Customer Reviews

The Path to Rome

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Belloc's wonderful book is not for those who only travel to say they have "been there". For those are the tourists. This delightful book is for those who journey and realize that looking at lighted windows and medieval towns built into ancient crags is what makes life worth living. Written at the turn-of-the-century, Belloc's words flow magically and playfully to form a description not only of one writer's determined passage, but of a time already long gone. Simple pleasures are the best, especially when written by an artist with an eye for life itself.

This is surely one of the most delightful reads you will ever find. Belloc is such a good story teller, and, writing from a Catholic viewpoint, paints a picture of Europe before World War 1, before the lights went out for 30 years of constant strife and destruction. Along with various colorful characters along the way, some long forgotten fortresses, and the Italian Alps, Belloc weaves his travels with personal anecdotes and observations. What a book, and it is quite a shame that his journey can not accurately be repeated by another intrepid walker! Enjoy without reservation!

I'd heard about this book for years, but it was out of print and I was not able to locate a copy. I'm happy to report it was worth the wait. It even made me feel young again because it's written with a rare physical energy and youthful exuberance...and humor. In fact, Belloc wrote this in such a fresh and vigorous way he made me laugh out loud 101 years later.

As a young man Belloc took off for a personal pilgrimage from Toul, France to Rome, Italy -- and he didn't want to take an easy way. If he had a choice of going around a mountain or over it, he wanted to go over it. It happened more than once that he walked into an inn and told others what he had just done -- only to find they didn't believe him! I wanted to grab his listener by the arm and say, "I know he did it! I was with him!"

This book is both a time machine and a vicarious adventure.

I enjoyed this book very much.

I normally read very quickly, but at the beginning I found it so lovely and funny that I deliberately slowed myself down-- reading only 20 pages per day or so-- so that I could savor it a little bit. I lost that a little bit in the latter parts of the book.

Although this is a story of a holy pilgrimage, eo not expect a either a traditional travel book or any kind of treatise on religious enlightenment. Using an Auctor/Lector conversation, Belloc's constant witty asides about the purpose of the book solidly ground the reading in the mundane. The thing is, that it is a beautiful vision of the mundane--worldly in the best sense of the word.

Reading The Path to Rome made me jealous of the journey.

At the turn of the century, Hilaire Belloc undertook a pilgrimage
by foot from his home region of Eastern France to Rome. The book
is full of interesting descriptions of the land and the people he
encountered on this long journey. A very relaxing book with many
real characters described in the rural towns along his path.
I really enjoyed this book, once I calmed down and realized that
the trip was the point, not just the attainment of the goal.

Partly travelogue, partly interior monolog, completely entertaining! The young Belloc describes his walking trip from southeastern France to Rome, which (most intriguingly) he tries to accomplish by walking in a straight line, 30-45 miles a day. This extraordinary route takes him well off the beaten track, through isolated villages, nearly unpassable mountains and rivers, and sparsely populated plains. Belloc describes his experiences with his usual insight and offers humurous digressions on aspects of faith and culture as well. The book also contains a good number of rough landscape sketches he drew during his journey. In the end, Belloc paints a thoroughly detailed and honest picture of the Europe he loved so well and was to write of with such power. In the process he also gives us a detailed picture of his own character and mood, something quite helpful in interpreting his historical works.

The book is delightful, but this particular edition does not contain Belloc's drawings that were in the original. This is a serious drawback because the drawings -- some of which are maps -- aid in one's understanding of his story. Without the drawings, I feel like this is only half a book. I would recommend that you buy a different published version that contain his drawings, even if you have to buy an older used copy.

Watch out for the kindle version. It is cheap! But it is poorly formatted. It looks like there are a lot of extra linefeeds in the text, so that sentences and paragraphs are very chopped up.

This makes it very difficult to read! I doubt I will get through it. From what I can tell (skimming) most of the book has this formatting problem.

I feel bad giving this 1 star! I know this is a popular book. But Kindle buyers should beware.

Belloc shares his adventure of making a pilgrimage to Rome on foot in the early twentieth century (prior to World War I). He was "On the Road" fifty years before Kerouac on a spiritual journey full of faith, wit, beautiful scenery, interesting characters, and personal adventures.

Written early in the 20th century, this story of a walking trip to Rome is still one of the most compelling travel books ever written. What makes it interesting is that the reader is in the company of an erudite and educated man who is thoroughly human. Recommended. FJQ