The Voice of Donkeys

Description

A satirical philosophical novel whose protagonist is a donkey (Abu Saber), who narrates the events in his own voice, through his companionship with Sheikh (Ali). The novel attempts to draw parallels between humans and animals, revealing through its narrative the nature and characteristics of humankind.

The transformations of the donkey (Abu Saber) throughout the novel and the unfolding events highlight his perspectives on society and life. It explores the concept of donkeys’ patience, their resilience, and their remarkable capacity for understanding and insight.

The donkey (Abu Saber) moves between several owners at first until he settles with Sheikh (Ali), who discovers that the donkey speaks eloquent and clear Arabic. He begins to read books to him, and from there begins the donkey’s journey with poetry, philosophy, and history. Through his travels with the Sheikh, he learns a great deal. When he discovers that the Sheikh has a two-year-old daughter whom he left alone, he helps him search for her. During this search, he meets many people, converses with them, and exposes the shallowness of their thinking and their ignorance. He takes the Sheikh on a journey through the villages of Jordan from north to south. Will this journey end with the Sheikh finding his daughter, or not?

When he returned with the sheikh to his village in the north, he fell ill and died at the village gate (Suf), where he was buried. After the sheikh’s death, he came to a new, ill-tempered owner, from whom he ran away and began his own life. There, he formed the Donkey Party, which became the largest and most organized party in the region. He then founded a theater troupe and later presented a radio program that attracted listeners from all over the world, revealing the stories of immortal donkeys throughout history—the kind of animal that taught wisdom to the wise and philosophy to the philosophers. The donkey then traveled to America and led the Democratic candidate’s election campaign, which ended with the president’s victory thanks to the donkey’s eloquent speeches.

The novel, through its extraordinary protagonist, also addresses the issue of eating donkey meat and selling donkey milk, which is nearly leading to the extinction of the donkey species. The donkey eventually meets one of Sheikh Ali’s disciples, who dictates his philosophy of life to him. When the book of donkey philosophy is finished, the donkey’s journey comes to an end, and he dies content with himself and the invaluable services he rendered to humankind.