“Can a donkey be a philosopher? Merrifield believes so and, with this modest, lovely little book, makes us believe so, too.” —Booklist
In this enchanting book, Andrew Merrifield sets out on a journey of the soul with a friend’s donkey, through the crumbling ruins and spectacular vistas of southern France’s Haute-Auvergne. Along the way the understated nobility of Gribouille, his humble donkey companion, allows him to confront himself as well as to consider the larger mysteries of life. As Merrifield contemplates literature, science, truth, beauty, and the universality of nature amid the French countryside, Gribouille surprises him with his subtle wisdom, reminding him time and again that enlightenment is all around us if we but seek it. Traveling with Merrifield and Gribouille, we’re reminded of the exquisite benefits of nature, passive adventuring, and wild spaces. Also available in hardcover.
Andy Merrifield is the author of four previous books, including biographies of two twentieth-century French philosophers. He lives in France’s Auvergne region.
“It is too seldom that the Spiritual Living section of LJ has an opportunity to read and review a real love story, but this is such a book, the affecting and eloquent account of a man and a chocolate-colored donkey named Gribouille. Merrifield, author of important biocritical studies of Henri Lefebvre and Guy Debord, as well as Metromarxism: A Marxist Tale of the City, tells the tale of his wander through the Haute-Avergne in southern France, learning the ways of his patient, strong, and stubborn donkey companion, who gradually shows him that ‘real happiness comes in unforeseen places, through surprising twists and turns, through honesty.’ Highly recommended.” –Library Journal