Going into this book, I had read a few negative reviews. I shouldn't have done that because it set me up to find out why people didn't like the book. Going into this book, I had read a few negative reviews. I shouldn't have done that because it set me up to find out why people didn't like the book. This did affect the experience of reading the book, but by the second or third part, I was looking forward to reading more about their journey and expedition and that kept me hooked.
The writing is really good and that was quite surprising because this is the first book by the author so I didn't expect much. The story moves through various seasons in the author's life but it is the walk that is the focus of the book. I loved the description of the walk and the experiences, even though I was unfamiliar with a lot of British geographical terms. But more than the landscape it was their experiences with people they meet on the journey and the things they learn about themselves, that kept me going in the book. The author has a knack for conveying poignant realisations in simple words that is very impactful.
Coming to what I didn't like - there was little of that. However, there is a part where the author speaks about herself and her husband being one of the millions of homeless people of Britain. While she writes well to bring their issues to light, it's a bit too much when she assumes that victimhood for herself. Being the temporary homeless person that she is, she finds shelter within around 6 months of losing her home. If not for her decision to go walking, she probably might have found it much before thanks to her social capital.
So to say that she was homeless in the negative sense of that term is like a person who has gotten too tanned, identifying with black people's struggle. This bordered on appropriation for me and it put me off. However, the author didn't dwell on that too much so that was a good thing.
Overall, I was tending towards giving the book 4/5 because it was otherwise a good book, but that last bit soured the experience for me a bit and hence I will end up giving it 3/5. Read for a quick uplifting story that could inspire you to walk, but if you don't read, you've probably not missed much because there are so many books with a similar story....more
Glad to have come across the audio book read by Cyril Cusack, which was a treat for the ears! Initially, it was difficult to follow the accent which iGlad to have come across the audio book read by Cyril Cusack, which was a treat for the ears! Initially, it was difficult to follow the accent which involved quite a bit of British muttering, but soon I settled into it and enjoyed the different ways in which Cyril differentiated between the characters using only subtle variations in accent and intonation.
But all that is worthwhile only because the story being told is such an endearing and lovely tale with so many poignant, funny and charming episodes stitched together by the tale of a great adventure. However, the adventure is nothing without the friendship and compassion that Monsignor Quixote and Sancho share for each other.
The book deals with a lot of big questions such as faith and doubt and communism and Catholicism and eventually finds that it is all just a way to get to the same object - peace.
While I agree with the author that Christianity of Jesus Christ is a socialist concept, but Catholicism is not so much. Indeed, towards the end of the book, Monsignor Quixote does chastise a congregation that has become so overcome by the evils of money (capitalism) that they have started to purchase their own salvation: something that the parish priest is only too happy to sell to them for a price.
The work is clearly inspired from the original Don Quixote and makes several references to the original work by Cervantes. However, Monsignor Quixote's character is much more relatable than the original (I say this after having read both).
I recommend this book to anyone who wants a light read but with substance enough to keep one engaged....more
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