Following an unexpected discovery during a bout of lockdown-inspired spring cleaning, Duncan McNamara, soon to turn 30, leaves a distinctly average academic career for the Camino de Santiago, an ancient and dangerous trail of 500 miles across Spain's Pyrenees Mountains.
He carries only a rucksack of largely useless items, and while not particularly religious, begins to count himself among the saints, sinners and scholars who have hiked the scrubland before him. His sole purpose, like theirs, is to reach the end and kneel before a Saint.
Absurd, sensual and deeply poignant, the world of
The Way
provides a fascinatingly personal series of incidents to match Duncan's idiosyncratic path. Readers, who have no idea what they're getting themselves into, will find themselves cheering for this first-person adventure filled with unlikely detours.