A Thought-Provoking Book

Robert Longpré, the author of A Small Company of Pilgrims appears to be an old soul, one who searches for a sense of the true meaning of life and the inner fulfillment that money, power, and success can’t achieve. His main character, René, a fifty-something Jungian psychotherapist from Canada, reflects an old-soul mentality as he travels along the pilgrim path of the Camino Francés from St. Jean-Pied-du Port, France to Santiago, Spain, while interacting with an interesting, sometimes amusing, cast of other pilgrims.

As René visits a host of historic sites, marking the visits with photographs, the reader learns plenty about famous cathedrals, plazas, religious sites, and more while briefly exploring Buddhism, spiritualism, naturism, as well as Jungian theory. Although at first glance, the book may seem steeped in heavy content, it is an easy, enjoyable read. The characters are likeable, the content thought-provoking without burying the reader in dogma.

I liked the journal entries throughout the book, for they made René come to life. With a tighter edit, specifically, giving the main character a clear and consistent first-person viewpoint, this book would merit five stars.

Well done!