Customer Reviews

I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I LOVED this book. As a Santiago pilgrim myself (2008, from St Jean), I've been awaiting the English translation of this famous German's camino book. Nearly every German I met on the Camino had read the book. For some, it was the reason they were walking the 800 km journey. I'd heard from some that they'd read it and were unimpressed, too.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I couldn't put it down. It's a page turner - mostly due to the humble, self-effacing style of Hape Kerkeling, but also due to his unfailing ability to describe with truth and pathos what his eyes see.

A refreshing aspect of the book is that Kerkeling does include details about the camino itself. He clearly walked most of it (unlike our dear Paulo C) and endured the hardships (though he skipped all but a few albergues). His Camino starts in solitude, but as he walks he opens himself to the scenery and the people and you can feel his soul expand.

I've recommended the book to all my Camino friends and would recommend it to anyone who's considering walking the Way of St. James. A thanks to the translator (though I'm still not sure what she means by a "Spanish biscuit." Hopefully she's not referring to the omnipresent Spanish tortilla - hardly a biscuit).

For good measure I'm off to read this great book a second time. Thank you, Hape, and buen camino.

I just returned from a most memorable 500+ mile long journey across the French Alps to Camino de Santiago and I never left my chair except to refill my wine glass. German comedian and author Hape Kerkeling took me along on his pilgrimage through the pages of I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago. Right from the start Kerkeling confesses to being an unlikely pilgrim...more of a couch potato than an adventurer. I too must admit that when I began this literary trek with Hape, I had serious doubts about whether or not I would stick to the journey. For me, a walk means circling the mall three times or a sunset stroll on the beach. I do not relish the thoughts of "roughing it." I was not at all certain that this was "my kind of travel book."

I was wrong. As we traveled the pages across the snowcapped Pyrenees, through Basque country, Navarra, Rioja and all the way to Galicia, I discovered that this journey was really about self-reflection and self-discovery. The more I read, the more it reinforced my strong belief that when we travel with an open mind and an open heart, we quickly learn that different cultures, beliefs and traditions are not wrong...simply different...and we embrace the differences. We also discover that as human beings we are much more like our fellow pilgrims than we are different. And, as Hape point out: "Sometimes even the most annoying people mean well."

I particularly enjoyed Hape's self-deprecating humor, his keen perceptions about the people he met and traveled with along the way and his pithy insights (some profound, some playful) the end of each chapter. My personal favorite; "Open your heart and canoodle with the day." (Looking up the definition, I quickly figured out that canoodle is a hip way to say "Make love to the day.")

First released in German, I'm Off Then quickly became a best seller. No doubt, the English version will also reap awards and significantly increase Hape Kerkeling's fan club.

Review by Lynne R. Christen
Author: Travel Wisdom

I first read about this book a few months ago in Out Magazine [they named it, along with Terry Galloway's "Mean Little deaf Queer", as a book to look forward to] and promptly forgot about it until my friend Austin brought a copy to book group thinking I'd enjoy it. What can I say? Austin knows me pretty well; I loved it!

Each year tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage from St Jean Pied de Port to the Santiago de Compestela (or The Way of St James) in Northern Spain; this is one mans story. Never preachy or sanctimonious, "I'm off Then" is immediately engaging and compelling throughout. Hape Kerkeling is an internationally known German comedian, and he relates the experiences of his spiritual trek in a brisk and congenial manner. The whole is nothing more than a series of vignettes, each relating the day's events, the places and people encountered along the road. The author communicates no great epiphany, and yet the reader is moved to accept that the journey did have a profound and lasting effect on him.

I suppose the highest praise I could give this volume is to say I enjoyed travelling along vicariously with Hape and his friends; I felt a part of, and would have been more than content to continue along with them a while longer.

This is my favorite book so far this year. Perhaps because I wish I could have written it, perhaps because I've always wanted to be one of those pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela after experiencing the long walk from the French Alps through Spain. This often arduous journey to the Shrine of St. James in Galicia, on a route that is 1,200 years old, is followed by over 100,000 people per year. And it is popular German TV comedian Hape (Hans Peter) who has paved our way. His road trip diary is engaging and hilarious - sore feet, sore knees, big angry dogs (or dogs that just look dangerous), blazing sun, filthy hostels, unusual encounters, breathtaking landscapes, and all. You get a feeling for what you might or might not do. Maybe you'll do what he did, treat yourself to special hotels on occasion, stay more than one night in one place, and every now and then take the train instead of walking. What matters, as he shares, is what you experience, what you learn about yourself, what you may or may not learn from meeting other pilgrims, how you bring yourself to the events, the feelings, your thoughts, your soul. He braved much to bring us his charming story. (Thanks Hape, I feel happy reading about you and your friends). You'll understand why this book is a bestseller in Germany (kudos by the way for the stellar translation by Shelley Frisch), how it won the Bruce Chatwin Prize for Best Travel Book of the Year, and how it has sold over 3 million copies. Highly recommended.

You will probably enjoy this book more if you know Hape Kerkeling and read the original German version. The author is very well known in Germany and his character is one of the things that makes this book so enjoyable. A lot of the original wit and fun is lost in translation. Nevertheless the book is a very nice read. Don't expect any Epiphanys, that is not what Hape intended to give. He just kept a diary which he turned into a book. Nothing but an easy and entertaining read.

I liked the book very much; it made me want to be on the Camino right now. He starts off kind of light, but as the book goes on he gets more philosophical. That tone probably reflects his own feelings on the camino, as he has time to think and slow down, he can look at the big topics of life in a more profound way.

His description of the church on 170-171 made a lot of sense to me, especially in the context of those alienated from the church for one reason or another.

I liked the idea of "Asking the Universe" for what you want and need. I think that I did the same thing, except that I asked people; easier for me to do than for him, as my Spanish is better than his.

Interesting to me that he seems to see and feel the benefits of going on the Camino in real time; I did not fully appreciate the Camino until months after I got home.

It is pretty easy to see why this book is so popular, perhaps especially among those who are not religious but are drawn in a spiritual direction.

Richard

I loved Hapes book! I felt as if just being a regular Jolene I could get some boots, save up my lunch money and go for this long winded walk just because I want too. I loved his funny sense of humor and his coming to terms with his own angst. I would say Thanks Hape. Leave it to a comedian to tell the truth!!!!

I read the German version of this book since I am considering mountain biking the Camino Santiago. Hape Kerkeling is a famous German comedian about my age. Since I moved away from Germany in 1985, I didn't really know of him. So, this was my first impression of Kerkeling. The book is very well written...funny and very personal. It gives a great account of Kerkelings experience and thoughts, and describes how the pilgrimage allowed him to "find himself" and reflect on his entire life and career.
He made several friends along the way, of which two ladies really made the whole experience and book come together in a neat way.
I purchased the book for my friend who will hopefully join me on the trip next year.

I'm thinking Hape Kerkeling should have written the Englsih version himself because what I've read here in the preview doesn't convey the spirit of then original at all. Sure, the progression of the story is the same, but the voice, the inner voice, is completely different. The warmth has gone cold, and the linguistic acrobatics gone flat. The readers who came away thinking Hape Kerkeling is some kind of egotist may well be telling it like is, based on this edition of his book. But, please, believe me when I tell you that in reality he's anything but. A lot of the 'complaining' that you read in his narrative comes over as ironic and self-effacing in the original. He's telling us that HE has problems and that his problems are his own fault.

Hape Kerkeling is a rare comedian who never, never has a bad word to say about anyone. He never scores a laugh at someone else's expense. That's just how he is. He's almost too good for show business, seriously. And yet he remains brilliantly funny and creative after so many years. He also narrates historical documentaries and hosts variety shows, always with a warm-heartendness that really can't be faked or emulated.

So, I realize this is less a review of the book and more a defense of the personality of the author. But I felt he needed someone to step in and say these things. He deserves it.

And, yes, the book, as Hape wrote it, is wonderful. It's a quick, entertaining read peppered with thought-provoking insights and anecdotes. However, it's also a book for people who know who Hape Kerkeling is and understand him, and that unfortunately is not an English-speaking audience. But, regardless, it's got me thinking about the Jakobsweg :-)

Author: Hans-Peter Kerkeling
Title: Ich bin dann mal weg
[Title:] [I'm off then]
Time: 2001
Destination:
Santiago de Compostela
Length: about 7 weeks
Type: mostly walking
Rating: 8/10
The honest comedian

The story: HPK, German comedian, actor and presenter, finds himself in some sort of personal crisis. He thus decides to walk the Camino. Even though this doesn't mean he has to walk every bit of the way (he calls himself a couch potato on page 2 and resorts to hitchhiking every once in a while) he eventually makes it to Santiago in about 7 weeks.

The resulting book is extremely entertaining: HPK writes in a charming down-to-earth voice and uses his talents as a comedian to make this Camino a very lively and funny one. Some of his depictions of other pilgrims are downright hilarious. Another thing that stands out is the fact that it sounds very earnest and touching when he is talking about his personal life and his ideas and worries. Here is a guy who hitches rides and refuses to stay in a refugio if it's too dirty - and we love him for it, because we can empathize with his weaknesses, and we respect his honesty.

So is this book a 10? No, I would have liked it to be, but it's not. The reason is (and this seems to be a general theme in contemporary Camino literature) that there is a bit too much esoterism leaking through its pages. Of course it can't be anywhere near as bad as the writing of Paulo Coelho or Shirley Maclaine (they're in the All-star League of esoterics) but sometimes it just gets a tad too quirky. For example: HPK's recount of a previous life" experience as a Polish monk who was executed by the Nazis. This might work for some, but it didn't seem very interesting to me.

Anyway, I am going to rate this one as an 8 out of 10. The good parts are extremely good, and the whacky parts are little, and not really that annoying. An easy read, and a fun read. There is an English edition out on the market - I suggest picking it up!