Che de Milan reluctantly decides to fulfil her mothers last wishes,by undertaking the pilgrimage to Canterbury with her mother's ashes.Che's life is already falling apart,with her mother's recent demise and her longtime boyfriend unceremoniously dumping her.As fate would have it,within days she joins a group of women who are walking the sixty miles from London to the shrine of Becket in Canterbury cathedral.The eight women swap stories as they walk along the length of the Canterbury Trail in the best Chaucer tradition,vying to see who among them can describe true love.Initially skeptical about the whole deal,Che loses her cell phone at the first stop and is forced to slow down and experience the magic of Canterbury and finally find the sense of peace and hope she was always searching for.
This is a simple story about a group of women as they travel the Canterbury trail in England,swapping stories as they walk.
My Views: Every once in a while you come across a book which tells you exactly what you need at a particular point in your life.This one asked me to just slow down and take it easy for a bit.It showed me that it is never too late for healing.
Frankly when I started reading this book,I didnt like Che's character.I thought she was too quick to judge others,envied people too much and was a pretty negative person in general and I didnt like that.However that changed after finishing this book,I felt that she was an honest person,who was probably frank about her feelings and she had indeed come a long way in the quest to find herself.This story really grows on you.I really liked the way each woman has a story to tell,be it a myth or a confession or just taking a load off their chest and they all feel a lot lighter and unburdened when they have told their tale.Their stories were different and interesting.This is a book for Women,it will probably touch the right chord in everyone because it speaks of common desires,the difficulties women have in understanding men...how we never really know them even after years of love and marriage,how knowing too much is far more dangerous than knowing too little.Women who might be completely different on the surface but who find a kinship in their stories.
It teaches us valuable lessons along the way,never to compare our lives to someone else's,living in the here and now,recognizing happiness in the present moment,never to judge other's,that whatever we think is lost has really just moved on and taken another shape,that it's sometimes so easy to analyze the stories of others and how it's nearly impossible to grasp the meaning of our own and that things can sometimes come full circle,just when you least expect it.And I think she pretty much nailed it when she gives the answer to what women most desire.
In today's world,we depend so much on cell phones and social media and there's so much pressure to appear to have a perfect life than it is to actually have a perfect life.This book is about middle-aged women,taking charge of their own lives,women who have seen it all and are probable trying to grasp the meaning of their own lives and searching for their own miracles.It showed me that its never too late to do anything in life,that you can re-invent yourself even in mid-life.
I am Indian and follow a different faith.I didnt know about the Canterbury trail and the shrine of Becket,so I also got to know about Chaucer and his pilgrims through this book.Besides I enjoyed the descriptions of the settings of each of the towns the group visits along the way and the cliffs of Dover.
On the downside,I thought the cover of the book,with the lovely fragile tea cups,though pretty to look at,was incongrous with the story.I was anticipating that Che's story would be the best of all but that was a bit of a let down.The end,however,was a bit too dramatic for my liking.
However this book does give you valuable life lessons which can be learnt without going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.I have decided to just try and value each moment for what it is and find my peace in the here and now.I will surely recommend it to my women friends.I also intend reading more by this author.
I rate this book a 3 and a half out of 5.
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