Harold goes on a journey to deliver a letter to a dying friend, which should have ended at the top of his road when he dropped it into the postbox, however he is overwhelmed by a desperate sense of duty to hand deliver his note. So his journey continues on foot through towns, fields and counties where we meet a host of characters along the way who all have their own stories to tell. Harold reminisces about his own life, what brought him to his current situation, his disappointments, experiences and fears and gradually his personal sadness unfolds.
I can see why this book appeals to so many people; its a nice story, both easy to read and thought provoking, but for me it was a little too simple. There wasn't enough for me to think about, to work out or to surprise me. The author does include an attempt at a twist, but it was pretty obvious very early on in the novel what that was going to be.
It's a nice story, not a great book or one that I would ever return to, but a light read that may be well suited to a holiday reading list.
Needless to say I would be very disappointed if this beat Hilary Mantel to the Booker Prize.
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