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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
AUDIOBOOK. Probably 3.5 stars just rounding down, some stuff was not very applicable to everyday life/my experiences and found her writing style hard to get into so listened to the audiobook instead however did remind me slightly of my English language a level days
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Muito divertido, muito instrutivo, diria até fascinante.
Só é longo demais. No final fica tão cansativo que quando acaba você só quer um chá.
Só é longo demais. No final fica tão cansativo que quando acaba você só quer um chá.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
I might have found this book more interesting if I had just moved to England as an intro, but now it was sort of a mixed bag. There are plenty of clever, on-point observations about the behaviour of the English, but Kate Fox tries very hard to stay humorous and lighthearted, without addressing any of the more uncomfortable areas such as politics, royalty, poverty, racism, or even just relationships or interactions with foreigners. On this and several other points the book reads outdated, like from the 50s. The size of the foreign-born population in the UK increased from about 5.3 million in 2004 to over 9.5 million in 2021 - this book is from 2004, and considering that this subject is not approached at all, it cements my belief that it is dated.
When I started reading this book, I was also afraid that it would generalise too much, of which the author is also conscious as per her introduction. Yet, she does exactly that. The representation fails to include immigrants and younger generations especially, and, as I mentioned, only depicts a very traditional look on life, English interacting with English in the 50s both as time and age.
There were bits I thought were very realistic, such as rounds in the pub, celebrations around the Christmas period, gardening and the always prevalent hypocrisy, modesty and middle-of-the-round atitudes. In fact these attitudes were mentioned so much, that the read ended up being quite repetitive. They showed up in contexts like shopping, dialogue between mates, work, family life, to the point that it became quite tiring to read about the same idea but in a different context.
If you want some entertainment, by all means read this book, it has many funny parts. But please don't take it as gospel or as the definition of what the English behave like. So much of this is different based on personal experiences, age, context and motivations, for example London itself is a microcosmos that many don't even consider very English. For something that considers itself 'scientific', I was expecting more.
When I started reading this book, I was also afraid that it would generalise too much, of which the author is also conscious as per her introduction. Yet, she does exactly that. The representation fails to include immigrants and younger generations especially, and, as I mentioned, only depicts a very traditional look on life, English interacting with English in the 50s both as time and age.
There were bits I thought were very realistic, such as rounds in the pub, celebrations around the Christmas period, gardening and the always prevalent hypocrisy, modesty and middle-of-the-round atitudes. In fact these attitudes were mentioned so much, that the read ended up being quite repetitive. They showed up in contexts like shopping, dialogue between mates, work, family life, to the point that it became quite tiring to read about the same idea but in a different context.
If you want some entertainment, by all means read this book, it has many funny parts. But please don't take it as gospel or as the definition of what the English behave like. So much of this is different based on personal experiences, age, context and motivations, for example London itself is a microcosmos that many don't even consider very English. For something that considers itself 'scientific', I was expecting more.
I couldn't get past page 108. I wanted to love this book, but it was so exceptionally boring.
Example:
"In the invisible queue rule, we find another example of 'orderly disorder', and evidence of the importance of queueing, which itself could be an indication of the importance of 'fairness" (this make me wonder if perhaps the traditional English reverence for 'fair play' is still stronger than the doom-monger would have us believe). In the pantomime rule, we see again the precedence of etiquette over logic - along with a marked dislike of fuss, noise and drawing attention to oneself, confirming earlier evidence indicating that social inhibition might be among the defining characteristics of Englishness."
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHE'S TALKING ABOUT BUYING A DRINK AT A PUB!
Example:
"In the invisible queue rule, we find another example of 'orderly disorder', and evidence of the importance of queueing, which itself could be an indication of the importance of 'fairness" (this make me wonder if perhaps the traditional English reverence for 'fair play' is still stronger than the doom-monger would have us believe). In the pantomime rule, we see again the precedence of etiquette over logic - along with a marked dislike of fuss, noise and drawing attention to oneself, confirming earlier evidence indicating that social inhibition might be among the defining characteristics of Englishness."
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHE'S TALKING ABOUT BUYING A DRINK AT A PUB!
A great read for anyone who enjoys learning about the English and their many strange, yet endearing, customs. Hard to sit down and read for a long time but the author has a really strong voice and her humour makes it a fun read.
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced