and clouds become resplendent to him, and he pauses to take in their beauty. The author uses figurative language to personify the plant, which clings to the bamboo stake for its survival just as humans often cling to life when they are just one step from