The Secret of M. Dulong

Book excerpt: Full of humor, profundity, and obsession, these are tales of writers on peregrine paths. Some set out in search of legends or artistic inspiration; others seek spiritual epiphany or fulfillment of a promise. Their journeys lead them variously to Dracula s castle, Laura Ingalls Wilder s prairie, the Grimms fairy-tale road, Mayan temples, Nathaniel West s California, the Camino de Santiago trail, Scott s Antarctica, the Marquis de Sade s haunted manor, or the sacred city of Varanasi. All of these pilgrimages are worthy journeys redemptive and serious. But a time-honored element of pilgrimage is a suspension of rules, and there is absurdity and exuberance here as well."