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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
A really funny book. What struck me the most is how timeless it felt. It was written in 1889 and yet, for the most part, it could just as well have been written recently. I was also surprised to find that the humour in this book reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams' one in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, written almost a century later!
However I feel that there might have been too many descriptions and stories about the little towns and villages the three men came across during their boat trip. Also, I wish the narrator's two friends had been more unique and distinct from each other, as it was you could barely tell one from the other.
I'd still recommand this book to anyone looking for a good laugh.
However I feel that there might have been too many descriptions and stories about the little towns and villages the three men came across during their boat trip. Also, I wish the narrator's two friends had been more unique and distinct from each other, as it was you could barely tell one from the other.
I'd still recommand this book to anyone looking for a good laugh.
Funny, but in a lot of ways I think it shows its age. It has several similarities to the beginning of [b:The Pickwick Papers|229432|The Pickwick Papers (Penguin Classics)|Charles Dickens|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1235763729s/229432.jpg|3315230] papers, but the first person narration gives it a much more intimate feeling. I didn't like it as well as I hoped.
The potential was there for a funny tale of boating on the Thames, but unfortunately the story did not live up to its potential. Funny by parts, but generally tedious on the whole. It reminded me of [b:The Diary of a Nobody|535856|The Diary of a Nobody|George Grossmith|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1175617009s/535856.jpg|2164537] by [a:George Grossmith|30762|George Grossmith|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1308219458p2/30762.jpg] and I wasn't that keen on it either...
This is honestly one of the funniest books I've ever read, and still so relatable to anyone who has ever travelled, despite having been written a century and a half ago!
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well, it's a good book. Scintillating is the word I'd like to use here, you'll understand why down below.
In places it is laugh out loud funny. And every chapter had at least one such paragraph. But almost every chapter had also parts which felt pure drudgery. It might not feel that way to you if you're British. Author muses a lot on the historical happenings with Barons, Bishops and whatnot. If it were funny I didn't pi k it up, since I am not British. But it had been very educational, since, although it slowed my progress and flow quite a bit, I searched and read each of those incident whenever they appeared, the highlight of it being the Magna Carta. There is one anecdote which was hilarious, the one with Earl Godwin choking to death on piece of bread. I'd have found it even more funny had this figure been a part of my common myths and legends. So I can see how a Brit person might roll on the floor laughing at this.
Also as someone who has no clue whatsoever on boats and boating, which is the other main area after history that author uses to create fun, I was able to get only the surface level jokes and the ones which didn't require nay knowledge. Before this novel I didn't know anything about sculls and such things. And this book more than any other book taught me how books are such a subjective thing, and I could understand better now why some people didn't like Harry Potter books, which I'm a huge fan of.
So I've gotten lessons in history that I was not looking forward too. I'm not blaming the author, I'm just trying to give a perspective on why someone might give this book only a three stars, despite it being brilliant in places. Not the book to carry with you in flight, because then you won't be able to search all the historical references.
A good book for a Saturday. Not a lazy Sunday afternoon book either, unless of course you're British.
Still I'd classify it as a must read.
In places it is laugh out loud funny. And every chapter had at least one such paragraph. But almost every chapter had also parts which felt pure drudgery. It might not feel that way to you if you're British. Author muses a lot on the historical happenings with Barons, Bishops and whatnot. If it were funny I didn't pi k it up, since I am not British. But it had been very educational, since, although it slowed my progress and flow quite a bit, I searched and read each of those incident whenever they appeared, the highlight of it being the Magna Carta. There is one anecdote which was hilarious, the one with Earl Godwin choking to death on piece of bread. I'd have found it even more funny had this figure been a part of my common myths and legends. So I can see how a Brit person might roll on the floor laughing at this.
Also as someone who has no clue whatsoever on boats and boating, which is the other main area after history that author uses to create fun, I was able to get only the surface level jokes and the ones which didn't require nay knowledge. Before this novel I didn't know anything about sculls and such things. And this book more than any other book taught me how books are such a subjective thing, and I could understand better now why some people didn't like Harry Potter books, which I'm a huge fan of.
So I've gotten lessons in history that I was not looking forward too. I'm not blaming the author, I'm just trying to give a perspective on why someone might give this book only a three stars, despite it being brilliant in places. Not the book to carry with you in flight, because then you won't be able to search all the historical references.
A good book for a Saturday. Not a lazy Sunday afternoon book either, unless of course you're British.
Still I'd classify it as a must read.
funny
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No