An Idiot Abroad: the Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington - Karl Pilkington

As seems to be a bit of a habit with Sky TV programs the promotion for An Idiot Abroad seems to have been just about everywhere. With the TV series showing on sky and the release of the accompanying book by Karl Pilkington detailing his travel diaries from the trip it seems to have gathered a rather large following. I’d heard of Karl from his work on XFM and even though I had yet to see the series I jumped at the chance to read the accompanying book to see if it would be any good. I’d heard a number of positives about the series as a whole and wondered if the books would live up to this promise.

The Concept

In Karl Pilkington we have someone who prefers to holiday in the UK. He has no interest in travel and other than a few trips abroad on package holidays to Majorca. For Karl the idea of travel doesn’t interest him and he isn’t particularly interested in seeing any of the wonderful sites that the World has to offer. In fact his opening remarks about the Seven Wonders is to exclaim that they seem a bit S**t.

That is where Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais step in to try and aid their friend, or at least that was the original idea, to get a better idea and concept of what the Seven Wonders are about. For Stephen its all about helping Karl to expand his horizons and experience the wider World. In Ricky’s eyes it’s a chance to send Karl to all sorts of places and make him suffer along the way, he certainly wants to make sure that Karl knows it is work and not a holiday.

Over the course of a year Karl travelled to Egypt to see the Pyramids, Brazil to see Christ The Redeemer, India to see the Taj Mahal, Mexico to see Chichen Itza, China to see the Great Wall, Jordan to visit Petra and finally to Peru to Machu Picchu.

Who Is Karl Pilkington

For many this is probably a very important question as prior to An Idiot Abroad his fame had been limited to a stint on Manchester Piccadilly Radio before moving on to stint at XFM where he produced and starred as part of the Ricky Gervais show. It was here he met his would be friends and tormentors, although with friends like these, who really needs enemies.

An Idiot Abroad

I have to admit to not really knowing what to expect from An Idiot Abroad, but I like to think that having now read it there is a unique travel insight, interspersed with some moments of hilarity and at times something rather odd and hard to describe. The book itself is split into 7 chapters, one dedicated to each of the Wonders Karl is to visit and following an introduction to the concept and the man by Gervais and Merchant we are left with Pilkington’s unique thought process in the form of a travel diary.

As Karl travels from one Country to another, Gervais and Merchant have set up a number of little side trips and experiences for him to enjoy. These range from Mexican Wrestling to being force-fed Frog by a Chinese Lady. Along the way Karl gives his very unique and at times interesting account of the experiences he has had along the way and this seems to almost engulf the original concept. Unlike a lot of travel writing the book doesn’t really focus on the Seven Wonders, but instead gives a very unique and interesting account of Karl’s experiences.

It is clear that Karl wrote the diaries day by day during his trip and in fact from a readers point of view they are very well written. He doesn’t get bogged down in details and keeps the narrative quite light and interesting. The trips for various reasons sound like a nightmare but in the way Pilkington seems to embrace the difficulties and just carry on really comes across in the book. At times he does moan a little but given what his two so-called friends are putting him through at times it is no real surprise.

I think though that the title Gervais has labelled on Pilkington here, whilst intended for comical value couldn’t be less true. In his writing there are moments of shock and disbelieve at some of his thoughts and opinions but on the whole he comes across very well. The book is written in an interesting manor, with numerous pictures from his trips to really illustrate some of the more challenging aspects of the trips. Even the conversations with Gervais and Merchant, which are documented within the book, actually show ho hard they tried to cause him grief but Pilkington rose to their challenge.

Not For Idiots

Whilst I’ve still not seen the series I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and perhaps my biggest, and only criticism, is actually about the way Merchant and Gervais come across in the book. Both of them seem intent on making Karl’s trip miserable but in this very well written and easy to read diary it seems like he may have really benefited from the trips in spite of the pairs obvious attempts to sour it all. In fairness Merchant was actually being a lot nicer than Gervais but both seemed to try and break his spirit, which detracted a bit from the original idea.

That said though at 296 pages long it is an interesting read that, whilst perhaps not really being a good travel guide, works well as a travel account. It’s not the kind of book you would use to get tips on visiting these places but it is the kind of book to expand your mind about life in these countries. The wonders take a back seat but even his visits to these bring some very funny thoughts and opinions such as Chichen Itza looking like a pyramid with a bungalow on top.

Overall it is an interesting read and a very funny one at times too. Perahps the best aspect of the book was just how addictive it was and once I started reading I struggled to put it down again. The daily format of the diary entries made for good breaks in the narrative but also served to entice you to read a little further. I would certainly recommend it if you like travel writing with a slightly more light-hearted nature. The input from Gervais and Merchant is far more minimal I believe in the book and that for me, given the way they come across in the book, is certainly a good thing.

Amazon: £7.49
Amazon Marketplace: £4.80
ISBN: 978-1847679260
296 Pages
Hardcover