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A review by n8hanson
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
2.0
Having deeply enjoyed A Short History of Nearly Everything, and The Body,
I knew to expect whatever the purported topic, Bryson would take the meandering scenic route through Anglocentric history. Unfortunately this book lost itself too many times in suburban culs de sac of obscure trivialities.
In theory, each chapter focused on a different room in a house, e.g., the dining room, then the kitchen, etc. They started well enough, but later seemed to increasingly degenerate into hastily reassembled heaps of randomly ripped pages from British history books and biographies. Substantial page count was devoted to public reputations, mistresses, personal petty feuds, to the point that I almost forgot - wait, wasn't I trying to learn about the origin of the hallway?
The chapter on the bedroom spent more words on the British history of infant mortality, obstetrics, childrearing, poverty, and social programs than, y'know, the bedroom or any of its objects.
I'd hoped for more insight into the architectural history of houses worldwide. There was some of that, but with equal parts 19th century tabloid rags and random Wikipedia articles. But hey, at least in the bathroom chapter I got to learn about 700 Londoners drowning in raw sewage in 1878.
In theory, each chapter focused on a different room in a house, e.g., the dining room, then the kitchen, etc. They started well enough, but later seemed to increasingly degenerate into hastily reassembled heaps of randomly ripped pages from British history books and biographies. Substantial page count was devoted to public reputations, mistresses, personal petty feuds, to the point that I almost forgot - wait, wasn't I trying to learn about the origin of the hallway?
The chapter on the bedroom spent more words on the British history of infant mortality, obstetrics, childrearing, poverty, and social programs than, y'know, the bedroom or any of its objects.
I'd hoped for more insight into the architectural history of houses worldwide. There was some of that, but with equal parts 19th century tabloid rags and random Wikipedia articles. But hey, at least in the bathroom chapter I got to learn about 700 Londoners drowning in raw sewage in 1878.