Thursday, January 17, 2013

An unlikley pilgrimage

What an unexpected pleasure.  This will likely be one of my favourite books for 2013.  What a profoundly moving story.  Sometimes light, sometimes incredibly dark.  This was a beautiful story, and even more meaningful for me because Ken picked it out for me.  In life, it isn't the grand sweeping gestures that sweep you off of your feet, I believe it is the little kindnesses one can do, the little things we do to show how much we love someone.  Out of all the gifts I got for Christmas, it is the books I will remember the most (okay I got a really cool Popsicle maker, good for a later post,) because they were totally unexpected, and well thought out.

How to describe a novel like this?  It is so many things it is.  This is the story of Harold Fry, recently retired, whom one day to goes out to post a letter.  The difference being, he then decides that he must go on a pilgrimage to visit an old friend, in the hopes that his walking will somehow keep her alive as she is dying of cancer.  There are some unhappy threads to this story, but they are interwoven with hope, and humour.  This book will catch you off guard, it will catch your imagination, and it will stick with you.  Well worth picking it up and spending a few hours between its covers - great book.

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