The Donkey Inside

by Ludwig Bemelmans

Book by Bemelmans, Ludwig

Genres: Travel

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Ludwig Bemelmans, Austrian-American illustrator, wrote books, such as Madeline in 1939, for children, and his experiences in the restaurant business based Hotel Splendide , adult fiction in 1940.

People internationally knew Ludwig Bemelmans, an author and a gourmand. People today most note his six publications to 1961. After his death, people discovered and posthumously published a seventh in 1999.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_...

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bemelmans takes on South America. As always, charming. I love his explanation of how he blended characters, events and places exactly the same way he mixed his oil paints: "It fitted so, it made a good picture." His wife Mimi said of him, "He liked to tell a good story. Which is not to say it was always a true story." Isn't that the definition of artistic license?

[Chris Kennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delight! It shed a lovely light on Ecuador, a country I recently visited.

[Tom Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimsical, opinionated and vivid descriptions of the people Bemelmans encountered on his South American trips, which are collected here as though all travel was done in Ecuador. However, as the preface reveals, his actual travel for this writing encompasses other South American countries, and also makes single figures in the book from a collection of people and "types."

He is greatly amusing in descriptions of eccentric figures, and from his background narration, seems to be deeply traveled and a familiar of the moneyed classes. There are some unpleasant period racial references to indigenous peoples that aren't quite at the manifest destiny level, but aren't flattering to the author. Still, a fun read.

I was just in Ecuador for a month, and some of the feeling of the territory rings true yet, but travel and creature comforts have been greatly improved since those days.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming book by Bemelmans, known primarily for his children's book, Madeleine. Bemelmans traveled extensively in Latin American before the 2nd World War; he says the he collapsed all the countries he visited into one - Ecuador - as that was his favorite country. The language is quite "outdated," but - sadly - was generally acceptable at the time of writing in describing relationships between Indians and Europeans. His descriptions of modes of transport, food, a difficult trip in the jungle on horseback are fun to read. And his descriptions of his fellow European travelers are also quite amusing.

[Gail Goodrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't found many books about Ecuador and I like to read about a country before a trip. I enjoyed The Panama Hat Trail by Tom Miller and in it he mentioned the Bemelmans book. I sought it out and found a copy to read. Granted it is partly fictional (an amalgam of trips and personages found in several South American trips), but still is an amusing read. I imagine that Ecuador has changed dramatically since he visited in the 1930's but many of his observations ring true.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun travelogue of Ecuador around 1940. Having lived in Ecuador in the 80's, I appreciated his description of a less-traveled country, pastoral, beautiful: coast, jungle, and Andes........also, full of an array of characters - and donkeys. Bemelmans avoided much of the colonial superiority of other writers of his time. I enjoyed seeing the country through his eyes.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ecuador, a South American country that spans the equator. Bemelmans writes of his experiences in Quito and several small villages in the 1940s. It took several chapters before I settled into Bemelmans' writing style, but even then his descriptions of the natural features fell short. He does, however, write vividly about the people, particular places, and events.

Early in the book (p 32), we are introduced to a man who has spent time in France, New York, and other major cities, but always returns home to Ecuador. Bemelmans reports him as saying:
When I built the house, the river that runs past it was filled with crocodiles; like a raft of old logs they lay there, one next to the other, and at night their eyes shone. The eyes of the old ones were red and the eyes of the young ones green. They laid their eggs on the edge of my garden, ...

We also learn that, when visiting a new country, Bemelmans always tried to get hold of an old book [about the place], because it extends the view, it helps one to see into the land in much greater perspective ...

At one stop, he asked the innkeeper about the washroom, at which point the man ran to a door a few feet away, opened it, and gave me a lamp: outside was a large field with trees around.

The prison was the focus of one particularly interesting chapter.
p 166: All prisoners receive wages, the current wages that would be paid if the man worked outside. The wages are divided in three parts. One-third goes to the prison, and by this the institution supports itself; one-third goes the the man for pocket money; and one-third is saved for him, with interest, for the day when he is freed. If he has a family, the pocket money and the savings account are split according to the needs of his wife and children, ...
This approach appeals to me. Maybe not for the most hardened criminals, but for people who are eventually going to be released.

On p 188, he mentions a large shop filled with coffins. The death rate, the infant mortality, is appalling here. The little coffins are like cigar boxes, unpainted, and cost thirty cents apiece.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ecuadorians hate it. I like it.