Customer Reviews

Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read a number of books about the Camino de Santiago before I did it in July-August of 2007. They were either practical guidebooks or deeply personal memoirs. I'd begun reading "Travels With My Donkey" about two weeks prior to departing for Spain, but I didn't get past the introduction - too busy with preparations. I figured I'd read enough anyway, and I wanted to save what looked like a good book for post-Camino reflection. I'm glad I waited until after my pilgrimage to read "TWMD," because it was an excellent and uniquely humorous account that brought me right back to the Camino.

Mr. Moore first became aware of the Camino when he met a pilgrim on "a small boat in Norway." As is common with those who've walked the Way, the idea settled in his mind and bloomed after a period of germination. Also like the typical pilgrim, he began doing research and making preparations for the trek. However, unlike most of us he decided to bring along a donkey. After some searching, he finally found one named Shinto and committed to his adventure. He and Shinto were trailered to Valcarlos, Spain, and commenced their trek to Santiago one step at a time.

During the next forty-one days, Mr. Moore and Shinto experienced numerous adventures on the Camino. Shinto became somewhat of a focal point - most of the time for good, but sometimes for ill. The author soon discovered the difficulties involved in herding a somewhat truculent donkey, including health issues, finding enough food for both of them, and securing donkey-friendly accommodation. Even so, he persevered and eventually formed a bond with Shinto based on shared hardship.

"TWMD" reminded me a lot of Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods," another humorous account of a trek along an old trail. Indeed, both books made me laugh out loud in some spots and cringe in others. However, since I was fresh off the Camino, I was actually able to identify with Mr. Moore's experiences. I loved revisiting familiar towns and fondly remembered (or no-so-fondly remembered) refugios. And I empathized with the author's trials and tribulations, such as blisters, prickly pilgrims, harsh climate conditions, and fast automobile traffic.

"Travels With My Donkey" made me miss the Camino, and it also made me glad to be a peregrino. Recommended for those contemplating the Camino, pilgrims who have already walked the Way, and wanderers in general.

Moore's sense of humor and his complaints get him to the Pas de Roman to visit the Spanish Santiago Cathedral over the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Coast of France. Along the way, we are all drawn into his contacts with other, serious and not so serious pilgrims; the landscapes; the hardships of caring for this donkey animal he starts the trip with not knowing or caring much about; the incredible overnight sleeping accommocations he encounters; the meals; the brandy; the elevations; rain and shale; bridges and cobble stones. Having driven alot of the trail myself without knowing much about what it was or what I was doing, I was tied into this wonderful and hilarious story every bit of the way, enjoying his cynicism and suspicion until he reached the pinnacle of Santiago for all his cold dismissal of the energy required to make this pilgrimage. I sensed he made quite a turn by the time he reached the end of the journey but then perhaps he'd started out more committed to personal spiritual reasons for the journey than I'd understood at the beginning. I LOVED the book, his hilarious ability to laugh at himself and his circumstances, his brilliant evaluations of others' situations, his cautious thoughtful spiritual tussles along the path and most of all the subtle way he slipped in so much of the history of that great period when the Crusaders were displacing the Saracens or the Muslims. The weight of the themes sneaks in on the reader as the book develops - there are so many twists and turns that this book would be a fantastic book club or academic assignment as it calls out for interaction among readers. Would it ever become a book tape? Would it ever become a play? I feel it should have wider dissemination. Great book!

Tim Moore has taken me on some extraordinary journeys in the past, from the Tour de France to the Monopoly board via the arctic deserts of Iceland, but I found this one easily the most enjoyable. If you don't fall in love with the infuriating but utterly endearing donkey he takes with him on this Spanish pilgrimage, I'll eat my cat...

If you've ever thought of making the pilgrimage to Santiago, or simply enjoy hilarious travel writing, (Bryson, O'Hanlon) get this book. The title just about sums it up, both in attitude and description. While giving you a great idea of what the walk to Santiago is really like, Moore manages to deliver a laugh outloud on virtually every page. I did the pilgrimage the same year that Mr. Moore did (though six months later). I wish I had had the opportunity to meet him on the road. A delight.

It's possible this is Tim Moore's funniest book to date--I know, I know, that's hard to believe after "The Grand Tour," but it's true. He exhibits an almost Redmond-O'Hanlon-like bumbling ineptitude, but tempers it with a devastating wit, warm humanity and terrific insight and historical context. It's hard to imagine someone not enjoying this book.

Author: Tim Moore
Title: Travels with my donkey
Time: around 2002
Destination: Northern Spain
Length: several weeks
Type: walking
Rating: 6/10
Funny, but...

The story: British travel writer TM gets a donkey and takes him around the Camino from Southern France through Northern Spain, all the way to Santiago de Compostela.

This book is both funny and truthful. TM doesn't miss a chance to crack a joke, and he often finds the right words. In fact, I liked the following observation so much that I even wrote it out:

"Hell is other people, said Jean-Paul Sartre, clearly a man with little experience of solo camping."

Well put.

Another noteworthy thing is that TM actually takes some time to introduce the historical background of the Camino. I appreciated that a lot. And I found his love story with the donkey very touching, especially in the end.

So far so good. But here's what's wrong with this book: it is just too long. Maybe the editor slept, or he was too much in love with TM's writing, but I think they should have made the book leaner and more focused. It's not about the total page count (328), but more about the focus. Sometimes I noticed that I even felt tempted to skip a few pages.

All in all, I think that this one had the potential to be great. But it would have needed better editing.

A 6/10.

What possesses a completely urban Londoner to want to walk 500 miles across northern Spain... with a donkey named Shinto? Herein lies a tail, er... tale of self discovery and adventure through torrential rains (no rein puns here!) sweltering heat and encounters with religious and secular pilgrims (peregrinos, en espanol) on the Camino de Santiago. This ancient Christian pilgrimage crosses northern Spain from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, resting place of St. James, patron saint of Spain. On opening this wonderful book you find yourself in the company of a person and donkey you enjoy spending time with. Smart, funny and a keen observer of people, Tim Moore's humanity suffuses this book and makes you feel the value of compassion. This is also one of those books that earns you inquisitive stares in public when you laugh loudly at one or another of his unexpected observations. When you are done you can even say you learned somthing about the history of Spain. This is great light reading. - Marcos Dinnerstein, www.parlo.com

I've decided Tim knows just when to keep from going over-the-top. That doesn't mean he doesn't actually do it every so often, but he's talented enough to get away with it when he does.
Unlike his previous escapades, he is forced to socialize a great deal (more) on this trip. And -- with a companion! He and Shinto are perfect together; the dread of separation is palpable in the final pages.
Readers of previous books (yours truly included) have commented that his references have been highly Brit-specific; Our Author seems to have taken heed as this time they are far more balanced.

Tim Moore has written a warmly human and incisively witty account of walking the Way of St. James with a reluctant donkey in tow; his book is partly a laugh-out-loud send-up of the medieval church and of Shirley MacLaine, but chiefly a genuine retelling of his own Camino tale.

I picked this book up since I was traveling in Northern Spain and ending up in Santiago de Compostel. Excellent read for anyone traveling in this area or if you are doing or thinking of doing the El Camino de Santiago. Many laugh out loud moments throughout the book. Great story!!