Did anyone else think that The Salt Path was seriously overrated?

[Gone2far]

I'm ploughing through it for my bookgroup, but, my God, it's tedious. Like sharing a long car journey with an embittered aging hippy. I know that most people loved it, so I'm obviously missing something, but did anyone else just not get it?

Nope I found it repetitive and dull.

I didn't like it either.

I'm glad you said this, only I bought it as a Christmas read but have barely got anywhere with it (normally I pick up that size paperback and I get stuck in and finish it within 3 hours or so). Keep picking it up but cannot get stuck in.

I didn't like it either. Massively overrated.
I found them so irritating, making so many stupid decisions.

I absolutely loved it and for a long time afterwards wanted to cut loose and just walk too. Maybe it is an age thing? I am the same age as the couple in the book and could really relate to where they were at.

I loved it. Was very invested in their story, but also felt the frustrations with them for making some bad wrong turns and ending up homeless.

Raynor Winn has a new book out this year, which I'm hoping will bring us up to date with their lives and hopefully a bit more positive for the future now they've got their lives back on track.

I'm older apollo (maybe that's it).
I just thought that they were relentlessly mean-minded about most people they came across, and simultaneously felt free to steal/freeload off them.
I suppose a lot depends on how much you empathised with the writer, as there was precious little else.

Yes. It was all a bit samey. Nothing much happened, although I was interested in Moth’s physical improvements along the way.
I am not sure why it got so much acclaim, as there are much better books in this vein.

Nope, i disliked it immensely. Obviously I felt sorry for them at the start, but it was such a chippy, preachy read that I quickly got annoyed. And I hated the tour guide style facts shoe horned in periodically.

Shame, because I really love that part of the world and was inspired to read it after loving Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods

My SIL raved about it, so I had a read too.
It was awful, I found myself constantly wanting to shout at the couple for just being so damn self centred and rude! Talk about judging... so much navel gazing about how poorly they were treated and then judging all the people they came across. I couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t uplifting or inspiring, it was just annoying.
Still can’t work out what was meant to be so great.

I think because it is an incredible set of events – losing everything, terminal illness diagnosis, deciding to walk/wild camp, it got all the plaudits, which kind of ignored the fact it's not brilliantly written.

I liked it in some ways; it made me want to visit, and the relationship between Moth's health and the walking was fascinating. And I think the paragraphs around the way people treat the homeless were heartfelt. But I agree she was quite scathing about some people ('tourists' – as if they were not, despite their different way of doing things). And why would you not take a hat or sunscreen on a long walk in the summer, FGS! Especially second time around

Chickenitalia I totally agree with you. They lost their money, they were underprepared and lived on inappropriate social benefits.
However, my book group thought it was great!

Nope. I’m with you and your description was perfect.

I was about to download this to my Kindle. But I won’t now!

Not what you mean by inappropriate social benefits, Beebumble. There was no suggestion that they were claiming benefits they shouldn't have, and indeed they may well have been entitled to other benefits.

Well I did enjoy it!

I enjoyed it because I'm from the south west and know the coast path well but I wouldn't want to read anything else written by her. I didn't enjoy her writing but did like reading about the route and places they walked through.

It was an interesting story but she's not a very good writer so it was very plodding in terms of narrative. And also nothing really happened on the walk other than dull things about sunburn and being hungry.

For a humorous book that recounts a gransnetter's recent solo walk from Minehead to Poole, carrying her own kit and camping, and that is totally different to the Salt Path, please have a look at
"I'm no Shakespeare: Walking the South West Coast Path" by Cheryl Dummer.

Glad you posted this OP, I thought it was only me!

It's a few years since I read it, but as I remember it, I found most of it "OK but not amazing," but got seriously fed up with the Simon Armitage running gag, which just has to have been an exaggeration of something that happened once, if that.

I thought its interest was because it was unconsidered — I mean, of course she was bitter, they’d lost everything they owned, become homeless, though a combination of their own poor decisions and lack of ability to afford legal advice, and her husband had been diagnosed with a serious illness. They had lived fairly self-sufficient lives, so had no one to turn to longterm, and they were not exactly feeling warm and fuzzy about the human race. They weren’t being adorable and Blitz-spirited, they were being curmudgeonly and ordinary, and living on air, hungry, tired, dirty. And yes, not terribly nice. Definitely not Bill Bryson territory.

Yes defo, found it hard going

It did have a lovely cover, though!

I am sorry I spent money on this book! Dang! Bad decisions.