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Interesting concept for a travelogue, unfortunately the book suffers from very poor editing, with misspelled Italian names and loose translations, too much repetition (e.g. two whole chapters virtually the same) and the chronology of events in Francis’ life jumping back and forward.
The author spends a long time on the many legends, but provides only a feeble sense of the real man behind the saint, a superficial description of the historical setting he lived in (early 1200s), very little context for the many places the author visited, and she doesn’t explain the spiritual aspects of the Catholic religion that Francis taught (she only emphasizes the saint’s vow of poverty and austere way of life). Maybe, in the book, she could have limited the dizzyingly large number of places in favor of a more in-depth description of only a few ones, i.e. the most meaningful in Francis’ mission, and a better (in-depth) study of her protagonist?
Surprisingly, for a travelogue, there are only small black and white photographs and few maps (and no itinerary) at the beginning of the book, which made it hard to follow the author’s journey and commentary. Judging from the high GR rating, other readers have found the book useful, but for me it was not as good as I hoped.
The author spends a long time on the many legends, but provides only a feeble sense of the real man behind the saint, a superficial description of the historical setting he lived in (early 1200s), very little context for the many places the author visited, and she doesn’t explain the spiritual aspects of the Catholic religion that Francis taught (she only emphasizes the saint’s vow of poverty and austere way of life). Maybe, in the book, she could have limited the dizzyingly large number of places in favor of a more in-depth description of only a few ones, i.e. the most meaningful in Francis’ mission, and a better (in-depth) study of her protagonist?
Surprisingly, for a travelogue, there are only small black and white photographs and few maps (and no itinerary) at the beginning of the book, which made it hard to follow the author’s journey and commentary. Judging from the high GR rating, other readers have found the book useful, but for me it was not as good as I hoped.
