Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21809 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

An lovely asinine doodle - one for the holidays!
I don't have a donkey, so I cannot comment upon the accuracies of Mr. Merrifield's observations, but like so many people, I am fascinated by them.

The book is written largely in the present tense, and Merrifield uses the experience of an extended walking excusion with a donkey (aka philosopher for hire: Gribouille) as a stem from which assorted autobiographical and literary musings (all donkey related, however tenuously) sprout.

It's a stream of consciousness style that at first I found somewhat overblown and possibly a little pretentious, but, as I continued to read, I found myself becoming more and more involved and interested in the slow, meditative atmosphere that the book creates.

At the beginning I feared that it might become repetitive and, well, it sort of is I suppose, but you know, I think that might be the point. This book really did have an effect on me. It is charming, eloquently and skillfully written, and most importantly, it does transmit a wisdom of sorts.

A comparison is made to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence on the cover, and indeed there are similarities in that the physical journey is used as a vehicle for a philosophical transformation. I wouldn't put it quite in the same class as Prisig's classic,(The ending is a little anti-climactic) but it is a really good read that fulfils its promise.

Really enjoyable read, that makes you want to pack your bags and head to meet a Gribouille for yourself.

A 24 Carrot Read !
This is not an easy read so stick with it.The to-ing and fro-ing from New York was particularly annoying,but dont give up on this marvellous book.

Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my donkey.
The subtitle of this book is "finding tranquility in a chaotic world". Well, I ascertain that if Mr Merrifield (if that really is his name) believes donkeys provide this, he has never ever seen a donkey. I will go further - he has never heard a donkey. He has never smelt a donkey. He has never touched a donkey. He may have tasted a donkey, but it's not for me to cast aspersions on a) his diet, and b) what he gets up to in the privacy of his own barn.

Take my two latest donkey aquisitions, Katy and Zoe - lordy lord lord, they give me a donkey shaped headache. Katy will not eat any donkey food, she will only eat Quorn cottage pies that have been cooked three times and then mildly warmed on a toaster. Zoe will also not eat any donkey food, but will happily eat anything else - grass, fencing, sunlight, masonry, buses, and on one fateful occasion she ate Prince Edward's antique gazebo (I swear we won't be invited back to another one of their garden parties...)

But then, compare them to the rest of my donkey menagerie. How do they fare against Sebastian? Edgar? Billy Sideways? Braying Simon? Jesus the donkey? MUCH better, because they're all boring idiots that give me a quiet life, which is absolutely what you don't want in the heady, exciting, anything-can-happen-and-then-get-eaten world of donkey ownership.

Tranquility? My ass.

ps - the book is good read it.