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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Jerome's style of writing is right up my alley. Droll, understated, and brilliantly incisive story-telling make for a very enjoyable read. Hats off to BD for the book pick.
Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, is a humorous take on a trip on the Thames from Hampton Court to Oxford. The hapless threesome compete to see who can do the least work and create the most misery for the others while discharging normal travel duties. There are occasional bits of history, some lovely literary descriptions, and many comic events. Unfortunately the Kindle version of the 1889 edition has no illustrations, which would have helped this reader to envision the two sculled skiff of the title. Despite its slapstick nature, some of the humor rings as true and fresh today as it must have in the 19th century.
This might be the funniest thing I've ever read. Every time I'm sad I think about the bit in the maze.
(I'd also recommend the audiobook read by Hugh Laurie which is fantastic.)
(I'd also recommend the audiobook read by Hugh Laurie which is fantastic.)
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. There was quite a bit of humor.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Highly descriptive and thought-provoking yet possessing astounding wit, this brilliant novel has reignited my desires to travel.
For my full review: http://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/2018/01/review-three-men-in-a-boat-jerome-k-jerome.html
As with many of the 'classics', I was unsure of whether or not I had read this. I think I may have been confused because I did see some of the BBC series. Anyway, having started into it, it rapidly became clear that I had never in fact read a word of it. Three Men in a Boat is one of those glorious books where very little actually happens but which are handled so cleverly that you never really notice. Most surprising of all, this is a piece of Victorian literature which is genuinely laugh out loud funny; Dickens et al may have wit, but Three Men in a Boat serves up pure hilarity. At the time, the book was sneered upon for its simplicity and perceived 'vulgarity', but it is that which makes it seem so alive today. Unlike so much other literature of the era, even those that are indisputable masterpieces, there is no feeling of it being terribly 'written', it is more as if we are just listening to someone chatting about their boating trip. To read something with such immediacy across the distance of a century is really quite something - for a book once dismissed as only fit for the 'Arrys' and 'Arriets' of the world, it has had a truly impressive legacy.
The story begins - although it is hardly a story, being mostly based in fact - with Harris, George and J deciding that they are all terribly unwell and really in need of a holiday. After some backing and forthing over the merits of various destinations, a boat trip is settled upon and the three of them of set out, although only once they have had the necessary delays, confusions and prevarications (Waterloo station causes issues). To be fair though, the joy of Three Men is not to be found via its summary - it's all about the anecdotes along the way. I did recognise the description of how Uncle Podger hung up the picture - when I was in school, they read it to us every year as a description of attitude. I genuinely think that teachers used to think us so half-witted that we wouldn't notice that we had heard it before. One year, the teacher giving the assembly claimed Podger had been his own relative. This sums up so much about my high school education.
The snippets about Harris are highlights within the book, whether it be his singing or his strategy for getting through Hampton Court Maze, yet still I think that the star of the show just might be Montmorency the fox terrier. As the three hapless individuals try to make dinner, everything and anything goes into the pot to make an Irish stew, 'Montmorency, who had evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout, strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air, reappearing, a few minutes afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner; whether in a sarcastic spirit, or with a genuine desire to assist, I cannot say'. Further set pieces regarding his propensity for scrapping are also great fun - I think that Montmorency just might be one of my new favourite fictional canines.
Living in Oxford and having gone for more than a few walks along the river by Iffley lock, there was also a certain amount of recognition. The detailed, although perhaps hyperbolic, tales of boating fun do give a fascinating glimpse into what the river would have looked like when the book was first published. The ridiculous girls in their spotless boating clothes that could not possibly get wet, all of the various mishaps around towing, the nightmare of camping in a boat - there is so much that makes this book utterly perfect. Still though, the passage where J rants about the pointlessness of antiquities gave me goosebumps as he pondered whether 'The "sampler" that the eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as "tapestry of the Victorian era" and be almost priceless'. Reading this while sitting on a bench outside a National Trust property felt particularly prescient - why do we treasure old things that are passed beyond the bounds of usefulness?
Three Men in a Boat was written as a guidebook but is so very much more than that, it is an insight, a glimpse of people who are not so very different to ourselves. The three men squabble like children, are utterly useless and yet end up having the time of their lives. It made me laugh so much to read how the concept of the man-child male was clearly not a modern invention - Harris, George and J are a long way past childhood but also clearly not grown up. Three Men in a Boat surprised me in being a true comic masterpiece and very possibly a personal new staple comfort read.
As with many of the 'classics', I was unsure of whether or not I had read this. I think I may have been confused because I did see some of the BBC series. Anyway, having started into it, it rapidly became clear that I had never in fact read a word of it. Three Men in a Boat is one of those glorious books where very little actually happens but which are handled so cleverly that you never really notice. Most surprising of all, this is a piece of Victorian literature which is genuinely laugh out loud funny; Dickens et al may have wit, but Three Men in a Boat serves up pure hilarity. At the time, the book was sneered upon for its simplicity and perceived 'vulgarity', but it is that which makes it seem so alive today. Unlike so much other literature of the era, even those that are indisputable masterpieces, there is no feeling of it being terribly 'written', it is more as if we are just listening to someone chatting about their boating trip. To read something with such immediacy across the distance of a century is really quite something - for a book once dismissed as only fit for the 'Arrys' and 'Arriets' of the world, it has had a truly impressive legacy.
The story begins - although it is hardly a story, being mostly based in fact - with Harris, George and J deciding that they are all terribly unwell and really in need of a holiday. After some backing and forthing over the merits of various destinations, a boat trip is settled upon and the three of them of set out, although only once they have had the necessary delays, confusions and prevarications (Waterloo station causes issues). To be fair though, the joy of Three Men is not to be found via its summary - it's all about the anecdotes along the way. I did recognise the description of how Uncle Podger hung up the picture - when I was in school, they read it to us every year as a description of attitude. I genuinely think that teachers used to think us so half-witted that we wouldn't notice that we had heard it before. One year, the teacher giving the assembly claimed Podger had been his own relative. This sums up so much about my high school education.
The snippets about Harris are highlights within the book, whether it be his singing or his strategy for getting through Hampton Court Maze, yet still I think that the star of the show just might be Montmorency the fox terrier. As the three hapless individuals try to make dinner, everything and anything goes into the pot to make an Irish stew, 'Montmorency, who had evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout, strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air, reappearing, a few minutes afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner; whether in a sarcastic spirit, or with a genuine desire to assist, I cannot say'. Further set pieces regarding his propensity for scrapping are also great fun - I think that Montmorency just might be one of my new favourite fictional canines.
Living in Oxford and having gone for more than a few walks along the river by Iffley lock, there was also a certain amount of recognition. The detailed, although perhaps hyperbolic, tales of boating fun do give a fascinating glimpse into what the river would have looked like when the book was first published. The ridiculous girls in their spotless boating clothes that could not possibly get wet, all of the various mishaps around towing, the nightmare of camping in a boat - there is so much that makes this book utterly perfect. Still though, the passage where J rants about the pointlessness of antiquities gave me goosebumps as he pondered whether 'The "sampler" that the eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as "tapestry of the Victorian era" and be almost priceless'. Reading this while sitting on a bench outside a National Trust property felt particularly prescient - why do we treasure old things that are passed beyond the bounds of usefulness?
Three Men in a Boat was written as a guidebook but is so very much more than that, it is an insight, a glimpse of people who are not so very different to ourselves. The three men squabble like children, are utterly useless and yet end up having the time of their lives. It made me laugh so much to read how the concept of the man-child male was clearly not a modern invention - Harris, George and J are a long way past childhood but also clearly not grown up. Three Men in a Boat surprised me in being a true comic masterpiece and very possibly a personal new staple comfort read.
I enjoyed this. It was a nice little meandering story - its plot resembling its subject matter, a leisurely trip downriver.