ricefun's review
2.0
Honestly, I want to appreciate this book and what MacLaine shared about her experience of the Camino. But unfortunately, I didn't find much to connect with in the way that she portrayed her journey or the visions that she spent most of this book exploring. It is such a popular cornerstone of Camino writing that in my own preparation for this pilgrimage I thought it was natural to read her work. But I really wouldn't recommend it.
alisa4books's review
2.0
Not much to add to the conversation about the Camino and predictably strays into metaphysical topics.
sjklass's review
2.0
Shirley MacLaine's memoir of her 1994 pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago was at times, touching. She was, in part, walking for her dying friend, Kathleen, which reminded me Harold's journey in "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". I enjoyed her descriptions of the beauty of the regions of northern Spain she trekked across and the trials of walking 20+km/day and sleeping in spartan refugios rather than more luxurious accommodations available.
However, MacLaine's Camino memoir was, at times, pretty 'out there'. She admits to readers (p 187) "I have debated with myself, whether to include the ensuing events in the telling of my Camino tale....I am aware how shocking and disturbing they will seem to those who have not contemplated such things...what I will attempt to describe may take you off the Camino path and to the edge of reason, but I have always felt that if one cannot walk to the edge of the precipice, then why walk at all?" While I admire her moxie to speak her truth, I did not get much out of her detailed dream visions of past live experiences.
Upon completing her walk and returning to London to share her experiences at her dying friend's bedside, Kathleen says her dear friend Shirley has "a creative and magnificent imagination". Agreed!
However, MacLaine's Camino memoir was, at times, pretty 'out there'. She admits to readers (p 187) "I have debated with myself, whether to include the ensuing events in the telling of my Camino tale....I am aware how shocking and disturbing they will seem to those who have not contemplated such things...what I will attempt to describe may take you off the Camino path and to the edge of reason, but I have always felt that if one cannot walk to the edge of the precipice, then why walk at all?" While I admire her moxie to speak her truth, I did not get much out of her detailed dream visions of past live experiences.
Upon completing her walk and returning to London to share her experiences at her dying friend's bedside, Kathleen says her dear friend Shirley has "a creative and magnificent imagination". Agreed!
neko_naylor's review
3.0
Okay, if you're interested in spirituality in general, but it tells you close to nothing about the camino itself. Having done it myself in 2012 I was pretty disappointed about that.
erikakiana's review
2.0
I have a dream to complete the Camino de Santiago one day so at the moment, I try to read as many books about the Camino as I can. I found this book on my grandmother's bookshelf and I had to read it. I was looking forward to reading it and it started off great. But then it got really bizarre when she started talking about the spirits and the dreams and all that other stuff. I wanted to learn what it was like to actually walk it, not have some past-life experiences. I skipped large chunks of the book after page 200 because it just got so bizarre. I guess if you like Ancient Aliens you might enjoy this, but my god what a chore it was to get this book finished.
onecrab's review
1.0
5% Camino. 35% How hard life is for celebrities. 65% Crazy talk.
Overlaid with lots of pompous navel gazing.
Overlaid with lots of pompous navel gazing.