Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

8 reviews

schorlett's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Mental illness, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, and Vomit

Minor: Self harm

owlbookhouse's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide and Alcoholism

Minor: Abandonment and Mental illness

jhbandcats's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I just finished Rachel Joyce’s Miss Benson’s Beetle for the second time; I think that book is just delightful. Someone in my book group mentioned the Harold Fry book so I decided I’d read it next. I was really disappointed. 

Miss Benson’s Beetle has cute and quirky characters - fairly annoying but basically lovable - who really enliven the story. I had a hard time with The Unlikely Pilgrimage because I found the characters either dull or flat, and the story uninteresting. While there’s a sequel that deals with Queenie, it would have been nice to learn more about her here. As it is, I was left feeling I didn’t know her at all. 

And the secrets revealed at the end weren’t interesting or compelling enough to have been worth the wait. I had to keep pushing myself to read this - it wasn’t a book I couldn’t wait to read after I’d set it down, and I didn’t spend my time away from the book thinking about the characters and their lives. 

I’m disappointed to have been disappointed. And I won’t bother reading the sequel about Queenie. Maybe someone can just tell me what happens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Cancer, Grief, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

flowerowl's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A lovely book to make stand still for a moment. Especially in this on going world to feel and understanding the things that are there but not seen, felt or hurt only if everything in you and around you slows down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Dementia, Alcoholism, Death, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Addiction

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Mental illness

ruthmoog's review

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

We join Harold on a walk where he reflects on his life and relationships, learns about himself, his love for his wife and son, regret in his past. He meets people along the way who believe in him conpassioantely and open up about their lives.
There's a twist, and I felt good for Harold at the end of the journey, although the end of the story is predictable and a little underwhelming. The neighbour, Rex, was my favourite character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction

Detailed descriptions of food. Normalisation of pesticides.

kcarney86's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Suicide, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse

loch_nesa's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The writing style was challenging to engage at times.

near the end I was so depressed reading it. It had me ugly crying. I am glad Harold had Maureen and their love re-sparked

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Cancer, and Abandonment

jaezel's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This story is so beautifully written. It is one of the few books I look forward to re-reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Cancer, Suicide, and Terminal illness