The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Hmmmmm....

I don't know if I like the book. You can count the plot points on, like, one hand. Nothing happens. It may make you love mankind but it then succeeds in just making you hate them when greed and selfishness inevitably take over. But I suppose it's a book about failings - Harold's, Maureen's, the people Harold meets along his journey, and failings are hard to warm to. I suppose the point of the story is that it's never too late to admit to failings, to apologise and to rebuild bridges. Except it's too fucking late for David and Queenie isn't it?

I knew David had committed suicide. I thought it may have been an accidental overdose for a while, but the fact that he "wore a lot of black", had "long hair" and was "depressed" guided you to the actual conclusion. Because depressed people always wear a lot of black, have long hair and drinking problems in this kind of book. FFS.

It's wrong to get angry with fictional characters for reacting in ways that real people do, but then I'd get angry with the real people too, so why shouldn't I have the same ire for their fictional counterparts. Everything that happens in this fricking book could be solved or avoided if people just actually had conversations with each other once in a while instead of being so insecure or selfish that they think they're the only person with issues.

Depression is an illness. Maybe if Harold hadn't been so wrapped up in his apparent failings as a son, and Maureen hadn't been so blinded by the apparent perfection of her child, someone might have noticed that David needed help.

Every character, save for Queenie needs a shake and maybe a slap to wake them up. And that's the final punch in the gut. Queenie, the whole purpose for the novel, the goal, the impetus, becomes an afterthought. Another example of man's great failing. Harold reaches Queenie and is then so freaked out by her appearance (which is maybe because she's DYING OF CANCER YOU IDIOT), he feels she's not really there any more and he can't talk to her about all the things he's been thinking he wants to say to her. This kind woman, who brought him sweets and could sing songs backwards, who TOOK THE BLAME FOR HIS DRUNKEN DESTRUCTION, LOST HER JOB AND DISAPPEARED OUT OF HIS LIFE, is met with an "Oh god, doesn't she look terrible. It's so stuffy in here. I can't bear to be around her. I can't bring myself to say the things I wanted to say. It's not really her anymore."

If it's not really her anymore, how does she get a chapter (okay, it's four pages long, we don't want to dwell TOO much on our mortality do we? *rolls eyes*) to herself post visit where she is remembering her father as she dies? Grow some fucking balls Harold. Oh wait, it doesn't matter, you and Maureen are in love again. You got your happy ending. Screw Queenie.

You don't put your weaknesses before someone who is dying. You suck it up and you treat them like a human being until their is no human being left in their body. Queenie deserved an explanation. An apology. All she gets is a rucksack full of shit from souvenir shops.

Actually, in retrospect, it appears I didn't like this book. Harold was never redeemed, he remained selfish and stifled. Maureen was never redeemed, she just realised she still fancied her husband. Rex and Queenie were the only people who showed any humanity during the whole novel. The only thing this book tries to teach is not to take loved ones for granted, and I knew that well enough already thanks.