Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp
Description
Roads to Santiago is Cees Nooteboom's passionate and beautifully written chronicle of Spain - its architecture, art, history, landscapes, villages, and people. Traveling from side road to side road, he discovers a profound and mysterious country not found in standard tourist guides. Nooteboom is continually seduced by an unknown name on a signpost, by what might be seen on the next hill or beyond a distant mountain. His destination may be Santiago de Compostela, but he. Lingers in Aragon, passes through Granada, dines in Chinchon, and strolls the empty halls of the Prado. His prose, too, takes side roads, lovely digressions, sometimes literary, sometimes political, by turns ironic, erudite, melancholy.
User reviews
LibraryThing member mabinogion
Cees Nooteboom's book Roads to Santiago describes his winding travels through Spain towards his final destination, Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain, the place where the remains of St James the Great are supposedly buried. Santiago de Compostela attracted pilgrims as far back as the middle
Cees pilgrimage however was not of religious nature, what moved him was his love for Spain in particular for its landscape, in which he finds a reflection of his own personal character.
Cees explores medieval Spain in the present country, searching for old churches and monasteries along his travels, and exploring the many contrasts between the two societies. Sometimes Cees flashes back to a more recent history of Spain to offer the reader modern connections with the events of the medieval times. Connections that reveal a logic and a symbolism already present in a land where Christianity and Islam sustained a long battle for supremacy more than a thousand years ago.
Cees often reflects on the similarities of the past and present Spain making the reader wonder to what extent the world has changed in regards to what really moves human beings.
Roads to Santiago as a travel book presents the approach of understanding the culture of the places that the traveler visits; something rarely seen these days when tourists rush through a countries’ iconic places and popular attractions. On the other hand Cees avoids those common places and delves deep into the geographical and time dimensions of Spain to reveal its secrets.
Roads to Santiago engages the reader, who will be left with a desire to know more. For that purpose Cees has provided plenty of references for anyone to continue his research adventure. The readers will be probably tempted to gather some old books, a couple of maps and travel to Spain to see for themselves the country which Cees fell in love with.
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ages. Also called the Way of St James the route has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times. St James the Great was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and perhaps his cousin as his mother was probably the sister of the virgin Mary.Cees pilgrimage however was not of religious nature, what moved him was his love for Spain in particular for its landscape, in which he finds a reflection of his own personal character.
Cees explores medieval Spain in the present country, searching for old churches and monasteries along his travels, and exploring the many contrasts between the two societies. Sometimes Cees flashes back to a more recent history of Spain to offer the reader modern connections with the events of the medieval times. Connections that reveal a logic and a symbolism already present in a land where Christianity and Islam sustained a long battle for supremacy more than a thousand years ago.
Cees often reflects on the similarities of the past and present Spain making the reader wonder to what extent the world has changed in regards to what really moves human beings.
Roads to Santiago as a travel book presents the approach of understanding the culture of the places that the traveler visits; something rarely seen these days when tourists rush through a countries’ iconic places and popular attractions. On the other hand Cees avoids those common places and delves deep into the geographical and time dimensions of Spain to reveal its secrets.
Roads to Santiago engages the reader, who will be left with a desire to know more. For that purpose Cees has provided plenty of references for anyone to continue his research adventure. The readers will be probably tempted to gather some old books, a couple of maps and travel to Spain to see for themselves the country which Cees fell in love with.
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LibraryThing member emilymcmc
Now I want to go to Spain and look at paintings again. Mannnnnnn.
LibraryThing member Fledgist
This is an excellent travel book by a Dutch novelist who deserves to be more widely read in English. I got it, I have to confess, for the conclusion, his description of Santiago de Compostela, which is my favourite place in Spain. If you are going to visit Spain this is one book that is worth
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reading, much more than the average guidebook. Show Less
LibraryThing member experimentalis
less absorbing than his novels
LibraryThing member MSarki
An OK read, but I do like Cees Nooteboom's novels better. Visited too many church's for my tastes. Would have liked more story in the present rather than historical references.
LibraryThing member antiquary
An unusual viewpointin tat the author deeply loves Spain and Santiago but is not a Catholic or even a Chrsitian, yet he feels a strong spiritual power n Santiago and feels a need to travel there and elsewhere in Spain; the material is at least as much on traveling in modern Spain as on Santiago
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itself. Show Less
LibraryThing member jonfaith
The sole deficit, is its detail, some citations ran along and blurred Nooteboom's intent. otherwise, it was superb in long form as Nomad Hotel was in miniature.
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
Prepared to be swept away by Nooteboom's luxurious descriptions of Spain. Everything seen through his lens is treated with lavish prose. I could see the styles of Roman and Gothic architecture as if I were standing in front of each structure. Renaissance and Baroque art come to life with vivid
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reality. I now want to visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela with its pillars marked with fingerprints. While Nooteboom subtitles his book "a modern-day pilgrimage" we look in on the 8th century in a time of Beatus, King Silo, and the Carolingian Empire. Nooteboom draws parallels between Antigone of Sophocles and the Spanish state after Euzkadi ta Askatsuna targeted violence. We dance between historical and modern Spain with personal anecdotes thrown in for good measure. Aside from the beautiful writing, Nooteboom included stunning black and white photographs. Too bad they are not in color. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Vondel Prize (Winner — 1999)
Language
Original language
Dutch
Original publication date
1992
ISBN
3-518-39053-8 / 9783518390535