English writer Tim Moore retraces a route followed by pilgrims since before the Dark Ages across northern Spain to reach Santiago and find redemption.

A well written and hilariously offbeat piece of travel writing. But also strangely touching. The final scene had me reaching for the kleenex. When Tim parts with Shinto, his donkey, after their long partnership on the road together - well, it was just too much for me to bear. It touched a raw nerve. It reminded me of my recent parting with my ex-wife, Mili. Even though she disappeared in a Mercedes Benz, rather than a horse-float, the similarities were overwhelming.

I am often heard saying i prefer my comedy to be funny, and this is laugh out loud stuff. Sure, there are plenty of a** jokes, as well as some not-so-oblique references to bestiality, and much of the humour borders on the downright scatological. But while the work is fairly stuffed with bags of donkey sh**, it is also swaddled with bags of history. Add to that some of the finest descriptive pastoral writing since Wordsworth, plus an insight into the psyche of the religious pilgrim in the 21st century, and you've got a book of Substance. Tim's whimsy is full of the kinds of bizarre insights and one-liners which flow from much time alone on the road. Like in the long, flat wheat-growing region: "The grain in Spain grows mainly on this plain," he observes flatly to his donkey. Moving his a** occupies much of Tim's time and energy, and he finds his donkey responds well to singing. The reader can picture TIm treading this Middle Ages route to redemption with the faithful Shinto by his side, his donkey's favourite "We Are The Champions" on his lips. But it is not all beer and alfalfa: "Burn donkey burn (Shinto inferno)" is also brought to bear.

When the dreadfully ascetic pilgrim hostels prove to be full, Tim rests at the occasional hotel. At one juncture he has a sudden moment of revelation, whilst talking with a girl who speaks Spanish somewhat better than he. "Limpiare, not limpiara: a tiny error, but a crucial one," Tim realises with dismay. "Instead of promising the hoteliers and hospitaleros that I would clean up my donkey's crap myself, I'd been ordering them to do it."

Enjoyable. Funny. Touching. See Tim's photo diary at http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/spanishsteps/.

Visit the electricnerve blog at http://electricnerve.blogspot.com.

Recommended: Yes