Inspired Journeys

December 1, 2016

Bouldrey (Honorable Bandit: A Walk Across Corsica) edits this collection of "secular pilgrimages" around the world, redefining what a pilgrimage can be. Part 1 focuses on "Chasing the Muse," where the "pilgrims" seek out birthplaces, places of death, and famous sites for authors and artists. In "Little Log Houses for You and Me," Kimberly Meyer revisits her childhood obsession on a road trip to places from Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. Trebor Healy attempts to re-create Jack Kerouac's journeys in Dharma Bums, complete with hiking in a jock strap on some of the very same trails the Beat author traversed. Part 2, or, "Carrying the Bones," describes pilgrimages inspired by death and loss of family. Jivin Misra struggles with a lack of understanding of Indian culture after bringing his father's body on a pilgrimage to the holy Hindu city of Varanasi. In "An Accidental Pilgrimage," Russell Scott Valentino claims, "Travel for its own sake is always a search for God," while he attempts to discover the deepest of family roots. VERDICT The stories are intriguing and narrowly focused, but some might have a limited audience; readers should be prepared to be enthralled by some pieces and skip others.--Cheryl Yanek, Brooklyn

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2016
In this outstanding volume, editor Bouldrey has assembled a stellar collection of writerstrue storytellers allwho describe in the most human of terms their varied pilgrimages around the world in search of their elusive muses. Many of the muses are writers and poets (Nathanael West, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Gary Snyder); others are explorers (Robert Falcon Scott). In the most haunting and disturbing piece, Raphael Kadushin makes a very personal connection to Grimms' fairy tales as he drives along Germany's fabled Fairy-Tale Road. Among the most poignant pieces is Susan Fox Rogers' In the Huts, about her visit to McMurdo Station, the largest base on the continent of Antarctica. She had long dreamed of visiting McMurdo, but when she finally set her eyes on it, her disappointment was palpable. Ten days later, though, her dismissal turns to love for this cold and empty place. In many pieces, the narrator is an outsider looking both at the world and within and offering moments of personal revelation. In Scotland, Bouldrey considers the so-called worst poet in the English language, the long-gone William McGonagall, in whose sincerity and unbridled enthusiasm Bouldrey discovers a little bit of himself.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)