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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this little travelogue. As I have probably mentioned a million times before, I am not a very good traveler so sometimes I rely on the accounts of others to take me somewhere. Bryson always manages to do so and to do so interestingly and honestly. Not every town he visits in Little Dribbling is painted in a positive light. Like everywhere, I suppose, some places are wonderful, some are letting themselves go to shit, and some are just getting by.
Equally enlightening, however, have been the reviews for this book. He complains like an old man? You mean when he demands actual customer service from places wanting his business? Or when he gets upset about structures that are centuries old being boarded up and ignored despite their historic value and integrity? Or how about when he bemoans plans to PUT AN AIRPLANE RUNWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF A NATURE PRESERVE? If that's "old man" complaining, I wish more people would do it. Let me also point out this isn't the first time he's portrayed himself as a curmudgeon of sorts. Crotchety is part of his thing, that's why it's funny. You get jokes, right?
Bryson followers will be happy with this adventure and its recognizable combination of trivia, history, observations, and humor.
Equally enlightening, however, have been the reviews for this book. He complains like an old man? You mean when he demands actual customer service from places wanting his business? Or when he gets upset about structures that are centuries old being boarded up and ignored despite their historic value and integrity? Or how about when he bemoans plans to PUT AN AIRPLANE RUNWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF A NATURE PRESERVE? If that's "old man" complaining, I wish more people would do it. Let me also point out this isn't the first time he's portrayed himself as a curmudgeon of sorts. Crotchety is part of his thing, that's why it's funny. You get jokes, right?
Bryson followers will be happy with this adventure and its recognizable combination of trivia, history, observations, and humor.
Bill Bryson takes the reader on another tour of his adopted home of Great Britain. Funny and insightful, he discusses such topics as British shop assistants, the delights of tea and cake, and trains. He walks through parts of the Lake District, visits Bognor Regis because it seems the thing to do, and muses on the decline of Blackpool as a holiday destination. Above all, he expresses his love for his new country (at the start of the book, he's preparing to take out British citizenship).
I loved Bryson's first book on the UK, Notes from a Small Island; I still occasionally take it down from the shelf and re-read it, especially now that I've been to the UK a few times. The Road to Little Dribbling is no less enjoyable; in fact, I suspect I may have to get my own copy (the one I read I borrowed from the library) so I can have the pleasure of re-reading it at intervals. Many of the things he loves about Britain are exactly the things that I love about it: cream teas and public footpaths, the national parks and the National Trust. There's nothing not to like about this book, quite frankly.
I loved Bryson's first book on the UK, Notes from a Small Island; I still occasionally take it down from the shelf and re-read it, especially now that I've been to the UK a few times. The Road to Little Dribbling is no less enjoyable; in fact, I suspect I may have to get my own copy (the one I read I borrowed from the library) so I can have the pleasure of re-reading it at intervals. Many of the things he loves about Britain are exactly the things that I love about it: cream teas and public footpaths, the national parks and the National Trust. There's nothing not to like about this book, quite frankly.
An older, grumpier Bill Bryson. Looking for tea (at a decent price) and occupying himself before it's a respectable time for a drink. Still laughed out loud, but I didn't enjoy this as much as some of his other works.
Only my terminal Anglophilia caused me to finish this book. Bryson comes off as a know-it-all curmudgeon throughout. I really wish he had actually said out loud some of the things he insisted he was thinking - maybe some heroic Englishman could have brought him down a peg or two. Sad, I used to be such a fan. Has he changed, or have I?
Bill Bryson has a knack for capturing the enduring British spirit, and the qualities that make Britain the country that it is. It is also kind of an elegy to the Britain that existed when Bill first traveled to the UK in 1973, and how it has changed (not necessarily for the better) since then. He summed it up pretty well with this: "It's a funny thing, because Britain was in a terrible state back in those days. It limped from crisis to crisis. It was known as the Sick Man of Europe. It was in every way poorer than now. Yet there were flower beds in roundabouts, libraries and post offices in every village, cottage hospitals in abundance, council housing for all who needed it. It was a country so comfortable and enlightened that hospitals maintained cricket pitches for their staff and mental patients who lived in Victorian palaces. If we could afford it then, why not now? Someone needs to explain to me how it is that the richer Britain gets, the poorer it thinks itself."
In part the book seems to be an effort on Bill's part to convince Briton's of what a special country they have, and to stand up and do something to make sure it doesn't lose the characteristics which make it special.
Overall, I found the book entertaining and funny. I have relatives in the UK, and have been there several times, so much of what he says rings true.
In part the book seems to be an effort on Bill's part to convince Briton's of what a special country they have, and to stand up and do something to make sure it doesn't lose the characteristics which make it special.
Overall, I found the book entertaining and funny. I have relatives in the UK, and have been there several times, so much of what he says rings true.
I don't know if it's because I watched "A Walk In the Woods" (and thought Robert Redford really made Bill come across as a know-it-all PITA) before picking up this book, but there's just too much grumpy old man complaining here. For me, it takes away from all the joy of exploring England.
I did particularly love one passage... (describing the blue plaques found all over the UK) "...and August Wilhelm Von Hoffman, a German-born chemist who did novel and transformative things with isomeric orthotoluidines and triphenyl derivatives. That may not mean anything to you or me, but there are chemists reading this page right now who are having orgasms." (p 59)
I did particularly love one passage... (describing the blue plaques found all over the UK) "...and August Wilhelm Von Hoffman, a German-born chemist who did novel and transformative things with isomeric orthotoluidines and triphenyl derivatives. That may not mean anything to you or me, but there are chemists reading this page right now who are having orgasms." (p 59)
Unfortunately this one feels a bit forced (as interviews with Bryson seem to indicate was indeed the case). The balanced ratio of crotchity-ness to cleverness seems to have been flipped, too, with many instances of crass sexism and racism in that casual "I'm old and tired" way. He has always managed to avoid this before, and I have loved all of his other books, but this one is more a chore than a joy. He uses "splendid" about six times in the first hundred pages, and it feels lazily edited as well. What a shame.
If you've read any of Bryson's books before you pretty much know what to expect here. If you haven't - it's basically Bryson meandering around the English countryside and discussing everything that interests him. Obscure and not so obscure landmarks, some interesting and not so well known historical tidbits, the way some areas are so carefully preserved and celebrated and others no less important and beautiful completely ignored. He discusses traffic, the British love of systems that are far less systematic than they appear, and everything else that comes into his head in an ordered stream of conscious fashion. I mean all of this in the best possible way. Bryson is mildly grumpy with a low tolerance for idiots but his sense of humor and curiosity really carries the book. There were plenty of times throughout the book when I found myself laughing and just had to read the passage out loud to my husband. Bryson also validated my fear of cows and earned my eternal gratitude. I knew they weren't to be trusted and were always ready to trample someone to death.
This was a book I read a little bit at a time and I always enjoyed it. Bryson's voice is gentle even when he's contemplating if violence is appropriate when someone allows their dog to poop on a public walk and then covers it up with leaves. The book is divided into chapters that discuss different regions - Cornwall, London, etc - and for each chapter he explores that region. He has the unique perspective of someone who has lived there for decades and is familiar with the country and able to see how things have changed but he is still just slightly a foreigner.
This is a perfect book to read a chapter at a time. It's light and entertaining but still full of fascinating tidbits of information about a huge range of subjects.
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-road-to-little-dribbling-review.html
This was a book I read a little bit at a time and I always enjoyed it. Bryson's voice is gentle even when he's contemplating if violence is appropriate when someone allows their dog to poop on a public walk and then covers it up with leaves. The book is divided into chapters that discuss different regions - Cornwall, London, etc - and for each chapter he explores that region. He has the unique perspective of someone who has lived there for decades and is familiar with the country and able to see how things have changed but he is still just slightly a foreigner.
This is a perfect book to read a chapter at a time. It's light and entertaining but still full of fascinating tidbits of information about a huge range of subjects.
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-road-to-little-dribbling-review.html
adventurous
slow-paced