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

Moore is a very funny writer, and parts of this made me laugh out loud. However, because I fall into the category of those he dismisses as "liberal animal-rights activists", I was horrified that he dragged an animal across Spain when he had no idea how to care for said animal. I don't deny that donkeys are bred as pack animals, but this one gets hoof rot, ergot poisoning, has an allergic reaction to inappropriately used tick spray, and is "stabled" each night in parking lots, junkyards, and hooligan-infested vacant lots. It may not be a chronicle of animal cruelty - Moore comes to love the donkey very much - but it is a chronicle of animal neglect, and as such upset me a lot.

Humorous British travel writer takes his cynical self and an unwilling donkey named Shinto on pilgrimage…got to love a book that pokes fun of new-agey nonsense while still making one long for an opportunity to take a really long walk.

I've been a fan of Moore since the "Frost on my mustache" days and knew I would be in for a humorous time reading "Spanish Steps", and I was right.

Moore takes a donkey named Shinto for a trek along the Santiago Compostella, the famous pilgrim trek across Spain. While we hope that Shinto wasn't mistreated, we get a history of the trek, the area and we meet the fellow pilgrims making their way to Santiago, including an Australian who, completely unsurprisingly, drank a lot.

I found the “I’m too stupid to tie a knot thing“ tough to stomach, but once we got adjusted to it, the story was one I was happy to be along for. In the end, he was a sympathetic character but I found myself drawn in by.

My only two complaints about this book are that I found it a bit difficult to keep all the pilgrims he met straight and I was slightly disappointed that there were no pictures of his trip included in the book, seeing as he mentioned within the book several memorable pictures that he took. I particularly wanted to see him and Shinto together. Otherwise, I thought it was hilarious and very well-written.

Very funny at times although towards the end of the book I just wanted him to get there.

wirklich witzig!