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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Με αφορμή και πρόσχημα το σπίτι του στην Αγγλία, ο Bryson χωρίζει το βιβλίο του σε κεφάλαια αφιερωμένα σε δωμάτια και βρίσκει την ευκαιρία να μας μιλήσει για μια πλειάδα ιστορικών θεμάτων, από τον πύργο του Άιφελ και το άγαλμα της ελευθερίας, μέχρι το τσάι, τα πτωχοκομεία και τις μηχανές για το γνέσιμο του βαμβακιού.
Η αλήθεια είναι ότι πολλά από τα ιστορικά και συχνά ανεκδοτολογικά περιστατικά που παρουσιάζει έχουν ενδιαφέρον, αλλά, δυστυχώς, αυτό δεν ισχύει στο σύνολο των περιπτώσεων, με αποτέλεσμα ο αναγνώστης για αρκετές σελίδες να σύρεται σε περιγραφές και εξιστορήσεις που αισθάνεται ότι θα μπορούσαν και να λείπουν, μειώνοντας κατά τι τις 500 σελίδες του βιβλίου (600 μεγάλου μεγέθους στην ελληνική έκδοση).
Ωστόσο, τα λιγότερο ενδιαφέροντα σημεία δεν αρκούν για να καταστήσουν το βιβλίο δυσάρεστο. Ο γνώριμος τρόπος γραφής του Bryson, με σπιρτάδα και χιοούμορ αναλαμβάνει να αποζημιώσει τον αναγνώστη στα καλά κομμάτια.
Δεν είναι το καλύτερο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, σίγουρα, αλλά δεν είναι και το χειρότερο.
Η αλήθεια είναι ότι πολλά από τα ιστορικά και συχνά ανεκδοτολογικά περιστατικά που παρουσιάζει έχουν ενδιαφέρον, αλλά, δυστυχώς, αυτό δεν ισχύει στο σύνολο των περιπτώσεων, με αποτέλεσμα ο αναγνώστης για αρκετές σελίδες να σύρεται σε περιγραφές και εξιστορήσεις που αισθάνεται ότι θα μπορούσαν και να λείπουν, μειώνοντας κατά τι τις 500 σελίδες του βιβλίου (600 μεγάλου μεγέθους στην ελληνική έκδοση).
Ωστόσο, τα λιγότερο ενδιαφέροντα σημεία δεν αρκούν για να καταστήσουν το βιβλίο δυσάρεστο. Ο γνώριμος τρόπος γραφής του Bryson, με σπιρτάδα και χιοούμορ αναλαμβάνει να αποζημιώσει τον αναγνώστη στα καλά κομμάτια.
Δεν είναι το καλύτερο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, σίγουρα, αλλά δεν είναι και το χειρότερο.
funny
informative
slow-paced
I started listening to this months ago and although the content was somewhat interesting, it was extremely dry. I think I have renewed the audio book from the library like 10 times and finally decided I'd rather listen to something else because it felt like a chore to listen to. I hate to be a quitter so maybe someday I will finish it, but the pace is really slow.
In typical Bryson fashion history is presented in an astonishing way and thru a unique format. I listened to this book and enjoyed it immensely.
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
fast-paced
Interesting but really is a history of upper middle class English private life with a little bit of lower class English private life thrown in
At Home: A Short History of Private Life is Bill Bryson's answer to his own work, A Short History of Nearly Everything, which was about basically the entire universe*. What's the opposite of the history of everything? Apparently the history of just one place: the home.
*I haven't read it yet and maybe never will, because he talks about the supervolcano in it, and just . . . no. I can't deal with the supervolcano. LA LA LA.
Bryson and his family live in a country parsonage in England, and Bryson became curious first about the history of his own home, and then logically, about the history of homes in general. We spend so much time thinking and writing about the big events in history, the wars and famines and political upheavals, but very little time thinking about the history of the objects and small places we encounter in our everyday lives. It's amazing the amount of history bound up in something as common as salt, for instance, or our mattresses, or the dining table, etc. As he states in the book, “Houses aren’t refuges from history. They are where history ends up.”
As always, Bryson is delightful. He obviously takes such pleasure in uncovering these small, almost forgotten moments, and he always does so with affection for even the most unscrupulous of his subjects. There was so much in this book that I feel overwhelmed just thinking about it. It seems like every other page I would be shocked into saying something like, "What? Really? That's where that came from?" I'm sure I will never be able to remember it all, but it was damn fun reading all the same. There was a bit in the middle when he went on and on about architecture and architects when I was rather bored (apparently I don't like reading about architects, which is something I've just learned about myself), but for the most part everything in here was great. I listened to it on audibook, which was a good choice, I think. The only thing about the audiobook: I was a little thrown by Bryson's accent. He's American by birth but has spent decades with an English wife, living in England, and it ends up sounding like his accent is having an identity crisis. This didn't inhibit my enjoyment of the book. It was just a bit strange.
Still didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, but it's pretty hard to top a book about Australia, honestly, because that place is CRAZY.
*I haven't read it yet and maybe never will, because he talks about the supervolcano in it, and just . . . no. I can't deal with the supervolcano. LA LA LA.
Bryson and his family live in a country parsonage in England, and Bryson became curious first about the history of his own home, and then logically, about the history of homes in general. We spend so much time thinking and writing about the big events in history, the wars and famines and political upheavals, but very little time thinking about the history of the objects and small places we encounter in our everyday lives. It's amazing the amount of history bound up in something as common as salt, for instance, or our mattresses, or the dining table, etc. As he states in the book, “Houses aren’t refuges from history. They are where history ends up.”
As always, Bryson is delightful. He obviously takes such pleasure in uncovering these small, almost forgotten moments, and he always does so with affection for even the most unscrupulous of his subjects. There was so much in this book that I feel overwhelmed just thinking about it. It seems like every other page I would be shocked into saying something like, "What? Really? That's where that came from?" I'm sure I will never be able to remember it all, but it was damn fun reading all the same. There was a bit in the middle when he went on and on about architecture and architects when I was rather bored (apparently I don't like reading about architects, which is something I've just learned about myself), but for the most part everything in here was great. I listened to it on audibook, which was a good choice, I think. The only thing about the audiobook: I was a little thrown by Bryson's accent. He's American by birth but has spent decades with an English wife, living in England, and it ends up sounding like his accent is having an identity crisis. This didn't inhibit my enjoyment of the book. It was just a bit strange.
Still didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, but it's pretty hard to top a book about Australia, honestly, because that place is CRAZY.
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism