Book Review: An Atheist on Pilgrimage
An Atheist on Pilgrimage: Tales of Humanity from the Camino de Santiago
by Leonard Vance
Self-published, 2024
216 pages
On Goodreads
Reviewed by Jerald Stroebele | Anchorage, AK
I returned from the Camino Francés in early November to find this book in my mail, awaiting my reading pleasure while I was still in the glow of the Camino. And what great pleasure reading it gave me! So much so, instead of ripping through it in a couple of days, I quickly realized I should read only a chapter per session, like sipping fine Rioja wine.
The author is an aerospace research scientist who lives in Tucson, AZ, and walked the Camino Francés twice before starting on this adventure in walking and writing about the Caminos Via Serrana, Via de la Plata and Sanabrés. He started this Camino in Spring 2023, dodging macaque apes at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. It wasn’t all downhill from there. He describes a long slog through Andalusia and Extremadura. This story is a lot more than that.
This is evidently a self-published book, but this assumption is only due to the lack of an identified publisher. Unlike many self-published books which fail to find a professional editor, this one is grammatically perfect with no mistakes or misspellings. The numerous color photos are crisp, spectacular and alluring. The writing is storytelling at its best—beautifully written, entertaining, and informative. A full page accurately and emotionally describes the swinging of the Botafumeiro in the Cathedral de Santiago. The observant author easily describes pilgrims’ more basic thoughts, as in this excerpt: “I eventually locate an open café where I finally achieve the special morning happiness that only coincides with steaming hot café con leche and a plentiful supply of chocolate churros,” (page 182).
Early on, when asked by a fellow pilgrim why he is walking this Camino, the author bristles and says nothing. Asked again at the end of his 1300-kilometer pilgrimage, he says: “Penance,” (page 192). A fellow pilgrim responds: “I don’t know what you did, but this Camino you’ve walked, it’s far enough.”
Of the many Camino memoirs I’ve read, this one truly rates five stars. More practically, this book, available in paperback and e-reader formats, could serve as an ersatz guidebook to these lesser-traveled Camino routes. After reading it, you might be inclined to skip the path through Extremadura, but these Caminos, as described by Vance, will call you.
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