Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe | Bill Bryson

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe | Bill Bryson | Bill Bryson is always great

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Neither Here nor T...

	Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe Bill Bryson Harper Perennial, 1999 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 163 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Brilliantly funny!

Although Bill Bryson books are very popular (and deservedly so!), what originally prompted me to read one was a comment in a review of John Donoghue's book called Shakespeare My Butt! which likened John's style of writing and humor to that of Bill's. Since I'd enjoyed John's hilariously funny book so much, which is in part about his own escapades around the strangely named places in the North East of England, I thought I would give one of Bill's books a go too. I was certainly not disappointed. What a great book `Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe' is.

It chronicles Bill's escapades as a solo traveler around Europe in a hilariously funny way. Being pick-pocketed in Florence, food ordering dilemmas in Germany, hotel nightmares in Luxembourg, lethal motorists in Paris, and more - much more. It's all in there, and we've all been through similar situations too on our own travels. Bill's observation of Europe is spot-on, and the wit that he uses to relate his traveling experiences to his audience takes no prisoners. It's pure comic genius and certainly had me laughing.

Now the only problem is that I can't decide who my favorite author is, John or Bill - so I guess they will both have to take joint pride of place on my bookshelf!

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Bill Bryson is always great

You must know by now that I never write a bad review about this guy. In this book, we take a whirlwind tour of Europe. You can read the cover blurbs about how funny and perceptive he is, and how skillful he is with the language, and how eminently readable he is. I agree with every word. But I'd like to mention that this isn't some snooty tour guide or gushing forth bubblehead. He's an average guy who won't hesitate to tell you what sucks, or leave a place that he doesn't like, or bend over backwards to say nice things. He'll bash anybody, himself included. He's refreshingly honest.

Plus, if you had it in your head that Europe was just one homogenous place, or if perhaps you've heard a whole bunch of national or cities names and characteristics and can't keep them all straight, this book will fix that right up. In addition, if you're overseas but in a country nowhere near Europe, perhaps some place in Asia, you can still enjoy some very familiar situations. In case you haven't guessed, I highly recommend this book.

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Neither Good nor Bad

Bill Bryson has a talent for turning his travel adventures into a humorous celebration of the obscure, the bizarre and the frustrating. He has a keen and often sarcastic eye for what will entertain the seasoned armchair traveler, and books like `Down Under' and `Notes from a Small Island' are filled with hilarious anecdotes and interesting insights into the areas he is exploring. Unfortunately `Neither Here nor There' is not as engaging or amusing as many of Bryson's other efforts, and seems like a rather hotch-potch attempt to fill a book with as many destinations as possible.

With around 25 destinations visited in `Neither Here nor There', Bryson does not have the time or room to exercise his trademark ability to unearth unusual facts and figures. He seems to rush around Europe and not greatly enjoy his travels, although a large beer and a big meal often appears to soothe his frazzled spirits. One thing that surprised me was that Bryson proudly refuses to learn even the most basic foreign phrases, which seems a little rude and ignorant. I started to suspect that this is partly because he relies upon language-barrier humor a little too much. He also does not meet with locals a great deal in this book, denying us the Bryson knack for meeting people who are either a little odd, or filled with fascinating information.

Although I did still enjoy parts of `Neither Here nor There' immensely, I found myself occasionally wanting to skip a chapter or two, which saddened me as I am a great admirer of many of Bryson's other books. I ended the book feeling I didn't know a great deal more about the cities he visited, and that the book was more an attempt to gather enough material for publication rather than a great travel story that needed to be shared.

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Bill Bryson is no Mark Twain, but who is?

Why not just read Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad instead? Bryson's account reads like a bad rip-off at many points, and while Twain's mockery of a typical American tourist in Europe is clearly coming from love of and respect for his fellow Americans, Bryson comes off as snobbish and superior, wishing to distance himself from all things American, quick to point out that he is an ex-pat. Also, Twain is funnier. Of course.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

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