Book & Film Reviews

A review of You Are Here, a novel by David Nicholls. This is a lighthearted romantic comedy about two people each nursing the wounds of separation and divorce, who “meet cute” on the UK’s Coast to Coast Walk. While not a story about the road to Santiago de Compostela, it carries many themes that Camino pilgrims will find familiar and entertaining.

A review of Alder Allensworth’s The Camigas Scarf: Maiden, the second novel in a planned three-part series inspired by an actual scarf that has created a special connection among women across many Caminos. In this hero’s journey tale, an archetypal cast of characters help Valerie advance on her maiden voyage.

A review of Once Upon a Camino, a novel by Matthew S. Wilson. In this story of love, adventure, and time travel from 2010 to 1954, the Camino teaches protagonist Tom, an investment banker used to having everything at his disposal, that instead of relying on money and technology, he must now rely on others for a meal and a place to sleep, and even for his own safety and security.

Reviews of two introspective guidebooks, one designed to accompany pilgrims on their journey and the other structured to guide pilgrims in integrating their experiences into daily life after a journey.

A review of Blaine Rada’s, From Sore Soles to a Soaring Soul, a memoir about a man who walks the Camino de Santiago from St. Jean Pied de Port in a tight four weeks. Despite his fast pace, Rada still manages to walk with intentionality and finds himself embracing the unknown and engaging in unforeseen challenges.

A review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a British film adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s novel of the same name. This story is a genuine portrayal of pilgrimage in which the titular character sets off on foot to reach a friend in hospice care. Along the way, we discover that this journey of hope, forgiveness, and love is about so much more than reaching her.

A review of Before the Camino by Karin Kiser. Reviewer Sara Steig Gradwohl describes this pocket-sized guide as a “trusty companion as you prepare for your Camino.” This book complements Kiser’s other two books of the same small format, Your Inner Camino and After the Camino. Collectively, the three offer nuggets of wisdom, right-sized to carry in your backpack, before, during, and after your Camino.

A review of Dreams of Passing Fire, a collaborative collection of poems created by writing-group friends who embarked on a Camino journey. They didn’t then envision this book, but when their plans to return to the Camino were upended by a global pandemic, they set off on a different journey, retracing the steps of their earlier Camino through poetry writing presented in this collection.

A review of Thom Ryng’s Practical Pilgrimage, in which a Camino pilgrim who has walked into Santiago five times on assorted routes of varied distances offers readers 12 rules to “not necessarily ensure a more spiritual or fruitful pilgrimage, but perhaps a less needlessly difficult one.”

Joe Curro reviews The Way, My Way, a film adaptation of Australian filmmaker Bill Bennett’s 2013 memoir of the same name. Curro writes that this enjoyable film will resonate with accomplished pilgrims and the merely Camino-curious alike.