seattlefraggle 's review for:

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

3.0

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I enjoyed it and I died laughing more than a few times, but it's not Bryson's finest work. As some readers mentioned, this book is rather repetitive and also I felt that it was pretty dated. There's a few remarks on marriage and the differences between men and women that are tinged with misogyny. And there's also that unfortunate incident where he lambasts a McDonald's employee for simply doing his job. I like Bill Bryson a whole lot, and I trust from his other work that he is a kind and compassionate human being. So I imagine he probably played up that exchange a lot, and perhaps entirely fabricated his indignant response, for comedic effect. But it just wasn't very funny. Abusing people in low paying service jobs isn't entertaining.