Pilgrimage of sheer delight
commands attention, holds court and has an acute insight into what connects people to each other. But as sharp as she is, there is a darkness in her to make you wonder about human nature.
The meeting of the friends raises questions. What did Paul and Freya see in each other to make them choose each other as life partners? For Paul the question is easy to answer. Freya, a bit nervous and fragile made him feel strong and manly. He felt protective over her. But is that a solid enough reason for marriage?
Dame Edith comments elsewhere that “in times of crisis we don’t always make the best decisions...”, and was there a crisis which brought Paul and Freya together in the first place? Sketchy details emerge about a crash. How much should be remembered and how much should be quietly put away to be forgotten? There is not one character who can claim the moral high ground in this tale of lust, love, deception and vengeance.
I’m not going to spoil the read by telling more about the characters other than that the title itself is a play on words.
The other aspect of the novel is its location, Marrakech. Annabelle Thorpe is a travel writer who has spent much time in Morocco so the setting has a fascinating and authentic feeling. It’s an excellent story, extremely well told, and most riveting. MILLIONS have walked the Camino de Santiago. Initially it was a Catholic pilgrimage, but today believers form a small percentage of those walking it, and while most may be on a challenge to complete all or part of the walk, they are largely on self-searching quests of their own.
Google it on the internet and you’ll find a plethora of descriptions from “it sucks”; “it’s one of the most over-rated trails in the world” to how memorable and meaningful it is. It depends, like most things in life, on what you make of it or your own experience.
Zoe, a sometime Californian artist, and Martin an engineer from Yorkshire, come for different reasons to walk the Camino from France to the end destination in north-western Spain.
They are both dealing with loss. Zoe is grieving the sudden death of her husband of many years and Martin is getting over a messy divorce that has unpleasant financial implications.
For Martin the Camino becomes a financial lure when he’s paid to lug a hand-made cart behind him (to show it can be done), which he pulls on wheels rather using a more user-friendly backpack.
Zoe and Martin approach the trail from diverse angles.
Martin, despite being weighed down by his burdensome cart, is wellequipped with the latest hiking gear and gizmos to make the walk easier.
Zoe, deciding on the spur of the moment to do the Camino, has rustled it all together in a haphazard way, and can barely afford to stay in the guest houses and pilgrims’ hostels dotted along the lengthy route.
The Camino may look like an arduous journey passing over some tricky terrain and is not for the faint-hearted. But has to be one of life’s greatest pleasures to slowly traverse thoroughly scenic countryside on foot, put your troubles aside and focus on where you’ll have to stop for the night, where you are going to get your next meal, and the vagaries of the weather.
The book’s authors, husband and wife team Simsion and Buist, did the walk themselves, building their material on the cast of characters they met along the way and the remarkable experiences they enjoyed.
Chapters alternate as they write from the vantage point of Martin and of Zoe.
The pair meet up in a cafe in Cluny from where they depart for their walk.
The book then takes us on each of their walks, and what a delight it is as they follow ancient well-trodden paths though some of France’s most scenic landscapes.
This is a thoroughly immersive and delightful read that will leave you smiling and maybe even shedding a tear or two, when you see how we can all leave behind things that no longer matter and rediscover some of life’s more important things as we work out things for ourselves.