Female writer

So good to be actually enjoying a non-fiction book by a female author again. I am currently reading The Singular Pilgrim, by Rosemary Mahoney. It's all about the journeys a writer takes discovering belief in the essence of religion, and the pilgrimages around the world where people put this belief to the test. The chapters I am particularly focusing on are those on the Camino de Santiago and her trip to the holy land.

Her account of the Camino is of particular interest as I've been trying to find someone who's written on it who doesn't waffle on about the existential stuff and miss out on real details. Or the online writing (blogs, journals) where people seem to have justified the time spent on it and skip out parts which fall anything short of romantic or ideal.

I love her style of writing! The little caricatures she paints with each passing glimpse, and funny scenes played out in dark reality. Her observations on a morose Spanish pilgrim were the best. It had me laughing out loud, which looks kinda crazy on the bus. The description of how this woman's sneakers were hung on the outside of her pack, and how they swung crazily with each step.. and more, so many observations that had me smiling. :)

And it's a book by a woman who doesn't need to harp on all the time about the fact that she's a woman - that's why I like it. It's a story of a human traveller, not a triumph over gender bias. And for this my hat is off to you Mahoney.