Pilgrims

This is a tremendous read. The humour is subtle but razor sharp and the characterisation covers virtually every personality type. A thirteenth century setting and pilgrimage reveals that human nature and relationships have not changed in the eight centuries since.This is a great read, devoured by this reader in a single lockdown day!

Having so enjoyed English Passengers, I pre-ordered this, but am so disappointed. Each chapter is narrated by a different person but there is very little linkage. One was over 50 pages long & I feared forgetting what had gone before. I was given a clumsy recap. Now, a poor demented soul is talking to Jesus and has been for page after page but instead of saying "I" she refers to herself as "Your poor creature" It is silly and tedious. I am at page 190 & can see that this is going on for another dozen pages. I can't take it, nor can I be bothered. My local second hand bookshop is now open..

This is a wonderful, hugely enjoyable, novel by a master storyteller and historian. Matthew Neale has created a fascinating tale in this book. At its simplest level this novel relates the stories of a wide range of 13th century characters travelling to Rome to make their personal pilgrimage.Amongst others walking to Rome from England there is a village lad travelling to release his cat from purgatory, a man sent by the church as penance for striking an abbot, a girl who claims to speak with the voice of god, travelling to warn the Pope of the coming end of says, a rich woman seeking to divorce her husband, and a mother and daughter who sometimes speak a language unknown, and so disturbing, to the others. As they travel the group gets larger, adding a woman dressed in white who talks aloud to Jesus and a man seeking penance for betraying his Welsh prince to the Saxons in order to save his family. The interaction of the group, their experiences as they travel, and when they reach Rome, all makes a for a very enjoyable tale that i enjoyed hugely.But what makes this novel so strong is the layers within it. It sheds a little light on the foolishness of nationalism, a little more on the strangeness and comfort of religious belief and practice, and a lot more on the evil of antisemitism. It is gently humorous, at times rather horrifying, and always captivating. it is about what it is to be human with all the cruelties, kindnesses and unpredictability of life and humanityThis is a brilliant book - every bit as good as the English Passengers, which is one of my favourite books ever, and one I recommend you read soon.

The most tedious book I’ve read in years. Totally pointless description of weird characters going to Rome. None interesting. Writing was very insulting to an avid reader. Probably scribbled it over a weekend. Not much put into it.

I liked the idea of the book: pilgrimages in the middle ages. I was caught up in the story throughout the early chapters.The technique of telling the story through the eyes of different pilgrims was good in principle but poorly executed.Some of the narratives were far too long, I became confused and eventually bored. The insights into the medieval mind were initially good but there was far too much repetition.The book picked up towards the end but, by that time, I had lost interest in the story and in the characters. Too bad.