4.5 Stars

The author, Lyndon Penner, is a gardener, environmentalist, and wanderer who grew up in Saskatchewan and, like many, has loved the natural world his entire life. This is the first book of his that I’ve read, but there are several others that he’s written.

A year or two ago, I read Timothy Egan’s book where he follows the Via Francigena on foot, walking from Canterbury to Rome. For Egan this journey was more about conflicted feelings about the Catholic Church, as well as the looming death of his sister-in-law. Penner’s journey began when he visited friends for dinner, and the stereo was playing the most exquisite violin concerto he’d ever heard. Oliver Schroer’s Camino album. A conversation ensued as he had no idea who Schroer was or that the Camino was a route that many have taken. A journey that for many it is a Christian pilgrimage, but not for all. At just under 500 miles, it is not even an easy route, and even though he trained for it beforehand, he still had difficulties along the way. He suffered from shin splints, was ill, the places they stayed weren’t always the best and the same could be said about the food, at times. But the scenery, the views from all around for eight hundred kilometers, the plants, the trees, the wildlife, so much to see - this is what seemed to really feed his soul.

From the early days preparing for this trip, figuring out what ‘stuff’ to pack and how much to bring, as well as physically preparing, this shares much of Penner’s thoughts and his life before this monumental trek along with his friend, but some lovely passages on the plants and wildlife he encountered along the actual, often grueling, trek. His encounters with locals, the food, the atmosphere, good and not-as-good, along the way. The beauty outweighs the not-as-beautiful, although he has some occasionally grouchier moments when he is in pain, ill, or simply can’t sleep due to the others also along on this walk. There are moments touched with a simple reverence, and many, many more where his sense of humour shines through, and others still where he artfully shares his lovely descriptions of the plantlife, the trees, the places they travel through along with the places they stay, and always the scenery and often the culture along with the local residents.

I enjoyed being able to journey alongside Penner even if it was only virtually. This was a gift, this sharing of his journey. He made it come alive so beautifully, along with a welcome sprinkling of humour now and then.


Pub Date: 27 Mar 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by NYU Press / University of Regina Press

Lyndon did a beautiful job of contrasting his personal experience of the trip with the wildlife and environment that he encountered. Reads like a personal journal or travel journal. Detailed explanation of plants found on the Camino

You know, I honestly thought the author was going to use his subtitle, "Lost in the Weeds Along the Camino de Santiago" as a metaphor for the people walking this ancient pilgrimage route. But that one seemed to have not survived the edit. He does think of the diet of the vultures circling above the Pyrenees as an emblem for all the dead meat we might wish to cull from our mental baggage, he equates a hardy chicory with that kind of person who can thrive in more arduous times, and more – we even get put into one of two categories of grape. Yes, this book has a lot more triteness and cheese than I'd ever expect, coming from a University Press. It also, despite the author's journalistic and broadcasting background, has an almost naive levity to it.

My response to this may be that I was not fully aware of what kind of book I was due for. Was it a field guide to all the flora alongside the Camino, was it one reportage of the six weeks' walking with copious diversions into the hedgerows to see what was what, or was it a light-hearted compilation of incidents in the hostels, with added comment about the plant life once out of doors? It certainly started out more of the latter, and I was only really happy with the floral abundance on later pages. He managed to give the flavour of both the botany and the walk a strong sense on the page, but only the sense I'd expect from a newspaper article, not an esteemed volume.

Other things to note, where the nature notes are, is that too many of the extended riffs may be about trees and not the plants, and eucalyptus are not that "highly regarded" as he makes out. This is also definitely written for a US-only market, with me only guessing scabious as a subject, for example, from the Latin name, and he gives many North American-only names to things (I know, I checked with my plant nursery staff mother). His Canadian origins mean he didn't recognise the sloe for what it was. Of note where the walking tour details are concerned, is the errant bluntness with which we both reach Santiago and finish the narrative. Not good.

I think the fan of walking holidays and reading about them, before or after ticking them off, will find this reasonable, but inessential. Likewise, as good as the response the author gives to seeing fields of autumn crocus, the flora fan will find this reasonable, but inessential. You would definitely have to be in the middle of the relevant Venn diagram to rate this highly.