You might find me on the other side ... that's likeitis
You might find me on the other side ... that's likeitis
Member since:12.06.2002
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I'm a fan of Bill Bryson. I like his dry, acerbic wit, and the way he bombards the reader with lots of dry facts yet manages to still keep it entertaining.
The latest book of his I read (although not the latest written), was Notes from a Big Country.
As I said, delivering trivial facts and figures in an amusing fashion is Bryson's forte and when those facts are about the land of his birth (USA), and are compared then related to his once adopted homeland (UK), I can visualize him virtually drooling at the prospect.
And so, following his return to live in New England after 20-odd years domiciled in Olde England, when the editor of the British newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, asked him to write a weekly magazine column documenting his return home, you would imagine he'd leap at the chance. Actually, he kept complaining that he didn't have the time and was dragged into the enterprise kicking and screaming. I'm afraid it shows.
The book is a collection of 78 of these articles which were written over a period of
18 months between Oct '96 and May '98 after he and his English family returned to the US and settled in New Hampshire. As they were originally published in the aforementioned newspaper, there's not a great deal of point reading the book if you're a subscriber to that paper. I'm not, so it was all fresh reading to me.
Or it would have been, if certain incidents, facts and anecdotes didn't keep cropping up with annoying regularity throughout.
Each of the 'chapters' is a little over two pages, so it's easy reading and also very adaptable to picking up and putting down. But, because each chapter is a complete work as such, certain little passages are repeated and this can make the book as a whole seem very repetitive.
The dominating theme of the book is his astonishment, and sometimes horror, at how American* society has changed while he's been away. This is counterbalanced by his English-born family's immediate adoption of their new, American way of life, which he finds a little difficult to understand. This reaction to his family is quite a strange attitude from a man who settled in England for many years and who so readily embraced the different culture there. Of course, as Bryson points out so often, Americans sometimes don't quite get irony. Which is all rather...erm...ironic, really.
The subjects of each article are wide and varied, so it's almost impossible to give a synopsis of the book here. Suffice to say, that Bryson does his usual clinical job of pointing out the absurdity of normal, everyday life.
Things like: The American obsession with law-suits, a day at the beach and all the horrors entailed, setting up a computer, crime, the quality (or lack) of TV, movies, air conditioners, pollution and wasting resources, holiday seasons, and a whole host of other subjects.
Sometimes he trashes the culture of the USA in his writings, but not always. He waxes lyrical in praise of a New England fall, old-fashioned barber shops, and many others.
There are poignant chapters too - when his son moves out to go to college. and the times when he tries to re-kindle long-lost childhood memories. Some of these more personal anecdotes read a little like a diary and give some insight into the man. It's also clear from his writing that he misses many things from the UK - although many things he most certainly doesn't....rotten weather being most prominent.
I've read many of Bryson's books, and I've yet to find one that I didn't enjoy - and this one was no exception. However, I would probably rate this as far from his best. This is purely down to the fact that it is a collection of short articles, and as I said before, a lot of it is repetitive. Quite often many passages are repeated.... (hey, if it's good enough for Bryson, it's good enough for me).
I'm sure if I had read this in it's original, weekly column form, I would have been so much more impressed. In fact, possibly the way to get the best out of this book is by only reading a passage or two each night, or week, and so read them as they were written. Sounds like a good idea, but I'm afraid I find Bryson hard to put down and read the whole lot over two nights...actually, I suppose that's a testament to how good his writing is.
In conclusion: Not Bryson's best book (if it really can be classed as a book) but still enjoyable. Personally, I think since he'd already been paid for the weekly column, he could have at least edited the content into a more cohesive format - one that scanned better.
* Obviously I'm aware that Canadians, Mexicans and Chileans are Americans too, but as I'm unfamiliar with any term to describe the citizens of the USA other than Americans, I'm afraid that's the term I've used.
IBSN 0385 4101190 Published 1998 by Doubleday
Šproxam2009
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You've got a nice balance of the pros and cons - I think your point about it being edited into longer segments is very valid. I found the chapter on his son going to university very touching, too.
patriciat 10.02.2009 13:07
I've read a few of his books, but not this one. Pat.t x
brokenangelkisses 06.02.2009 10:56
I did enjoy these, although some of them got a bit ranty and listy.
Here's a fact for you. According to the latest "Abstract of the UnitedStates", every year ... more
more than 400,00 Americans suffer injuries involving beds,mattresses or pillows...That is more people than live in greater Coventry. That is almost 2,000 bed,...
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"Here's a fact for you. According to the latest "Abstract of the United States", every ... more
year more than 400,00 Americans suffer injuries involving beds, mattresses or pillows...That is more people than live in greater Coventry. That is almost 2,000...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Here's a fact for you. According to the latest "Abstract of the UnitedStates", every year ... more
more than 400,00 Americans suffer injuries involving beds,mattresses or pillows...That is more people than live in greater Coventry. That is almost 2,000 bed,...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Jan 26th, 2009
(Jan 27th, 2009)
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