Published at the beginning of 2019, Santiago’s Guitar is the second book in a series that tells the story of a young man who walked the El Camino.

The first time I heard of El Camino was from a Shirley MacLaine memoir, The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit. After that, I read Paulo Coelho's book on the same subject. This is the third book that came to my attention and it didn't disappoint. I loved the gentleness of the author in his storytelling, which is clear yet detailed as well, especially with the settings and the character descriptions.

In the story, Diego walks southward on the Camino until he reaches the seashore. While on the road he stops in Madrid. Although his luck favors him and he does make some money playing his guitar on the streets, he is hesitant to enter and apply to the music school to further his art. If Diego will grow into a more self-reliant and courageous person at the end to make his dream become a reality is for the readers to find out.

The thread of the memories of Diego’s father and Diego's views of him runs through the novel, which I thought was a good strategy on the author’s part to tie together all the specific sketches and people that arrive and pass from Diego’s life because on Diego’s way. These are quite a number of people who make him grow as a human being. Also, kudos to the author for developing each of these characters meticulously but without redundancy and exaggeration. As to Diego, he is a believable character, a little on the innocent and inexperienced side. He takes things as they come, and his only negative is the cigarette-smoking.

The story flows well and is inspirational and entertaining.

a relaxing read.

most everything and that Diego didn't get into trouble for being so naive, which might be a bit unbelievable, but then sometimes such people get lucky.

is Stephen R. Marriott, a British author. His debut book was CANDYFLOSS GUITAR.

It is easy to read, about 250 pages or so, and it can be read without excess excitement. In fact, I read it on my cellphone while in waiting rooms and such.

I think this book is a good start for Stephen R. Marriott who is at the beginning of his career.

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Created Mar 25, 2019 at 6:15pm • Submit your own review...