The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

The story starts on a Tuesday, when Harold, a 65 year-old, receives a letter from an old friend. In her letter, Queenie tells Harold that she has cancer. He promptly writes a letter, and sets out to mail it, but when he gets to the mailbox, he starts walking to the next one, and to the next one, until he's inspired by a girl working in a garage and decides to walk all the way to deliver the letter in person. Harold believes that if he walks, Queenie will survive.

At first, I really had a hard time getting into the story. Harold and his wife haven't been in a good relationship in about 20 years. They both sleep in different room and barely talk to one another. The author was able to create a really awkward and tensed atmosphere within the first few pages. I hated Harold's wife, Maureen. She was mean to her husband for no apparent reason; she talked to him as if he was an idiot. They talked about their son who sounded like a conceited prick, and then there was Harold who acted like a wimp. I couldn't care less about the characters, and I started to worry I wouldn't be able to finish the book.

But as I turned the pages, the story became a lot more interesting. Well, I don't think the beginning was bad. Not at all. I just personally wasn't pulled in. But then we slowly learn about Maureen and Harold's past. What their son was like when he was younger. I found myself not caring so much about Harold, but about all the other characters: Rex, the people he meets along his walk, and even Maureen.

Full review over @ The Hungry Bookster