Spanish Steps
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4.5 • 12 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Ludicrous, heart-warming and improbably inspirational, Spanish Steps is the story of what happens when a rather silly man tries to walk all the way across a very large country, with a very large animal who doesn't really want to.
Being larger than a cat, the donkey is the kind of animal Tim Moore is slightly scared of. Yet intrigued by epic accounts of a pilgrimage undertaken by one in three medieval Europeans, and committed to historical authenticity, he finds himself leading a Pyrenean ass named Shinto into Spain, headed for Santiago de Compostela.
Over 500 miles of extreme weather and agonising bestial sloth, it becomes memorably apparent that for the multinational band of eccentrics who keep the Santiagan flame alive, the pilgrimage has evolved from a purely devotional undertaking into a mobile therapist's couch.
'Hailed as the new Bill Bryson, he is in fact a writer of considerably more substance and the jokes come thick and fast' Irish Times
Customer Reviews
Spanish Steps
This is one of the funniest books ever and it's true! So wittingly written, and so descriptive, you feel you are part of the pilgrimage along with this silly man and his obstinate burro.
A great read.
As someone who has experienced the pleasure and pain of living and working with donkeys over a period of months, plus also something of the area of Spain in which most of this book is focused, this book brought many a wry smile to my face and gave me plenty of chuckles. I traversed Spain north to south (and the back again) on a motorbike some years ago now and experienced some of Tim Moore's comic moments through a (then) poor understanding and vocalisation of the Spanish language and that leant me a further appreciation of and empathy for some aspects of Tim's camino experience, but without any of this background, I'm confident that I would still have thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tim Moore's writing style is imbued with insight, warmth and humour and this book is a great choice for anyone who enjoys travel writing with a little quirkiness. For anyone inquisitive about the nature of donkeys or what it might be like to walk the camino, I'd say this book is a must. Pick it up and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.