- Paperback: 298 pages
- Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (Dec 30 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0520217519
- ISBN-13: 978-0520217515
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#309,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Church History > Modern Church
- #29 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Theology > Practical Theology
- #67 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Archaeology
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Each year thousands of men and women from more than sixty countries journey by foot and bicycle across northern Spain, following the medieval pilgrimage road known as the Camino de Santiago. Their destination is Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of the apostle James are said to be buried. These modern-day pilgrims and the role of the pilgrimage in their lives are the subject of Nancy Louise Frey's fascinating book.
Unlike the religiously-oriented pilgrims who visit Marian shrines such as Lourdes, the modern Road of St. James attracts an ecumenical mix of largely well-educated, urban middle-class participants. Eschewing comfortable methods of travel, they choose physically demanding journeys, some as long as four months, in order to experience nature, enjoy cultural and historical patrimony, renew faith, or cope with personal trauma.
Frey's anthropological study focuses on the remarkable reanimation of the Road that has gained momentum since the 1980s. Her intensive fieldwork (including making the pilgrimage several times herself) provides a colorful portrayal of the pilgrimage while revealing a spectrum of hopes, discontents, and desires among its participants, many of whom feel estranged from society. The Camino's physical and mental journey offers them closer community, greater personal knowledge, and links to the past and to nature.
But what happens when pilgrims return home? Exploring this crucial question Frey finds that pilgrims often reflect deeply on their lives and some make significant changes: an artistic voice is discovered, a marriage is ended, meaningful work is found. Other pilgrims repeat the pilgrimage or join a pilgrims' association to keep their connection to the Camino alive. And some only remain pilgrims while on the road. In all, Pilgrim Stories is an exceptional prism through which to understand the desires and dissatisfactions of contemporary Western life at the end of the millennium.
"Feet are touched, discussed, massaged, [and] become signs of a journey well traveled: 'I did it all on foot!' . . . Pilgrims give feet a power and importance not recognized in daily life, as a causeway and direct channel to the road, the past, meaningful relations, nature, and the self."
Unlike the religiously-oriented pilgrims who visit Marian shrines such as Lourdes, the modern Road of St. James attracts an ecumenical mix of largely well-educated, urban middle-class participants. Eschewing comfortable methods of travel, they choose physically demanding journeys, some as long as four months, in order to experience nature, enjoy cultural and historical patrimony, renew faith, or cope with personal trauma.
Frey's anthropological study focuses on the remarkable reanimation of the Road that has gained momentum since the 1980s. Her intensive fieldwork (including making the pilgrimage several times herself) provides a colorful portrayal of the pilgrimage while revealing a spectrum of hopes, discontents, and desires among its participants, many of whom feel estranged from society. The Camino's physical and mental journey offers them closer community, greater personal knowledge, and links to the past and to nature.
But what happens when pilgrims return home? Exploring this crucial question Frey finds that pilgrims often reflect deeply on their lives and some make significant changes: an artistic voice is discovered, a marriage is ended, meaningful work is found. Other pilgrims repeat the pilgrimage or join a pilgrims' association to keep their connection to the Camino alive. And some only remain pilgrims while on the road. In all, Pilgrim Stories is an exceptional prism through which to understand the desires and dissatisfactions of contemporary Western life at the end of the millennium.
"Feet are touched, discussed, massaged, [and] become signs of a journey well traveled: 'I did it all on foot!' . . . Pilgrims give feet a power and importance not recognized in daily life, as a causeway and direct channel to the road, the past, meaningful relations, nature, and the self."
From the Inside Flap
"Reading Pilgrim Stories is as close as one will ever get to the sights, sounds, anxieties, pains and deeper meanings of the Santiago pilgrimage, short of making the pilgrimage oneself. This is probably the most comprehensive as well as the most vivid account of the pilgrimage ever written. . . . A triumph of anthropological fieldwork unraveling a fine web of cultural and spiritual meanings."--Robert Bellah, author of Habits of the Heart
"The best thing about this book is the author's ear and attentiveness. She takes her often confused and disoriented subjects seriously, and in her reporting allows us to glimpse the dissatisfactions and frustrations of the contemporary West."--William A. Christian, Jr., author of Visionaries
"The best thing about this book is the author's ear and attentiveness. She takes her often confused and disoriented subjects seriously, and in her reporting allows us to glimpse the dissatisfactions and frustrations of the contemporary West."--William A. Christian, Jr., author of Visionaries
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Dante suggested in the thirteenth century that distance traveled and foreignness made one a Santiago pilgrim. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Dante suggested in the thirteenth century that distance traveled and foreignness made one a Santiago pilgrim. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must read before and after the Pilgrimage,
By
This review is from: Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain (Paperback)
I FIRST READ THIS BOOK IN 2002 IN PREPARATION FOR WALKING THE CAMINO. IT WAS A TERRIFIC READ AND IT GAVE ME SOMEWHAT OF AN IDEA OF WHAT TO EXPECT, ALTHOUGH NO BOOK IS ACTUALLY GOING TO PREPARE YOU FOR THIS ADVENTURE. IT DOES DEAL SOMEWHAT WITH THE SPIRITUAL AND EMOTIONAL SIDE OF THE CAMINO, BUT IT IS YOUR OWN SPIRITUALITY NOT ORGANIZED RELIGIONS THAT IS ADDRESSED. IT IS FULL OF HISTORY AND TIPS ON HOW TO PREPARE YOURSELF, AS BEST YOU CAN. MY FAVOURITE IS CHAPTER 8 WHICH DEALS WITH COMING HOME. MANY HAVE SAID THAT THE REAL JOURNEY BEGINS WHEN YOU GET HOME, AND THEY ARE DEAD RIGHT.I FOUND THIS BOOK A COMFORT AFTER I GOT HOME, REREADING CHAPTERS AND WISHING I WAS STILL IN SPAIN. IT UNDERSTOOD HOW I FELT WHEN THOSE AT HOME DID`NT. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE CONSIDERING THE CAMINO AND TO ANYONE JUST INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT IT`S ABOUT.BUEN CAMINO
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very worthwhile for a prospective Pilgrim.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain (Paperback)
I found this book to be very helpful to me as I am in the planning stages of walking El Camino in 2000. Although I believe that too much stress is put on the spiritual and religious aspect of the walk a lot of practical information is provided as well. I was especially pleased to learn about the infrastructure which has been recently developed to assist Pilgrims. Ms. Frey has researched the subject to a great extent and puts a very positive light on this interesting subject. She has also presented numerous of the varied motives for tackling this venture.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well researched and a fascinating read,
By Anne T. Edmonds - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain (Hardcover)
Anyone who's walked or thought about walking Spain's greatest long distance walk, the Camino de Santiago will love this book. A young woman who walked this medieval pilgrimage route recommended this book. I began to understand her enthusiasm for this modern-day adventure--a road trip on foot through Spain's majestic lands, visiting the past and the present and meeting all sorts of fascinating people. Anthropologist Nancy Frey has managed to bring the experience to vivid life conjuring the sights, sounds, emotions, exhilarations and disappointments of modern pilgrims as they trek across Spain in search of themselves, God, happiness or whatever else may be meaningful to them. Frey follows hundreds of pilgrims during and after their walk and tackles the questions of what happens once people go home and they trace their lives back to their points of origin around the world--Brazil, Germany, UK, US and, of course, Spain. I highly recommend this book!
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very worthwhile for a prospective Pilgrim.,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain (Paperback)
I found this book to be very helpful to me as I am in the planning stages of walking El Camino in 2000. Although I believe that too much stress is put on the spiritual and religious aspect of the walk a lot of practical information is provided as well. I was especially pleased to learn about the infrastructure which has been recently developed to assist Pilgrims. Ms. Frey has researched the subject to a great extent and puts a very positive light on this interesting subject. She has also presented numerous of the varied motives for tackling this venture.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine overview,
By Karl Stonebraker - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain (Paperback)
Nancy Frey's Pilgrim Stories was a great resource for me before I hiked the Camino this past summer. There isn't another book like it on the market for this (granted, fairly narrow) market. It's not a day-by-day guide and it's not a spiritual recollection of one's personal experience. There are lots of those out there. But it offers some readable history and anthropology and some reflective criticisms on the Camino. She has a long personal history with the Camino, both as a pilgrim and as a volunteer. If the reader is looking for an accessible, educated account of the Camino de Santiago, one will do well to read Nancy Frey.
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