''Two Steps Forward'' is a 2017 novel by Australian husband and wife novelists

Graeme Simsion Graeme C. Simsion (born 1956) is an Australian author, screenwriter, playwright and data modeller. Prior to becoming an author, Simsion was an information systems consultant, co-authoring the book ''Data Modelling Essentials,'' and worked in win ...

and Anne Buist. The work was first published on October 2, 2017 in Australia and New Zealand by

Text Publishing Text Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of fiction and non-fiction, based in Melbourne, Victoria. Company background Text Media was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Diana Gribble and Eric Beecher, along with designer Chong We ...

. The novel follows two dissimilar people, Zoe and Martin, as their paths cross during a 2000 kilometre walk on the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Sai ...

Synopsis

Zoe Witt is an American artist with

new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

views, who makes a spontaneous decision to walk the Chemin de St Jacques /

Camino de Santiago de Compostela The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

from

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , ...

in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

following the sudden death of her husband. Martin Eden is a British Engineer who is making the same journey to prove the design of a cart which he has invented as an alternative to backpacks. The two undertake the walk, dealing with the physical (and, in Zoe’s case, financial) challenges. They frequently encounter each other and begin a romantic relationship, but need to resolve personal issues before it can develop. Only after the walk ends does Martin travel to the USA to indicate his interest in pursuing the relationship.

Setting and route

The protagonists’ route to Santiago begins in Cluny, France and follows the Chemin de

before joining the Chemin du Puy (

Via Podiensis The Via Podiensis or the Le Puy Route is one of the four routes through France on the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James the Great in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwest Spain. It leaves from Le-Puy-en-Velay and crosses the countrysid ...

) to St Jean Pied de Port, France, the starting point of the popular Camino Frances (

French Way The French Way ( gl, Camiño francés, es, Camino francés, , literally the "way of the Franks") is the GR 65 and the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James ( es, Camino de Santiago), the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Co ...

). They then follow the GR10 walking path along the Pyrenees to Hendaye, France, where they take the Camino del Norte and then the Camino Primitivo, joining the Camino Frances at Melide. The total journey takes them approximately 90 days. The book’s appendix notes that the authors walked this route together in 2011 in 87 days, covering a little over 2,000 kilometres.

Structure and genre

Two Steps Forward is written in alternating chapters: odd-numbered chapters are narrated by Zoe and even-numbered chapters by Martin. The authors state that they originally wrote the story as two separate novels, one in each voice (Buist wrote Zoe and Simsion wrote Martin), which they then combined. The story is structured as two hero’s journeys with a romantic comedy subplot.

Film

Fox Searchlight optioned the movie rights to ''Two Steps Forward'' in August, 2017, two months prior to publication of the book with

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom '' Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". S ...

and Jeff Kleeman to produce through their company

A Very Good Production A Very Good Production is an American film and television production company founded by comedian, television host, actress Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Television's Telepictures in 2003. It is known for producing the long-running series ''T ...

Reception

Books and Publishing called it ‘a feel-good, mature romance that explores what we need to let go of to move forward’. The Herald Sun praised it as a ‘delightful tale of renewal and shedding unnecessary burdens’. Both reviewers noted that it would appeal to fans of Simsion’s

The Rosie Project ''The Rosie Project'' is a 2013 Australian novel by Australian novelist Graeme Simsion. The novel centres on genetics professor Don Tillman, who struggles to have a serious relationship with women. With a friend's help, he devises a questionnaire ...

. The Sydney Morning Herald described it as ‘compelling reading’ and ‘entertaining and refreshingly unpredictable’.

References

{{reflist 2017 Australian novels Text Publishing books Novels by Graeme Simsion Collaborative novels