Over Christmas I slogged through A Cure for all Diseases by Reginald Hill. I'd never read any books by this author before nor had I seen the TV programme Dalziel and Pasco. Right from the start I didn't like the style of relaying what was happening through one character's emails to her sister and as for Andy Dalziel he drove me mad! The book did have it's good parts, lots of twists and turns and there was a respite from the email way of explaining things. But it was a slog to get through and I was glad to finish it. Don't think I will reading any more of these. I bought it for a little research into crime novels but I'm not sure I learned a great deal, or maybe I was too bogged down with it!
By total contrast I have just read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce for book club. I liked it so much I read it in six days. When Harold receives a letter from an old friend informing him she was dying of cancer Harold goes out to post a letter to say how sorry he is. Instead of posting it at the first postbox he comes to he carries on walking and his mission is to walk all the way from his home in Kingsbridge to Berwick-upon-Tweed to 'save' his friend Queenie. This is an emotional journey for both Harold and the reader as Harold re-lives his life and all that has gone wrong while his wife Maureen is at home doing the same thing. Harold encounters great moments and great depression. He meets many people on his journey who look after him and tell him their stories and eventually he is joined by a dog and several other people who get to hear about his pilgrimage. At that point I sympathised with Harold as the followers had their own agendas and Harold felt things are getting way out of hand and not in keeping with the original idea yet he feels responsible for them. Eventually they form a splinter group and leave him behind. Even the dog finds another soul to friend-up with. Harold is left on his own again with all his doubts and hopelessness. In the end it is his wife who gets him there through her encouragement.
It is a moving story about how others affect our lives and how we can drift apart. There are touching and amusing moments as well as sad. Sometimes there is an echo of the book The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed our of the Window..... except the subject matter is more serious. A fantastic read.
By total contrast I have just read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce for book club. I liked it so much I read it in six days. When Harold receives a letter from an old friend informing him she was dying of cancer Harold goes out to post a letter to say how sorry he is. Instead of posting it at the first postbox he comes to he carries on walking and his mission is to walk all the way from his home in Kingsbridge to Berwick-upon-Tweed to 'save' his friend Queenie. This is an emotional journey for both Harold and the reader as Harold re-lives his life and all that has gone wrong while his wife Maureen is at home doing the same thing. Harold encounters great moments and great depression. He meets many people on his journey who look after him and tell him their stories and eventually he is joined by a dog and several other people who get to hear about his pilgrimage. At that point I sympathised with Harold as the followers had their own agendas and Harold felt things are getting way out of hand and not in keeping with the original idea yet he feels responsible for them. Eventually they form a splinter group and leave him behind. Even the dog finds another soul to friend-up with. Harold is left on his own again with all his doubts and hopelessness. In the end it is his wife who gets him there through her encouragement.
It is a moving story about how others affect our lives and how we can drift apart. There are touching and amusing moments as well as sad. Sometimes there is an echo of the book The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed our of the Window..... except the subject matter is more serious. A fantastic read.
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