A review by hcastle
A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful by Gideon Lewis-Kraus

4.0

There is something about Gideon Lewis-Kraus that makes you want to stick with him. Perhaps it is because the first half of this book is so pleasurable - his time in Berlin and his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela with his friend Tom. Gideon's circuit around the Japanese island of Shikoku should have been intriguing, but as he admits the walk is not so much lonely as boring. It involves many days of walking on asphalt with only an occasional exchange with a Japanese pensioner. His third and final journey with his brother and father to a Ukrainian Hassidic tomb during Rosh Hashanah should have been a revelation. Offering the opportunity for Gideon to reconcile himself with his Rabbi father, who had deserted his family and responsibilities for a new gay life with his partner. In the end, his father does not quite proffer up the insights or apologies that his sons hoped for. The book ends with too long a passage dissecting his relationship with his father. Gideon is a good writer, who just needs a good editor.