Heavy Time: A Psychogeographer's Pilgrimage

by Sonia Overall

In Heavy Time psychogeographer Sonia Overall takes to the old pilgrim roads, navigating a route from Canterbury to Walsingham via London and her home town of Ely.

Vivid in her evocation of a landscape of ancient chapels, ruined farms and suburban follies, Overall’s secular pilgrimage elevates the ordinary, collecting roadside objects ― feathers, a bingo card, a worn penny ― as relics. Facing injury and interruption, she takes the path of the lone woman walker, seeking out ‘thin places’ where past and present collide, and where new ways of living might begin.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Poetry

248 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2021

About the author

I was born in Ely, the heart of the Cambridgeshire fens, in 1973.

I moved to Canterbury to study at the University of Kent, where I completed a combined BA hons in English Literature and Philosophy.

After my MA I endured the usual rounds of unemployment, underpaid jobs, temping and griping, but I kept up with the writing, penning some more novellas and experimenting with dialogue. I took a job as a lowly bookseller in Waterstone's Canterbury.

After a spell at various levels on the Waterstone's ladder I was taken on by my tireless agent Simon Trewin, and got a lucky break with the lovely Philip Gwyn Jones, then editor of Flamingo and now head of his own publishing house Portobello. A two-book deal followed, and A Likeness and The Realm of Shells were published under the new Fourth Estate / Harper Perennial banner.

I married artist and lecturer James Frost in 2002, who I met in my bookseller days. We have a son, Rowan. Unable to escape the lure of East Kent, we now live in Sandwich.

Reviews

[Patrick.G.P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sonia Overall’s ambitious psychogeographical project Heavy Time starts off very interestingly. Her prose flowing, her observations keen, strange, and has a delightful outlook, not only towards the mundane but also for the liminal as well as the historical influences she encounters. One thing I particularly enjoyed is her comments on her experiences as a female walking alone through the landscape. As she mentions, the psychogeographer or the flaneur is usually something associated with men, white and privileged, moving about and taking in the cityscape. But for her several uneasy encounters with men occurs throughout her walk, though thankfully nothing serious happens to her. But she sheds light on a fundamental problem of society and one that would be completely ignored from a man’s point of view. Overall dips her hat to Machen several times, as well as W.G. Sebald, obviously taking inspiration from these two pioneering psychogeographers. But for me it seems as though her journey is constantly about making time, moving against the clock. Obviously, there must be a schedule for a two-week walk over such a distance, but I can’t help but feel at times as if I’m only viewing the journey’s surface. There never seems to be quite enough time to fully lose oneself in the landscape, to let the thoughts wander freely. That being said, there is quite a dramatic situation that unfolds on her journey of a markedly physical aspect, that forces Overall to take a different approach to both her destination as well as her thoughts and emotions towards the entire project. Beyond her fine prose, and often interesting and insightful commentary on her journey, her observations sometimes feel like they only scratch the mere surface of her thoughts and feelings, and in the end, the experience felt a bit empty for me.

[Tom Stanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading a few bits and pieces about psychogeography lately and with my own academic interest in Religious History then Heavy Time, by Sonia Overall seemed the very book for me where past and present can meet at varying points on a journey.

In Heavy Time Sonia Overall follows the old pilgrim roads from Canterbury to Walsingham via London and her home town, Ely. What follows is a vivid encounter with the past and present, and some intriguing characters along the way. This is a journey many of us have set out to do, albeit for many I’m sure completely unprepared, and although here the reader is presented with the author making the same mistakes we can identify and say ‘we’ve all done that’, which makes this particular book much more identifiable and accessible, as the writer is one of us!

One of the more pleasurable aspects of Heavy Time is the reader can picture the landscape being walked, and this is a testament to Sonia Overall’s style as we, the readers, are taking those steps with her, through wrong turns and injuries, we’re there every step of the way with her and this is what, for me, stands out as this is certainly no mean feat and the accompanying illustrations by Oliver Barrett help bring aspects of the narrative alive. I’ve read many books and rarely has my imagination been allowed to escape and wander the landscape so freely as in Heavy Time.

On reading, I was anticipating the ending, and how that would be achieved, and not to give it away for anyone, it’s most certainly an ending that makes the whole journey rewarding and fulfilling. I’m not sure how difficult this book was to write, but its ease to read with an underlying message about escaping the bustle of our lives makes me feel that the words flowed as easily as they read. I can only imagine though!

[Matt]

Enjoyed reading this a lot, for the way it captures the physicality of long walking as much as the descriptions of sites and encounters on the way. You can almost feel the hot pain of blisters, unsettling atmospheres, male stares, thin places, sudden presences of wild creatures, the ache & pleasure of step following step. Also appreciated the regular sense of temptation to stray off the path, to follow distraction off somewhere else.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sonia Overall paints beautiful images with her words; this book contains some truly lovely descriptions of both what was seen and felt on her pilgrimage. The opening pages were especially enchanting. However, at times, I struggled to connect with her experiences and found the actual content to be a little dull. Altogether, it was a nice read with lots of thought-provoking passages; I am glad I picked it up.

[Jaime Almansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and personal. Really liked it :)

[Cliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly absorbing and challenging book be prepared for your own pilgramage.

[Alec Mieras · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the genre but was not impressed with Sonia's pilgrimage journey. Creative and often engaging writing though!