Novels Promoting the Camino de Santiago

This chapter identifies and categorizes novels with common characteristics that have revolved around the Camino de Santiago, or Saint James Way, an ancient pilgrimage route to the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The Camino de Santiago was, and continues to be, a symbolic religious attraction. More recently, it has also become a tourist attraction, whose fascination did not escape intellectuals of different nationalities and faiths. The Camino can be seen as a physical, spiritual and religious challenge. This reality has been transferred to travel literature by many writers. This chapter points out specific characteristics of some of the most sold and popular novels of the last four decades on the Saint James Way. Likewise, the novels in which the Camino is not the main theme can also trigger the intention to undertake the challenge. Findings suggest that novels either referring directly or indirectly to the Camino are in general a transformative experience for the readers and they can also become a strong influence for those who hear the call to set out on the Camino.