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syllabus_of_errors 's review for:
At Home: A Short History of Private Life
by Bill Bryson
This was an enjoyable listen, and it serves as a general overview of domestic history in the English and American traditions. I'd give it a 4.5 stars, and I'll round up. I liked the framing narrative that Bryson uses, which is centered around his own manor house and the country parson who built it in the mid-19th century. Through the book, Bryson goes room-by-room and details various aspects of domestic life and how it evolved over time and descriptions of the lives.
As should be very-heavily noted, this is an Anglocentric history. I had anticipated a more sweeping view including other cultures, but Bryson limits the scope, not out of ignorance, but in order to actually provide a readable book in his area of expertise. I'd say the book is about 1:3 English to American histories; it mostly is about lives in rural to urbanizing Southern England, with sections about Colonial to Gilded Age America.
It's a very-approachable read/listen that lives up to the book's subtitle. Aspects throughout the domestic world are touched upon, with a modern lens that is neither damning nor fawning. The tone is colorful and descriptive, but doesn't go too far into narrative, and doesn't attempt humor (to its benefit).
Although the book is arranged room-by-room, I was impressed by how little Bryson repeats himself chapter-to-chapter. Much credit to Bryson and his editor for having a coherent narrative that doesn't contradict or repeat itself. Histories like this often have a bad habit of developing amnesia when covering a similar subject from earlier chapters, and At Home does one of the best jobs I've seen avoiding this.
As should be very-heavily noted, this is an Anglocentric history. I had anticipated a more sweeping view including other cultures, but Bryson limits the scope, not out of ignorance, but in order to actually provide a readable book in his area of expertise. I'd say the book is about 1:3 English to American histories; it mostly is about lives in rural to urbanizing Southern England, with sections about Colonial to Gilded Age America.
It's a very-approachable read/listen that lives up to the book's subtitle. Aspects throughout the domestic world are touched upon, with a modern lens that is neither damning nor fawning. The tone is colorful and descriptive, but doesn't go too far into narrative, and doesn't attempt humor (to its benefit).
Although the book is arranged room-by-room, I was impressed by how little Bryson repeats himself chapter-to-chapter. Much credit to Bryson and his editor for having a coherent narrative that doesn't contradict or repeat itself. Histories like this often have a bad habit of developing amnesia when covering a similar subject from earlier chapters, and At Home does one of the best jobs I've seen avoiding this.