Guides, stories, prayers… To read beforehand or on the way, this selection allows you to walk humanly and spiritually on the road to Santiago de Compostela.
“The pilgrim does not walk with the permanent ecstatic smile of the Indian sadhu on his lips. He grimaces, struggles, swears, complains and it is against this background of small permanent miseries that he welcomes from time to time the pleasure, all the more appreciated for being unexpected, of a splendid view, of a moment of emotion, of a fraternal encounter”, writes Jean-Christophe Rufin aptly in his story Immortal hike, where he recounts the 800 kilometers he traveled on the “Northern Way”. A description in which many pilgrims find themselves, or will find themselves if they are about to take the Way for the first time. If it is advisable to train physically before undertaking the pilgrimage for a long period, it is also good to prepare your soul and your spirit. This selection of books makes it possible to give meaning to one’s steps.
1Yum Yum Sleep
It is the essential practical guide for the pilgrim, which provides essential information according to the section chosen: where to sleep, where to eat, and at what price, as well as maps on a scale of 1 cm = 375 m and the elevation differences. Fully updated each year, the Miam-Miam-Sleep Guide is the ideal document to prepare for your walk. Yum Yum SleepEd. of the Old Pencil, 2021, 17 euros.
2HIKING IMMORTAL
Travelogue by Jean-Christophe Rufin, who followed the “Northern Way” to Santiago along the Basque and Cantabrian coasts, through the wild mountains of Asturias and Galicia. He recounts, with delicious self-mockery, this human and spiritual journey. Immortal hike, Compostela in spite of myselfJean-Christophe Rufin, Gallimard, 2014, €7.80.
3IN COMPOSTELLA: TRIBUTE TO THE WAY OF SAINT-JAMES
Varied and moving testimonies of 34 personalities who made the pilgrimage such as Yves Duteil, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Jean-Christophe Rufin, Luc Adrian, Mgr Gobilliard, Edouard Cortès… Each offers here an unpublished text, speaking in the literary genre that he has chosen (narrative, primer, letter, short story, poetry, play, etc.). Testimonies full of tenderness and humor, which speak of freedom, sharing, fraternity and rediscovered joy. In Compostela, Tributes to the Way of Saint JamesSalvador, 2021, 17 euros.
4Spiritual guide of the Puy en Velay route
The Puy-en-Velay road is the most used and the oldest to get to Santiago de Compostela. The organizers of this Way of Saint James (religious, historians, associations) have drawn up this spiritual guide offering meditations, the presentation of the heritage, the lives of saints, testimonies and interviews with local actors. Spiritual guide of the Puy en Velay routeSalvador, 2021, €12.
5Little pilgrim prayers
Familiar with pilgrimage routes, the author has brought together prayers, biblical texts, testimonies and small pieces of advice that have helped him throughout his spiritual wanderings. Little pilgrim prayersLuc Adrian, Mame, 2021, 14.95 euros.
6SEVEN GRACES ON THE ROAD TO COMPOSTELLA
Accompanied by her 20-year-old godson, the author travels the Vézelay route. Combining pedagogy, humor and spirituality, it evokes seven moments of grace experienced on this route, seemingly improbable encounters which gradually trace the path of the two pilgrims. Seven graces on the way to CompostelaMarie-Eve Humery, Salvator, 2020, 15 euros.
Also discover ten personalities who were inspired by the roads of Santiago de Compostela:
