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tloring's review
4.0
I've enjoyed Timothy Egan's books over the years. I saw him in person at the Tucson Book festival several years back when he was promoting his book, The Immortal Irishman. In this book, Tim discusses his journey on the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome. Moved by his mother's death and his Irish Catholic family's complicated history with the church, Tim decided to follow in the footsteps of centuries of seekers to force a reckoning with his own beliefs. Along the way, he provides historical footnotes of churches, Abbys, Saints, and the many wars conducted on behalf of religion in this cradle of Christianity. I found the historical information fascinating. Although there weren't any hard and fast conclusions for Tim regarding the nature of his faith, I believe he came to the conclusion that there is a God, in faith.
freckleduck's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book and the journey of the author. I liked the blend of religion and travel and a journey.
rienthril's review
4.0
A 60-something raised Catholic walks a pilgrimage from England to Rome, assessing his skepticism and the manifestations of faith (and its demise) around him along the way. Honest, personal rumination; historical snippets; anger and hope - all of these emerge as Egan walks the path.
ilovestory's review
4.0
I enjoyed reading about the little villages along the trail from England to Rome, and took notes for future visits. I was left a little unsure of what influenced his decision in the end
retiredlibrarylady's review
5.0
This was a book club choice and I expected a stodgy religious tome. So wrong! It was wonderful. I was not really familiar with Egan, as I am not a regular NYT reader, but I will definitely look for some of this other books.
Egan grew up Catholic but is not sure what he believes at this point so he undertakes a pilgrimage, the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome. He doesn't walk the entire route, sometimes using land transport, especially when his feet get damaged. He also takes a break, going home for a while. But he does make the trip of over 1,000 miles and finds it life-altering. The descriptions of places and pilgrims are entertaining and the thoughtful consideration of the church through the ages, including clergy sexual abuse, are well-researched and fascinating.
Egan grew up Catholic but is not sure what he believes at this point so he undertakes a pilgrimage, the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome. He doesn't walk the entire route, sometimes using land transport, especially when his feet get damaged. He also takes a break, going home for a while. But he does make the trip of over 1,000 miles and finds it life-altering. The descriptions of places and pilgrims are entertaining and the thoughtful consideration of the church through the ages, including clergy sexual abuse, are well-researched and fascinating.
kymme's review
4.0
What I need to confess is that it took me 13 months of actual regular reading to read this book, longer than I’ve ever taken to read any book, ever. I also read maybe 82 other books (seriously!) while reading this one. I don’t know quite what it was about it that made me read it so very slowly and clearly not be that into it, but also enough into it that I kept going back. For months I read it as a sleep aid, to be honest, and it was great for that. I did not care about this guy’s pilgrimage and or his faith or whatever and couldn’t really figure out what the book even was, really, or why my husband had gifted it to me. But then about halfway through or so it finally clicked for me and I cared about his family and his faith and even Catholic relics (a little—still weird). I think perhaps the beginning is not organized in a way that inspires a casual reader to stick with it? Or something. But I’m glad I did, and will take away some seriously impression-busting facts about St. Francis, reminders about the importance of footwear on crazy long walks (CFP Wild!), and perhaps a smidge more patience with books that don’t immediately grab me but are worth returning to.
ehays84's review
4.0
This wasn't exactly the book that I thought it would be, but it ended up being a good book anyway.
I have never read any Timothy Egan, but he writes the sort of history books I read all the time, and I will get to his books eventually. My impression is that this book is much more personal (it's really a memoir more than a work of travel literature) than the rest of his books.
Egan sets out to travel the Via Francigena, a camino that goes way back to Medieval Times. It is less popular than the Camino de Santiago, but it is also longer and in some ways more interesting. It starts in Canterbury and goes through France, Switzerland, and Italy to Rome.
Egan does not write an account of his journey as a travel author would. He doesn't give detailed accounts of everything he sees or visits, nor does he describe the history of all of these places. And I think the reason for that connects to why he decided to go on this pilgrimage in the first place. His wife's sister is dying of cancer, and he needs a way to wrestle with that. It has also brought up deep-seated struggles he has had with faith, going back to his Catholic upbringing in Spokane, Washington, which also included Catholic schooling. While he himself was not abused by a priest, his brother was and several others he knew were, including even some who later committed suicide. It is no wonder that he left the faith even before adulthood.
Yet, at least in this book, he is clearly still a seeker, and that's what I appreciate about this book. I think Egan represents many educated Americans with just too many reasons not to believe, yet some part of them still wants to believe. And he acts on that, and gains much in the way of faith through this pilgrimage. He is certainly much changed by it, and he would say for the better. He definitely does not end it any clear version of a Christian, but his faith in a loving God and in miracles is restored, even if he doesn't believe his family member will be cured by a miracle, despite his fervent prayers for that to happen.
I didn't care very much for his narration of the audiobook (his pronunciation is not great), and his treatment of various aspects of Christian history for the most part are not very carefully done. A few things he gets flat out wrong. But, his journey and his own story are authentic, so I can forgive him those items. Early on, it sounded a bit like this book was going to be one long rant against negative aspects of Christian history, but he meets certain Christians along the way and has encounters at certain shrines along the way that soften him, and even change him. His honesty, even against his reading about Christian history, has got to be tough for a trained journalist and historian like himself, so I also give him big credit for that.
So, I ended up reading this as an account of what many Americans' perspectives on Christianity are like, and unlike what I expected, this left me with hope because of how someone with so many completely legitimate reasons NOT to have any sort of faith in the good, loving God of the Bible, ends up having just that. I pray that many other Americans might have the same experience.
I have never read any Timothy Egan, but he writes the sort of history books I read all the time, and I will get to his books eventually. My impression is that this book is much more personal (it's really a memoir more than a work of travel literature) than the rest of his books.
Egan sets out to travel the Via Francigena, a camino that goes way back to Medieval Times. It is less popular than the Camino de Santiago, but it is also longer and in some ways more interesting. It starts in Canterbury and goes through France, Switzerland, and Italy to Rome.
Egan does not write an account of his journey as a travel author would. He doesn't give detailed accounts of everything he sees or visits, nor does he describe the history of all of these places. And I think the reason for that connects to why he decided to go on this pilgrimage in the first place. His wife's sister is dying of cancer, and he needs a way to wrestle with that. It has also brought up deep-seated struggles he has had with faith, going back to his Catholic upbringing in Spokane, Washington, which also included Catholic schooling. While he himself was not abused by a priest, his brother was and several others he knew were, including even some who later committed suicide. It is no wonder that he left the faith even before adulthood.
Yet, at least in this book, he is clearly still a seeker, and that's what I appreciate about this book. I think Egan represents many educated Americans with just too many reasons not to believe, yet some part of them still wants to believe. And he acts on that, and gains much in the way of faith through this pilgrimage. He is certainly much changed by it, and he would say for the better. He definitely does not end it any clear version of a Christian, but his faith in a loving God and in miracles is restored, even if he doesn't believe his family member will be cured by a miracle, despite his fervent prayers for that to happen.
I didn't care very much for his narration of the audiobook (his pronunciation is not great), and his treatment of various aspects of Christian history for the most part are not very carefully done. A few things he gets flat out wrong. But, his journey and his own story are authentic, so I can forgive him those items. Early on, it sounded a bit like this book was going to be one long rant against negative aspects of Christian history, but he meets certain Christians along the way and has encounters at certain shrines along the way that soften him, and even change him. His honesty, even against his reading about Christian history, has got to be tough for a trained journalist and historian like himself, so I also give him big credit for that.
So, I ended up reading this as an account of what many Americans' perspectives on Christianity are like, and unlike what I expected, this left me with hope because of how someone with so many completely legitimate reasons NOT to have any sort of faith in the good, loving God of the Bible, ends up having just that. I pray that many other Americans might have the same experience.