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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.
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.
queencandytoppenmarble's review
4.0
Overall I enjoyed this book and its an easy read.
Having said that, I think you have to read this book realising that it is her experience on the Camino and that is different for everyone.
Her experience is a very spiritual one and goes into a lot of detail about her spiritual experiences throughout the book and I can see why a lot of people were put off this book because of it.
I received this book as a present and as such had no expectation about what this book was other that someone walking the Camino, once I realised that this is a very personal account and experience on the Camino I tried to read it with an open mind and as such I enjoyed it.
Having said that, I think you have to read this book realising that it is her experience on the Camino and that is different for everyone.
Her experience is a very spiritual one and goes into a lot of detail about her spiritual experiences throughout the book and I can see why a lot of people were put off this book because of it.
I received this book as a present and as such had no expectation about what this book was other that someone walking the Camino, once I realised that this is a very personal account and experience on the Camino I tried to read it with an open mind and as such I enjoyed it.
ashykhaira's review
2.0
this book centers around the authors quest in search of a spiritual journey as is obvious by the title.she travels light and takes advice from others who have made the same such journey before.according to the author,the camino offers everyone who walks it a love affair.this book took me a while to read.but its not hard to understand and experience what the author talks about through her style of writing.
xxjenadanxx's review
3.0
My best friend has been talking about wanting to walk the Camino for years so when I found this book I knew I needed to read it. It was a much different experience than I was expecting. I was thinking it would focus more on the walk itself, and had no idea the mysticism to be found inside the pages. Like if Sylvia Brown wrote Wild. That isn't to say its a bad thing, just a surprise. It was interesting to read her regression experiences and insights that she had on the trail. Some of it was a bit much, but if you read between the lines there are some pretty profound messages there. I especially enjoyed the interpretations of the "Garden of Eden" and the Androgyny of the soul.
williamd's review
2.0
Ridiculous, but sort of worth reading just to see that such things actually exist, and people apparently believe in them.
emilyesears's review
1.0
My mom has always wanted to walk the Camino de Santiago ever since she studied abroad in Spain in college. She's never done it, but lately we've been discussing going on it together more and more. She is worried that she's only got 10 years or so left before her health gets bad and recently one of her best friends went on the pilgrimage because my mom had talked it up so much.
So with that in mind, and with a desire to get a jump start on my 2018 goal of reading the books I already own, I picked up this book that my Mom had lent me way back in 2014.
I was expecting a travelogue and instead got pages and pages of Shirley MacLaine's visions and past lives. The brief parts where she actually discusses her journey are interesting, but there was so little of that as to be useless. Would have DNFed the book if my Mom hadn't given it to me. I'm actually surprised she recommended it at all--she's usually really practical. Maybe it's been so long since she read it that she's forgotten how ridiculous it is.
So with that in mind, and with a desire to get a jump start on my 2018 goal of reading the books I already own, I picked up this book that my Mom had lent me way back in 2014.
I was expecting a travelogue and instead got pages and pages of Shirley MacLaine's visions and past lives. The brief parts where she actually discusses her journey are interesting, but there was so little of that as to be useless. Would have DNFed the book if my Mom hadn't given it to me. I'm actually surprised she recommended it at all--she's usually really practical. Maybe it's been so long since she read it that she's forgotten how ridiculous it is.
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