THAT Jini Fiennes, mother of six children, recovering from a cancer operation, set off alone in her early 50s on a pilgrimage, crisscrossing French shrines en route to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, is a mark of extraordinary courage.
She was, as she says, and ponders on at frequent intervals in her book, "seeking"; a condition that can follow when some aspect of a cherished belief or Faith even, is lost. She was eager to attend Mass and the monastic office along her route.
This is not a catalogue of questioning, but rather a superbly-written travelogue full of fascinating historical fact, wayside conversations and detailed description of the modes of celebration and observance at a variety of pilgrim centres, from Alencon (hometown of St. Therese) to the great shrine of St. James at Compostela.
Her route by train and bus was varied, as were the hostels, convents and other sometimes spartan accommodation she sought, despite an injured back. She is lyrical as at Vezelay, and the colourful gipsy pilgrimage at Les Saintes Maries de la Mer on the Mediterranean. She is in Paris (and Rue de Bac) for Holy Week; continues to Le Puy, Rocamadour, Lourdes and Nevers. There are pauses and fascinating insights into the life of a Russian Orthodox monastery of nuns; at a Tiyetan-Buddhist community in the Dordogne, the Taize community; and the recently founded community of the Lion of Juda.
Culmination comes with the somehow overwhelmingly powerful attraction of the shrine of St. James at Compostela to which pilgrims from the four corners of Europe have travelled down the centuries.
"C'est un mystere" is the author's frequent remark. And the "seeking,"
as with most of us, surely continues.