I don’t read often sunday times bestsellerBut this year I Read three times in rapid successionall by the same author. There aren’t many Sunday Times bestsellers about long-distance hiking, it’s a relatively niche genre, but there is one book that has resonated with so many people over the past five years that it has transcended the niche and entered the mainstream. I never expected that friends and neighbors would be fans of travel writing, and they have been recommending this book. Edita loved the book so much that she immediately bought the two sequels and read them. After she finished, I followed suit.
The book in question is Salt Road go through Rayner WinThe book was first published in 2019 and is now Over a million copies sold It was a Sunday Times bestseller for 80 consecutive weeks. Its two sequels, Wild Silence and Landlinealso topped the non-fiction book list.
Salt Road along True story The story of Raynor and her husband Moss, who invested in a friend’s business, not realizing they would be on the hook for debt if it failed. This “friend” and his creditors went after their main asset through the courts – the small farm they had owned, renovated and farmed for over thirty years.
They also used part of the farmhouse as a vacation rental. So when they lost the case, they not only lost their home, they lost their livelihood. Their comfortable, idyllic lifestyle was suddenly and cruelly taken away. HomelessnessAnd that wasn’t all Reynolds was destined to lose. Two days later, she learned that her partner of thirty years, Moss Suffering from a terminal illness He suffers from a rare and incurable form of dementia that is causing the muscles in his body to gradually weaken.
With little time left together, no money, and no professional experience that would automatically lead to good jobs, they decided to pack their backpacks, bring their tents, and hike to South West Coast Patha 1,000km long distance route around the Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset coasts.
This sounds too funny, you might be thinking. But keep reading. Far from being bleak and depressing, this book is HopefulAt its core, this is a love story with the theme that, even in the depths of despair, there is always a glimmer of light in the distance. Furthermore, in the journey from darkness to light, great goals can be achieved.
Salt Road is A good book on many levels.Some of the best travel books are accidental stories, covering events that no writer in his madness could possibly hope would happen. For example, Eric Newby did not sign up for the army and hoped to be captured because he thought it might be a good idea for a book. But it was from these events that his masterpiece was born, and one of mine. The most popular travel books of all time, Love and War in the Apennines.
Salt Road is a book very much in that tradition. It has one of the most powerful openings I can remember. But I think what resonates with readers is that it addresses a fear many of us have through the eyes of two positive, relatable characters. When the positive characters work as a team, helping each other overcome every obstacle, despair rarely takes over. That’s what makes this story. Inspiring and ultimately upliftingAfter a few weeks of traveling, they discovered that physical activity was the antidote to Moth’s illness, and he gradually regained his lost skills.
Many of us have had similar experiences. Love and Lostabout half of us will face the pain of losing someone close to us at some point in our lives. The heaviness and deep foreboding that comes over Raynor is palpable.
Many of us have also experienced Financial difficultiesWhile few people would fall from a life of complete security to extreme poverty as quickly as Reynolds and Moss, the fear of this happening gradually over time can be something that many people feel very anxious about.
Every night, as they walked, they looked for a quiet place. campingHoping the landlord wouldn’t come and ask them to move out, they went to the ATM every week to withdraw their social benefits entitlement. It was supposed to be £48, but they often found only around £30 in their account, which was barely enough to last a week. Paying for accommodation was impossible. Even the £10 for a campsite was too much for them, meaning they had to go hungry.
When I read John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, Speaking of the suffering during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, I remember feeling guilty for sympathizing with a murderer. Some scenes in Salt Road gave me similar feelings. Reynolds and Moss are such lovable characters that even though they Breaking the law.
this The crimes they committed These included: shoplifting (which only happened once and which Rayner immediately regretted), sneaking into campsites and leaving before being asked to pay (multiple times), telling stories for money on street corners in St Ives (a permit required) and of course wild camping, which is illegal almost everywhere in England and can lead to charges for trespassing if done on private land. It was a crime they had to commit every day because they had nowhere else to stay.
Since the book was published, Raynor has become a well-known advocate for homeless people. Homelessness The story of homelessness and its causes is a common thread throughout the book. Renault and Moss meet many homeless people on their journey, from those struggling with mental illness on the streets of Plymouth to those in other coastal villages who live balanced, hardworking lives but are priced out of housing. They are all treated with respect and consideration. Every reader will finish this book with a little more understanding of those who are going through desperate times.
This book also discusses Perceptions of homelessness Of the people they met. When they told strangers along the way that they sold their house and spent months walking this trail (a lie), they were awed and inspired. But when they were more honest and said they were homeless and out of need, the conversation devolved into an awkward silence.
There are many Good Deeds described in the story, but some of them also have Ulterior MotivesOne man invited them to his cabin for dinner because he thought Moth was Simon Armitage, the poet laureate, who happened to be on the same trail as them. Another friend, halfway through their hike, offered them room and board in his outbuilding for free if they renovated it. When the renovation was complete, they were unexpectedly evicted so that they could rent the building out. Other acts of kindness were misguided, such as the many people who gave them rides or directed them to campsites they couldn’t afford.
I also like Salt Road style of writingReynolds is sensitive to nature, but her writing is accessible. She describes the salty taste of the sea, or the sweetness of bracken and wild blackberries, in words that anyone can understand. The rugged coastline rising steeply into the mist and then dropping down to the next busy fishing village is vividly captured on the page. But the writing is unpretentious; no fine writing, none of the popular style of nature writing, and while poetic, it’s incomprehensible to most ordinary people. There’s also plenty of dialogue in the book, and the characters are vivid and interesting.
Say me I feel the ending is not satisfactory I don’t want to give too much away, given that this is a true story about people who deserve good fortune, and like a Dickens novel, the ending seems a little too convenient, but that’s my only criticism of this otherwise great book.
Wild Silence One more thing Disconnected And it lacks a central theme. It contains all the fascinating elements of “Salt Road” but doesn’t connect them so smoothly.
It belongs to Three main partsThe first part is a bit too long and may test the patience of fans of the first part, which follows Reynolds as she sits in a hospital watching her terminally ill mother live out her final days. The pace of the story picks up as Reynolds begins to document their journey along the Salt Road, taking her first steps as a professional writer.
The tone became more Optimistic In the second part of the book. A fan offers Reynolds and Moss an opportunity to renovate an abandoned farmhouse and turn its land into an organic farm. More suspicion and conflict. You wonder if this is another well-intentioned offer hiding the threat of exploitation. But Reynolds now has power she didn’t have before in the form of her newfound fame.
The third and final section of the book covers a hike on the Laugavegur trail in Iceland. Moth’s condition has worsened again, and they hope that the long trek will help him heal as he once did. Here we return to Light travel noteswritten in an accessible English style, making Salt Road a refreshing read.
Renault Restoration This is the third and latest book in the series. Landlinethis isn’t about phone calls, but another long trek across the UK from north to south. It’s another emotional rollercoaster journey of ups and downs, sadness and despair, but ultimately exhilarating.
landline maybe The most touching opening Raynor seems to be documenting the final stages of Moss’s terminal illness. Now struggling to keep his balance and spending more and more time in bed, he seems to have accepted his fate and is ready to let go. Desperate, Raynor lures him on one last hike, placing Cape Wrath before him, the place he has always wanted to visit.
He accepted the challenge. They set out on foot Cape Wrath TrackHe gradually recovered and they continued on their journey through Scotland and then to England.
It feels like A more comfortable journey. They can now afford the occasional hotel room, or take a train to connect the various sections. They even buy brand new bicycles for one section. I was delighted to discover Raynor I hate riding bicycles..
Then, just when it seemed that Moth was about to make a full recovery, he suffered a setback that led to The final twist.
This book is about Real PeopleAnyone could Google whether Moth was still alive, but I resisted the temptation until I had finished all three books and knew how the last one ended.
If you think I Hiking instead of climbingyou’d be wrong. Iceland and Scotland, the settings for The Silence of the Wild and The Landline, are mountainous. As for Salt Road, anyone who has walked even the shortest section of the Southwest Coast Path will tell you that the coastline of southwestern England undulates like a kangaroo on a trampoline. By the time you’ve completed 1,000km, you’ll have ascended and descended about 35,000m – I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that’s about 1.2 Mount Everest.
If this doesn’t convince you to read The Salt Road I have tried my best.
