If you’re looking for something to believe in, you could do worse than Timothy Egan’s particular blend of intelligence and empathy ... If this book doesn’t quite settle the question of belief for you, it will at least fortify your faith in scrupulous reporting and captivating storytelling ... Hoping to gain an audience with the pontiff, Egan drafts a letter praising Francis’ anticonsumerism and treatment of refugees. His efforts make for an absorbing subplot even if they don’t bear fruit ... a stunningly comprehensive history of both Christianity and Western Europe ... In fact, there’s so much history that the plot can sometimes feel like an excuse to get the background in, though one hardly complains; Egan is so well informed, he starts to seem like the world’s greatest tour guide. You follow along as much to hear him talk as to see the sights. It feels as if there’s nothing he hasn’t digested for the reader, and his extraordinary reliability is reminiscent of that of the monks he describes so evocatively throughout the book ... marvelous ... Reading [this book], you feel yourself in the presence of goodness — the kind you might simply have to decide to believe in.
[Egan's] conclusions about his faith are best left to the reader, but here’s a critic’s opinion: A Pilgrimage to Eternity is one of Egan’s best books, a moving combination of history and memoir, travelogue and soul-searching, buoyed by Egan’s strengths as a writer: color and humor, a sense of wonder and a gift for getting to the point.
Egan is at his best sharing history. For those who want a refresher on the church in Europe, this is the book for you, with so many fascinating nuggets I had either forgotten or never knew ... Egan is an erudite author with a flair for catching the magic in his 10-week journey. His writing is thoughtful, expressive and visceral. He draws us in, making us feel frozen in the snow-covered Alps, joyful in valleys of trees with low-hanging fruit, skeptical of the relics of embalmed saints and hopeful for the healing of his encrusted toes, so worn and weathered from their walk ... Luckily Egan has the imagination to evoke the magic he once felt ... He lovingly describes the beauty of illustrated manuscripts, churches, stained-glass windows. But most compelling are the actions of kindness and love ... I was fascinated by the history and philosophy that Egan presents, and I appreciated him sharing his family’s personal history and the struggle they feel with the contemporary church. But Egan withholds from the reader his own inner workings, his own path to forgiveness ... Still, this book was a joy to read. Every page had a delightful turn of phrase, a scintillating description of a tempting dish, a town to visit, a church to see, a saint or sinner to read more about. Egan delved deep into history, theology and philosophy. His only reticence was about his own soul.
Egan’s journey is enjoyable, although it is the sort of book where you have to think about each chapter a good long while before moving on ... One of the most moving early visits he makes is to the tomb of St. Erkembode in Saint-Omer, France ... To see this and other holy places through Egan’s eyes is to grasp the mad beauty of institutional religion. While he never shies away from lies and outright cons that have been a part of the Church’s history, he also feels the power invested in these places by true believers ... A Pilgrimage to Eternity is both an engaging travelog and a meditative exploration of how religion and history have woven the tapestry of Europe together. It is also a brutal surgery on the soul trying to clear out the cancer of broken promises from the Church. It has more questions than answers, but they are the right questions to get a reader walking along the road to… somewhere. Making the journey is more important than arriving. Egan has illustrated that with deftness and brilliance.
Egan stuffs this account of his trek from Canterbury, England, to Rome like a seasoned backpacker—he’s loaded a whole lot into a small space, but it’s carefully balanced and will rest lightly on your shoulders. It’s a trail mix of the personal, historical and even gastronomical, but it’s never a slog ... The book is full of...history-buff-pleasing asides. And even as Egan will have you wishing you, too, had time to walk across Europe, this is no mere travelogue. Egan, 'a skeptic by profession,' is weighing what, exactly, he believes in ... Egan makes his respect for Pope Francis clear, but if he achieves his goal of an audience with the pontiff, he will have a lot of questions.
Pilgrimages are by nature unpredictable and picaresque. The days unfold. The weather changes. Plains give way to mountains. The past is everywhere present—centuries, millennia. Every few miles yields a chance conversation with a stranger. Many episodes prompt excursions by Egan into reflections on religion, theology, the inner life. These are not his truest gift. His greater gift lies in recounting the episodes themselves—where serendipity has brought him ... Sometimes in A Pilgrimage to Eternity, Egan really is just kidding. And sometimes he is not.
Whether read as a travelogue, history or personal spiritual quest, A Pilgrimage to Eternity will enlighten and entertain its audience ... The wealth of information and insight on every waypoint’s particular history, local saints and current condition is impressive without being overwhelming ... there’s no mistaking this for a Lonely Planet tour of European hotspots: Egan’s focus is squarely on Christianity, both historically and personally. And when read as such, this journey is both mesmerizing and uplifting.
Egan’s historical chops are on show throughout his journey ... All three of these family members join him for jaunts along the way, providing some breaks in the narrative overview of Europe’s Christian history. Depending on a reader’s own interests, that overview may occasionally prove somewhat redundant, but Egan is an engaging narrator, aware of the American problems that he has dragged with him to Europe.
... will make readers want to make a journey of their own ... a fascinating page-turner ... Finding people and places warm and welcoming in each village and city, allowing himself to be amazed, lingering to rest blistered feet, and discovering soul-stirring spots—all this kept [Egan] pushing on, and readers will be thankful for his determination ... A joy and a privilege to read.
... engaging but underdeveloped ... Unfortunately, Egan’s attempts at levity often miss ... The work also repeatedly fails to distinguish between Christianity and the wider world of religion and faith, as Egan makes sweeping generalizations that, in practice, only apply to Christian Europeans ... Readers will also question Egan’s declension narrative equating a thriving spiritual Europe with a hegemonically Christian one. While Egan’s loose writing style works well as a travel narrative, his narrow perspective limits this work as a meditation on 21st-century Christian faith and practice.
