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A review by andrew_j_r
Around the World in 80 Days by Michael Palin
This is a very funny book. Having read this one and Pole to Pole out of synch (this is the first book based on his travel TV shows) this one is much better - the impending deadline and constant comparison of where his is compared to where Phileas Fogg was (until close to the end he was days behind the fictional traveller) mean that there is an air of tension.
There are a couple of other things that I like about this book. The first is the section detailing his journey by car across Saudi Arabia. They were not allowed to record that part of the journey (necessitated by missing a boat) so the TV show shows them setting off and the next episode shows them leaving Saudi. It was nice to read what happened in the middle.
Where this works better than the TV show is that his observations of boat life are rather funny, whereas moments if the TV show are frustrating, for example he literally jumps off one ship at Singapore and sees nothing but customs as he is late for his next ship, which is waiting for him. The only part of the book that does not live up to expectations is the part on the dhow - the TV episode is magical, the book makes the whole thing seem somewhat more routine. Which makes the extra chapter at the end, based on his return to Dubai and his hunt for the crew of the dhow twenty years after the initial journey, less impact than it should have been.
But it is a great read, and a superb accompaniment to the DVD of the TV show.
There are a couple of other things that I like about this book. The first is the section detailing his journey by car across Saudi Arabia. They were not allowed to record that part of the journey (necessitated by missing a boat) so the TV show shows them setting off and the next episode shows them leaving Saudi. It was nice to read what happened in the middle.
Where this works better than the TV show is that his observations of boat life are rather funny, whereas moments if the TV show are frustrating, for example he literally jumps off one ship at Singapore and sees nothing but customs as he is late for his next ship, which is waiting for him. The only part of the book that does not live up to expectations is the part on the dhow - the TV episode is magical, the book makes the whole thing seem somewhat more routine. Which makes the extra chapter at the end, based on his return to Dubai and his hunt for the crew of the dhow twenty years after the initial journey, less impact than it should have been.
But it is a great read, and a superb accompaniment to the DVD of the TV show.