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Road to Santiago
Displaying her "real talent for conjuring far-flung times and places," Kathryn Harrison tells the mesmerizing story of her 200-mile pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In the spring of 1999, Kathryn Harrison set out to walk the centuries-old pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. "Not a vacation, " she calls it, "but a time out of time." With a heavy pack, no...more
Hardcover, 150 pages
Published
November 1st 2003
by National Geographic
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Last year, my sister Rene trekked the entirety of the Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of Saint James, and her experience opened my eyes to the story of the pilgrimage. Her tales about the journey were fascinating and when she showed me the compostellana which she had been issued-- a certificate in Latin validating her status as an official pilgrim -- I became all the more intrigued.
Harrison's book about her own personal journey was well worth the read, because she walked some of the r...more
Harrison's book about her own personal journey was well worth the read, because she walked some of the r...more
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I originally picked up this book thinking, "hey, woman writer travelling the road by herself, the historical pilgrimage to Santiago del compostella? The very road I myself have dreams of undertaking next year? How inspirational this will be?"
It wasn't. It was dark, introspective, and quite depressing for me. Kathryn Harrison is great at unique and long poetic descriptions, but I was annoyed at how determined she was to remain a loner on this path: walking each day long after dark, avoiding warm...more
It wasn't. It was dark, introspective, and quite depressing for me. Kathryn Harrison is great at unique and long poetic descriptions, but I was annoyed at how determined she was to remain a loner on this path: walking each day long after dark, avoiding warm...more
I really liked the language and the minute detail in the descriptions of her journey. She just touches on the outlines of insight, though and leaves me still wondering what it is that made her go on three relatively rugged, though short, pilgrimages through Northern Spain. It ends up feeling like she has the luxury of time, money and support to do it, so she does, but fails to gain any clarity - or fails to share it. It is meditative and beautiful in its language but would recommend it to those...more
Preparing for my own Spanish pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, I have just finished Kathryn Harrison’s 2003 travelogue, The Road to Santiago, evidently written on commission for a National Geographic book series and to a strict word count. The arty, perfunctory little volume combines three incomplete Caminos, two by Harrison alone and one aborted trek with her twelve-year-old daughter. These three jaunts add up to just 50 percent of the classic 800-kilometer Camino from St. Jean Port-de-Pied...more
Als wandelaar vind ik het altijd leuk om te lezen over andermans/vrouws wandelervaringen. Dacht ik. Want Kathryn Harrisons 'De weg naar Santiago de Compostela' bekoorde me helemaal niet. Ze beschrijft de drie ervaringen die ze met de Camino heeft, voor lopers toch wel een beetje dé tocht der tochten. Maar niet voor haar.
Haar eerste kennismaking is bij toeval, als ze 7 maanden zwanger in Burgos is en daar de markeringen van de Camino ontdekt. Impulsief en totaal onvoorbereid loopt ze een eindje d...more
Haar eerste kennismaking is bij toeval, als ze 7 maanden zwanger in Burgos is en daar de markeringen van de Camino ontdekt. Impulsief en totaal onvoorbereid loopt ze een eindje d...more
I like the way Kathryn Harrison writes but I don't relate to her at all. I think I might like a work of fiction by this author, but I found her rather annoying as a person. The truth of the pilgrimage to Santiago is that everyone walks their own camino. This book really brought that out as the road she walked seemed nothing like the road that I have read about in other books. An OK book but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not rich & neurotic.
Lovely read because Kathryn Harrison possesses writing skills from the gods. Of particular interest to me beyond its Kathryn Harrison-ness, is that she is chronicling her 200-mile pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, one alone and again with her 12 year old daughter. Traveling with Kathryn in such a way is just a delight as she contemplates her daughter, motherhood, religion, her fellow pilgrims and traveling in far-flung places.
I'm a little baffled by some of the negative reviews of this book. I'm not sure what other readers expected or how many other personal accounts of the Camino they've read. I've read quite a few in the past couple years (as well as walked the Camino Frances from St. Jean myself last fall) and I rate Harrison's as one of the best so far. She writes beautifully, and I find her observations very honest and her expression of feeling frustrated, disappointed, and baffled at times on her journey very h...more
May 17, 2009
Mikesawin Sawin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes travel reading
I read this little morsel of a book on a Saturday morning after working all night. It only made me more hungry for my own trek on the 400-mile Camino de Santiago.
Personal account of a pilgrim on the Camino includes tidbits of information which may be valuable for one who has not been on the road to Santiago.
I read this some years ago before I actually walked part of the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela, and found it insightful and interesting.
Harrison discusses her three trips along the Road to Santiago at three very different times in her life.
The author describes three trips to the camino and how on each one she learns something new.
I enjoyed reading it. This was my first book I read about the Camino De Santiago.
Leí la edición en español de National Geographic con ISBN 84-8298-315-6
Very disappointing. I had hoped to learn more about why people take this pilgrimage and more of the history but it was a dull diatribe on one womans several trips along the road. Very boring. But I did come away with a desire to learn more and one day do a pilgrimage of my own. This 400 mile walk on the way to the shrine of the Apostle James continues to draw millions of pilgrims. It's said thay James's followers carried his remains from Jersulalem in a stone boat to Santiago de Compostela in Sp...more
The author's honesty is appreciated, even if she didn't actually walk the famed old camino all in one effort. She was on it more than once, and she adds more perspective to anyone interested in such efforts, or considering such a walk.
Her family plays a big role in this one.
I have read more than one book on the subject, and it does look like one way to see some nice countryside up close and lose a few pounds in the process.
Her family plays a big role in this one.
I have read more than one book on the subject, and it does look like one way to see some nice countryside up close and lose a few pounds in the process.
I really want to walk the Camino de Santiago someday which is why I picked up this book. The book is short and while offered a few great reflections certainly wasn't a book I would recommend to anyone unless they like me were interested in this walking pilgrimage.
A very interesting and practical survey of people's experiences walking the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail. Definitely a must-read for anyone who is considering walking the Camino or anyone who is interested in the pilgrimage experience.
Harrison has managed to convey in words, in only 150 pages, the effect that this walk/trek/meditation has had upon her consciousness, not on only one journey, but on three.
Continuing to read any book I can find at the library about El Camino de Santiago. Some are better than others- some I think I should write a book...
Narrazione diretta e sincera di un pellegrinaggio alla ricerca di sé stessa, al di là della stessa fede, ricompensato da una piccola illuminazione.
I eagerly read books on the pilgrim walk to Santiago, a journey I fantasize on taking. This telling was a little sad and empty.
OK memoir of the Camino.
Mar 24, 2013
Jody
added it
Mar 15, 2013
Patriciagoodwin
marked it as to-read
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Kathryn Harrison is the author of the novels Envy, The Seal Wife, The Binding Chair, Poison, Exposure, and Thicker Than Water.
She has also written memoirs, The Kiss and The Mother Knot, a travel memoir, The Road To Santiago, a biography, Saint Therese Of Lisieux, and a collection of personal essays, Seeking Rapture.
Ms. Harrison is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review; her essay...more
More about Kathryn Harrison...
She has also written memoirs, The Kiss and The Mother Knot, a travel memoir, The Road To Santiago, a biography, Saint Therese Of Lisieux, and a collection of personal essays, Seeking Rapture.
Ms. Harrison is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review; her essay...more
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