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Two Steps Forward

A Novel

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project comes a story of taking chances and learning to love again as two people, one mourning her husband and the other recovering from divorce, cross paths on the centuries-old Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain.

"The Chemin will change you. It changes everyone..."

The Chemin, also known as the Camino de Santiago, is a centuries-old pilgrim route that ends in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. Every year, thousands of walkers—some devout, many not—follow the route that wends through quaint small villages and along busy highways alike, a journey unlike any other.

Zoe, an artist from California who's still reeling from her husband's sudden death, has impulsively decided to walk the Camino, hoping to find solace and direction. Martin, an engineer from England, is road-testing a cart of his own design...and recovering from a messy divorce. They begin in the same French town, each uncertain of what the future holds. Zoe has anticipated the physical difficulties of her trek, but she is less prepared for other challenges, as strangers and circumstances force her to confront not just recent loss, but long-held beliefs. For Martin, the pilgrimage is a test of his skills and endurance but also, as he and Zoe grow closer, of his willingness to trust others—and himself—again.

Smart and funny, insightful and romantic, Two Steps Forward reveals that the most important journeys we make aren't measured in miles, but in the strength, wisdom, and love found along the way. Fans of The Rosie Project will recognize Graeme Simsion's uniquely quirky and charming writing style.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 19, 2018
      Buist (Medea’s Curse) and Simsion (The Rosie Project) collaborate on this uneven dual-protagonist story about a California widow and a divorced Brit who find one another on the Chemin, a spiritual walking route that winds through France and Spain. After losing her second husband, Keith, to what she suspects was a suicide, 45-year-old mom Zoe Witt takes up her old pal Camille’s invitation to visit her in France. Zoe learns about the Chemin and participates on a whim, despite her aversions to the walk’s religious origins (she was raised Roman Catholic, but has been at odds with her faith since her mother disowned her for taking her friend to get an abortion in college). Martin Eden, 52, is an engineering professor who thinks the Chemin will be a good way to test a new cart design from which he hopes to profit. He is also still smarting from the fact that his ex-wife cheated on him with his boss. Zoe and Martin get the wrong impression of one another at first, and then over and over again. The will-they-or-won’t-they tension grows old fast as miscommunications keeps them from consummating their affections—a shame since their love story is the least interesting part of the novel. Their interactions with fellow travelers from around the world, as well as their own fraught histories—Zoe’s with the Church, Martin with his teen daughter, Sarah—are the true highlights. Though readers may not fall in love with the central romance, they’ll appreciate everything else.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrators Penelope Rawlins and Simon Slater alternate chapters in telling the story of Zoe and Martin, who walk the Chemin, a.k.a, the Camino de Santiago. Zoe, a recently widowed California artist, and Martin, a just divorced British engineer, meet in Cluny as each begins the century-old pilgrimage. Rawlins uses light tones to portray Zoe, who struggles to rediscover herself as she walks. The brighter timbre of Rawlins's voice contrasts with Slater's crisp British accent for Martin. Both narrators deftly switch to Dutch, German, Brazilian, French, and Spanish accents as Zoe and Martin encounter a variety of people. As their characters traverse the 1,200 miles, Rawlins and Slater--never exhausted, footsore, or disheartened--imbue their performances with hope, laughter, and love. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      April 1, 2018

      For centuries, pilgrims have walked the hallowed route called Camino de Santiago that ends in northwestern Spain. Here, they're joined by California artist Zoe, trying to recover from her husband's sudden death, and English engineer Martin, stunned by his divorce and road-testing a cart he has designed. Starting in the same French town, they head, however bumpily, toward togetherness. Rosiemaestro Simsion joins forces with Buist, who writes mystery and romantic suspense under the pseudonym Simone Sinna. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

      Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2018
      Two unexpected pilgrims find friendship--and themselves--on the Camino de Santiago.Zoe is a recently widowed mother of grown daughters from California who decides to deal with her grief by visiting an old college friend in the south of France, a choice that leads her to spontaneously decide to do the pilgrimage walk. Martin is an engineer from England who decides to road test the prototype of a new cart design on the Camino while avoiding dealing with the repercussions of a messy divorce and its effects on his relationship with his teenage daughter. Despite a rocky start in Cluny, the two find they enjoy walking with each other and unknowingly push each other to deal with the problems they've been running from. Zoe and Martin are refreshing protagonists, written in alternating first-person chapters by Australian husband-and-wife team Simsion (The Best of Adam Sharp, 2017, etc.) and Buist (Dangerous to Know, 2016, etc.) in alternating chapters, both characters comfortably middle aged and dealing with more mature problems than the average 20-something backpacker. Their walk is littered with characters who come and go along the path, Brazilians and Germans and Italians adding pockets of drama as they weave in and out of each other's Camino. The story resonates with authenticity, as the authors themselves have walked the Camino twice before, allowing them to ground the plot with small details and observations that could come only from someone who's lived it. Affection for the experience pours from every paragraph. The feeling of camaraderie between strangers from around the world brings a warmth to the narrative, making it personal, real, and inviting.With wit and wisdom, Simsion and Buist have crafted a novel that will have readers wanting to walk a Camino of their own.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      April 1, 2018
      Zoe, an American artist, walks the Camino de Santiago to cope with her husband's death. Meanwhile, Martin, a divorced British engineer, tests out his latest contraption?a one-wheeled cart?on that same trail. The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route that guarantees to change you, and as doubtful as that promise sounds to Zoe and Martin, they find it to be true. Separately, they begin their trek?enduring the winter and meeting generous strangers?until they eventually cross paths. Their hesitant friendship blossoms into romance, but they also take the time to be alone and reckon with the bleak pasts they've tried to suppress. Husband-and-wife team Simsion (The Best of Adam Sharp, 2017) and Buist (Medea's Curse, 2016) have collaborated on this heartwarming tale of grief, forgiveness, healing, and determination. The eclectic cast of characters?including rowdy Brazilians and an opportunistic German?adds zest to an otherwise introspective journey in search of inner peace. Like a fictional variation of Cheryl Strayed's Wild (2012), Two Steps Forward will appeal to hikers, travelers, and the downtrodden.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

    • Books+Publishing

      July 27, 2017
      Martin, a divorced English engineer, and Zoe, a widowed American artist, are each at a turning point in their lives. Unexpectedly alone, without money or young families to care for, they are unsure where life will take them next. Each sets out to walk over 2000 kilometres along the Camino de Santiago, the famous pilgrim’s walk through France and Spain. Martin has planned his journey meticulously while Zoe has embarked on something of a whim, inspired by the promise that the Camino will help her find what she has lost. Martin’s and Zoe’s stories are told in alternating chapters by husband-and-wife writing team Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist. The leisurely paced novel explores themes of forgiveness and self-discovery with gentle humour. A cast of interesting characters and the detailed descriptions of the logistics and rich history of the walk add to its appeal. Two Steps Forward is a feel-good, mature romance that explores what we need to let go of to move forward. It will be enjoyed by fans of Simsion’s ‘Rosie’ books and Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Melanie Mutch is a librarian and co-founder of librarianschoice.org

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