Smart Ass: How a Donkey Challenged Me to Accept His True Nature & Rediscover My Own

Smart Ass may refer to the author, Margaret Winslow, or her adopted pet, the donkey who looks like an Easter bunny. He is a white-furred, 700 pound animal with a mind of his own. In a capricious mood, brought on by mid-life trouble and stress from her college commitments, this geology professor decides to purchase a donkey—a creature she has admired since childhood. Winslow recounts her relationship with the headstrong beast and stubbornly insists on keeping him as a pet and riding companion. Their daily challenges and how each is coming to terms with the other makes up the anecdotal substance of this memoir.

I do have some grievances—perhaps most annoying is Winslow’s fondness for attributing human emotions to the animal as if he has parallel thoughts and can read her mind. She treats the newly adopted pet as a surrogate child. I found the writing extremely cloying, and the tone overly sentimental.

This book would appeal to animal lovers, especially those who favor donkeys, and to tweens and teens who adore animal stories.