PDF Download Paris to the Pyrenees: A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James, by David Downie

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Review

“An entertaining read. David Downie is fabulous company!” - Jackie lyden, All Things Considered, National Public Radio“Downie’s adroit, learned, and ambitious book reinvigorates my sense of travel, taking me back to the happy knowledge that the world is still large, and history unfathomably deep.” - Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun“David Downie is the master of educated curiosity. I have walked some of the city’s streets with him, and reading this book is just as tactile an experience.” - Michael Ondaatje“Evocative and moving. Downie brings a deep and impassioned knowledge of French history, culture, and language to this pilgrimage. The result is an extraordinary account that illuminates France past and present.” - National Geographic Traveler

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About the Author

David Downie, a native San Franciscan, lived in New York, Rome, and Milan before moving to Paris. Downie’s travel, food and arts features have been published worldwide. He is the author of two previous novels and over a dozen nonfiction history, travel and food books, including the highly acclaimed Paris, Paris; A Passion for Paris; Paris to the Pyrenees; and A Taste of Paris. He divides his time between France and Italy with his wife, the photographer Alison Harris.

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Product details

Paperback: 372 pages

Publisher: Pegasus Books; 1 edition (May 15, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9781605985565

ISBN-13: 978-1605985565

ASIN: 1605985562

Product Dimensions:

5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

3.7 out of 5 stars

135 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#473,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Continuing my own literary pilgrimage, once again, I find myself exploring the Way of Saint James, but not along the traditional route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (SJPDP) where most peregrinos begin their 500-mile walk to Santiago de Compostela, but from Paris, the city where author David Downie calls home. From the City of Light, it's 750 miles to Roncesvalles, Spain; the first leg through Burgundy, followed by the second from Le Puy-en-Velay to SJPDP to Roncesvalles--the legendary village immortalized by the "Song of Roland" in northern Spain.Throughout his pilgrimage, Downie channels Janus himself, the god of beginnings and transitions typically depicted as a man of two faces simultaneously looking backward as well as forward; as he regales the reader with remarkable insight into the past--resurrecting influential figures and events as he describes his present surroundings. I can't tell you how much I learned about the many places that Downie visited: the history, the locals' ancestry and the vestiges of fallen empires.As I mentioned above, I learned much about the history of France and the places Downie visited, but I found myself craving more personal reflection throughout. Finally at the end, especially in the epilogue, I was rewarded when Downie shares how his pilgrimage opened his eyes a little wider than before.Having read a number of books about the traditional Camino de Santiago pilgrimages, all of which began in SJPDP and ended in Santiago de Compostela, this book is unique in that it traverses France via ancient Roman roads and trails blazed by leaders of long-gone civilizations, as opposed to the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain where on average, 200,000 pilgrims trek 500 miles from SJPDP to Santiago de Compostela every year!If you're a pilgrim, past, present or future; or perhaps a descendant of Janus, you too will really enjoy this nontraditional fascinating pilgrimage of discovery to the past and present and future!

This is one of the better of several pilgrimage diaries I've read, especially of the secular narrative variety. Be advised that although Downie visits a lot of churches, he is more likely to wax on about Mitterrand or Caesar than he is about medieval or contemporary faith. Skeptics like the author are often worldly and perspicacious, and Downie's vast knowledge of the history and culture of France makes this as illuminating as it is entertaining. He is humble enough to be respectful, however, and though Downie doesn't relate any substantial spiritual awakenings or insights from his trip, it is nonetheless very good and readable travel writing, especially for inveterate francophiles like myself. (Personal note: I spent a month on pilgrimage in France last year visiting some of the same locations)

Whew—What a long slogI’m not sure which was a harder slog, Downie’s walk or getting through his book. Those readers expecting something to happen, a revelation, lively dialogue, or anything resembling a spiritual pilgrimage should look elsewhere.The title of the book, “Paris to the Pyrenees,” is deceiving and anyone hoping for an actual journey and description of a such a walk will be disappointed. Downie spends 296 pages describing a walk in Burgundy, from Vézelay to Mâcon. Nor will readers find much about walking the Le Puy route, since the book only has 12 pages on the actual portion of the route to the Pyrenees.Does Downie know something about France? Absolutely, so I will give him an extra star. Somewhere there is an appropriate forum for him to share his knowledge, such as an Elderhostel tour. In the book, however, he comes across as an insufferable, pedantic bore, and the tired reader suspects that even his wife gets exhausted from his “thoughts.” Downie is a downer.The book could have been improved with an accurate title and a sharper editor. Downie sprinkles his writings with “not to mention”—if so, why mention it? Better yet, why write it?—and he mentions several times that he graduated from UC Berkeley. That’s nice; his mother must be proud. I recommend that Downie use his time to write for the “California” alumni magazine rather than subject readers to his pompous prose.The photographs succeed in conveying a sense of bleak, empty landscapes. It would have been interesting to see a few residents or even the author, but, alas, all the reader gets are various walls, trees, a knotted church bell cord, and the author, photographed at about 60 feet away and looking down. I have a niece that takes more interesting photos of cats.Downie writes that no activity is “pointless.” Perhaps, yet this reader is waiting for him to explain the point of the journey. Fresh air? Exercise? A chance to eat a lot of food without worrying about calories? A reflection on history and humanity? He never offers a clue about what the journey meant to him. Possibly, the trip was just a chance to write a book that smart readers will avoid.

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