Shout-line “One man and his ass on the pilgrim way to Santiago”, it’s a well-trodden path of over 500 miles across glorious Spanish countryside and with Tim Moore as our guide, it is utterly irresistible. Daunted by the thought of the weight of equipment he may need along the way, Tim buys a donkey, Shinto, to carry it and his relationship with the beast adds a touching charm to a hugely entertaining journey. The people, the history, the scenic splendour, the weather and accommodation for both beast and man carry us urgently on day by day but it is the author’s writing that is the real star of this book. You must read it.
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. 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.
Tim Moore's writing has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Sunday Times and Esquire. He is the author of French Revolutions and Do Not Pass Go. He lives in west London with his wife and three children.
