Sarah’s review
Title: Two Steps Forward
Authors: Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion
What’s not to like? Two Steps Forward is a light-hearted, romantic romp across the world-heritage-listed Camino; a pilgrim’s path that crosses France and Spain. Here, the characters do all the hard work: the walking (a mere 2,000 kilometres), the socialising (200,000 pilgrims attempt the trail each year), and the soul-searching (who doesn’t have problems); while the reader gets to sit back and enjoy the journey.
Premised on the old adage ‘opposites attract’, rational Yorkshireman Martin and spiritual Californian Zoe repair to the Camino after personal tragedies. Distracted from their problems by the rigours of the trek and the equally challenged individuals with whom they cross paths, they gain a new perspective that readies them for the next chapter, and the next romance, of their lives.
This book’s true calling is book clubs. It is light reading, yet touches on a range of topics that can provide grist for the mill. The pilgrimage opens the discussion to religion; the romance opens the discussion to relationships; and the narrative arc opens the discussion to human psychology. Not to mention travel and food!
It’s fun, contemporary, and the cover is amazing.
Co-author Graeme Simsion commissioned a pair of earrings based on the cover design (right), as a Christmas present for co-author wife, Anne Buist.