Book of the Trip
I (Vic) brought four books on the Camino because long-distance hiking trips are a great opportunity to enjoy a good read. One really stood out with another a super solid and close runner-up.
Book of the Trip: Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor
What a fantastic book. It tells a fictional story within a historical context, which is about a ship in 1847 traveling from England and Ireland to New York. It introduces a number of characters seemingly unconnected as the ship commences the journey and what happens and what is discovered over the course of that journey including quite a bit of intrigue as well as murder. It’s a real page-turner. It also reads as surprisingly relevant to today as the historical context is people fleeing famine, violence and prosecution, desperately seeking a better life in America - and looked down upon and as inferior by some. You only have to scan today’s headlines to see this same story sadly repeating itself.
Extra trivia points: The author is the brother of Sinead O’Connor.
Runner-Up: The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett
This is a collection of short stories featuring Dashiell Hammett’s nameless detective. What makes this a lot of fun is the 1920s San Francisco setting of most of the stories featuring private detectives, gangsters and dames. Classic film noir on the page. I loved it.
Extra Trivia Points: Dashiell Hammett, who lived in San Francisco during his most prolific period as a writer also set his most famous novel, The Maltese Falcon, in San Francisco, which is another super read.
Book of the Trip: Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor
What a fantastic book. It tells a fictional story within a historical context, which is about a ship in 1847 traveling from England and Ireland to New York. It introduces a number of characters seemingly unconnected as the ship commences the journey and what happens and what is discovered over the course of that journey including quite a bit of intrigue as well as murder. It’s a real page-turner. It also reads as surprisingly relevant to today as the historical context is people fleeing famine, violence and prosecution, desperately seeking a better life in America - and looked down upon and as inferior by some. You only have to scan today’s headlines to see this same story sadly repeating itself.
Extra trivia points: The author is the brother of Sinead O’Connor.
Runner-Up: The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett
This is a collection of short stories featuring Dashiell Hammett’s nameless detective. What makes this a lot of fun is the 1920s San Francisco setting of most of the stories featuring private detectives, gangsters and dames. Classic film noir on the page. I loved it.
Extra Trivia Points: Dashiell Hammett, who lived in San Francisco during his most prolific period as a writer also set his most famous novel, The Maltese Falcon, in San Francisco, which is another super read.
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