Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route Into Spain

When freelance journalist Hitt decided he needed a long walk, he had in mind the 500-mile trek from Saint-Jean Pied de Port, in France, to Santiago del Compostello, in Spain, one of the medieval routes of pilgrims to the shrine of St. James the Apostle. For this lapsed Episcopalian, his immersion in the history of Santiago meant not only a long walk to clear his head but adventure and an exotic setting for a travel book. The self-questioning Hitt found the road crowded with other pilgrims with different agendas. In a pale, somewhat self-conscious version of a Canterbury Tale, he sketches them deftly as they straggle along, silhouetting them and himself against medieval pilgrims and dipping into church history and architecture, love and the stories of Saint James. This offbeat travelogue describes a still-living tradition of pilgrimage and a culture of the road both delightful and informative. (Sept.)