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• 3 décembre 2009

  Bernard Delhomme

  BEST Elizabeth, BOWLES Colin - The year we seized the day.

  The utterly compelling and inspirational account of how two very different Australian writers tackle their demons walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the legendary medieval pilgrimage across Spain.

  Description

  It was at that moment, amidst a busload of boisterous Spaniards, that this na ve pilgrim wannabe realised one of life’s greatest ironies - dreams seldom coincide with reality. My moment of truth had finally arrived. And I freaked out ! — Eli

  I had become what they call a scary guy. And let me tell you something, in case you get too complacent out there. It’s not that far from there to here. Not that far at all. — Colin

  Elizabeth Best had always wanted to go on a pilgrimage. Colin Bowles had never given it a moment’s thought. But by a twist of fate the two barely acquainted writers seize the day and drop everything to retrace one of the oldest pilgrim routes in the western world, through the heart of Spain to Santiago de Compostela. It’s meant to be a stroll in the sun, but they’re under-prepared and carrying way too much baggage, in every sense. So what starts out as a physical challenge - it’s a thousand kilometres, give or take — very quickly becomes a far greater struggle with demons they’ve kept hidden in the too-hard backpack for years. Joined by grumpy monks, mad nuns and French cyclists with too much testosterone the two battle exhaustion and their pasts, fuelled by red wine and a perverse determination not to be beaten by a Spanish heat wave, the mountains or themselves.

  Set against a stunning background of golden wheat fields, misty mountains and tumbledown villages that haven’t changed in centuries, The Year We Seized the Day is utterly compelling, by turns inspiring, moving and blackly funny, as two very different writers recount with astonishing candour an extraordinary journey of a lifetime.

  About Elizabeth Best & Colin Bowles

  Elizabeth Best is the author of the book Eli’s Wings (Penguin 2002), which is about her battle with, and triumph over, anorexia. Eli is now an ambassador for the non-profit Butterfly Foundation, which supports Australians with eating disorders. She lives in Melbourne.

  Colin Bowles is the bestselling author of over 30 historical novels, including When we Were Gods, Anastasia, My Beautiful Spy and Pearls (under the name Colin Falconer) ; of The Naked Husband and The Naked Heart (as Mark D’Arbanville) ; and of many children’s books. He lives in Perth.