Bryson sees the little things which mean much: yes, why DO women wait to be asked to pay at the checkout as if the possibility of having to pay had never occurred to them, thus holding people up? But this book, unfortunately, is slight and Bryson occasionally lapses into a pointless vulgarity (talking about "gobbing" and the like which regretfully is all too common in the look-at-me-I'm-clever Anton Gill school of tomorrow-forgotten journalese and is not in any way American; rather, "new" British).

The book needs to be twice as long and far less self-obsessed, a fault of so many travel writers when, as established literary lions, they have to make yet more money by producing another high-selling book (cf. Theroux, Newby). Don't waste money on this book, which is in any case to be found for pennies all over England, in jumble sales.


Undecided   August 5, 2004
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

This was the first book I'd read by Bill Bryson, so I didn't really know what to expect. I found the first few chapters hilarious in a laugh-out-loud-at-the-bus-stop kind of way. Then I started to find Bryson a little irritating. I appreciated the fact that he found London to be a 'wonderous city' - I've lived in London all my life, so I was glad he liked it, but I was slightly put out by his rather patronising observation that too many londoners fail to appreciate the city. Now, I'm sure a great many londoners hate the place with a passion and long to escape to the country, but I think they may be justified in that....put Bill Bryson on a tube train at rush hour time, in the summer heat and he might not be raving about the city so much. His experience of London is essentially as a tourist. When you live and work in the city it's a little bit different.
I also found it interesting that Bryson seemed to take pleasure in listing all the typical traits of the english. On the one hand, he pointed out positive things you might not necessarly think about on a day to day basis....but on the other hand, his assumed knowledge of all characteristics of an entire nation was bordering on arrogance. And though he was quick to classify what he perceived to be very english traits, he acted like a stereotypical American throughout - loud, argumentative, aggressive and arrogant.


The best travel book about UK.   May 21, 2004
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

As far as travel books go this is great. As far as funny books go this is great. As far as funny travel books about UK go this is the best as far as I know. I read Paul Theurox's similar, older book, which was good, but not as good and slightly dated. This is a very funny entertaining read. It pokes fun at us, but at the same time is careful to highlight out lovable eccentricities. I am of course biased, and this was the first Bill Bryson book I was to read, but I think it is certainly the best. That's probably because I can relate to it.


Not what I hoped for   May 9, 2004
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

Most people get into Bill Bryson through his travel books, then read his work on linguistics and suchlike afterwards. I happened to do the transition the other way round - and was not impressed.

Other people have suggested that this is not Bryson at his best, so I will have to try his other travel books, but certainly compared to books such as 'A Short History' and 'Made In America', this was disappointing. There are certainly funny parts, and some bits make one proud to be British, but most of the time I couldn't help but notice how *American* Bryson is - shouting at hotel owners and constantly complaining.

The writing is, as ever, very good, however great swathes of the book are literal descriptions of towns and how annoyed Bryson is that the town planners didn't retain the original feel of the town. This doesn't make for the most compelling reading.

This may be stating the obvious, but the whole thing felt like a diary. Travel writers are obviously creating diaries to some extent but they are supposed to be entertaining, whereas some of this simply felt like an aide memoir and personal scribblings and moanings.

Bryson often provides insights into the British mentality. I enjoyed these bits; if you did as well I recommend Kate Fox's 'Watching the English'.

It's not that this is a bad book, it's just that I had hoped, and expected, more.


I loved this book if only for the Glasgow pub chapter.   February 28, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have bought this book three times over the years, having given it away a couple of times. I am surprised to read, therefore, the criticisms in these reviews, with some people saying this is not Bryson at his best.

I think the part of the chapter where Bryson eavesdrops on a conversation in a Glaswegian pub is head and shoulders the funniest thing I have ever read.

I live in Broadway, in the Cotswolds, which gets a brief if ignoble, mention in the book.