A quaint but somewhat flat travel log. A famous author takes a few weeks and hikes across the southern French mountains. He relates what he ate, whom he met, the scenes he saw, the things he felt. I’m sure it sounded different when it was first published over 100 years ago, but today it all reads as rather pedestrian. And I’m not just saying that because Stevenson walked. It’s a loose narrative with no clear flow and hardly any striking passages. That’s probably how it really was to walk across the mountains of southern France, so it’s accurate at least. Of a bit more value are the bits of history that are woven into the account. He discusses the “Napoleon of Wolves” and the Camisard revolt. If you are a big-big fan of Stevenson’s globe-trotting or of Victorian travel logs then it’s worth a look, otherwise just go watch the 2001 film Le Pacte des loups.
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