| Reviews for Notes from a Small Island
Amazon.com
Reacting to an itch common to Midwesterners since there's been a Midwest from which to escape, writer Bill Bryson moved from Iowa to Britain in 1973. Working for such places as Times of London, among others, he has lived quite happily there ever since. Now Bryson has decided his native country needs him--but first, he's going on a roundabout jaunt on the island he loves. Britain fascinates Americans: it's familiar, yet alien; the same in some ways, yet so different. Bryson does an excellent job of showing his adopted home to a Yank audience, but you never get the feeling that Bryson is too much of an outsider to know the true nature of the country. Notes from a Small Island strikes a nice balance: the writing is American-silly with a British range of vocabulary. Bryson's marvelous ear is also in evidence: "... I noted the names of the little villages we passed through--Pinhead, West Stuttering, Bakelite, Ham Hocks, Sheepshanks ..." If you're an Anglophile, you'll devour Notes from a Small Island.
From Publishers Weekly
Before his return to the U.S. after a 20-year residence in England, journalist Bryson (Made in America) embarked on a farewell tour of his adopted homeland. His trenchant, witty and detailed observations of life in a variety of towns and villages will delight Anglophiles. Traveling only on public transportation and hiking whenever possible, Bryson wandered along the coast through Bournemouth and neighboring villages that reinforced his image of Britons as a people who rarely complain and are delighted by such small pleasures as a good tea. In Liverpool, the author's favorite English city, he visited the Merseyside Maritime Museum to experience its past as a great port. Interweaving descriptions of landscapes and everyday encounters with shopkeepers, pub customers and fellow travelers, Bryson shares what he loves best about the idiosyncrasies of everyday English life in this immensely entertaining travel memoir. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Bryson, who hails from Iowa, has spent the last 20 years living in England and writing about the often nettlesome relationship between his two countries, especially regarding their shared language (Made in America, LJ 2/1/95). His latest work is "a kind of valedictory tour around the green and kindly island" before he moved with his family back to the United States. With Paul Theroux's Kingdom by the Sea in hand, Bryson braves the inhospitably soggy fall weather to trudge from Dover, London, coastal villages, Wales, Scotland, and back home to Yorkshire on a helter-skelter seven-week journey that only a reader well versed in the geography of the region will follow, since there are no maps to aid the (American) reader. In fact, Bryson is writing here more for his British fans, who no doubt roar with mirth as he gently pokes fun at their excessive forbearance and fondness for Cagney and Lacey repeats. He is hilarious when transcribing a conversation with unsuspecting locals, especially in Glaswegian pubs, but merely dumb when he indulges in a curious (is it British?) bathroom humor. His portrait is certainly heartfelt, and one wonders, as he chokes up describing a stately, vanishing old England, if he will truly find happiness watching the 67 television channels in his native land. For all travel collections.
Amy Boaz, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
The New York Times Book Review, Mordecai Richler
Bryson is surely what J.B. Priestley would have called a good companion, and an observant one, with a bemused eye for the zany. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From AudioFile
What a jolly good read! In this account of the author's farewell tour of England after almost two decades as a "visitor," his wit and wisdom are on copious display, as is some insightful commentary on British attitudes and mores. William Roberts punctuates his reading with excellent accents and characterizations and beautifully captures Bryson's text. Do listen carefully, though; part of Bryson's charm is his wordplay, and that sometimes gets lost in the audio format. Also, there are some, well, spicy words and phrases in the book. These are minor quibbles, and they in no way lessen a wonderful book. R.I.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
From Booklist
After a British sojourn lasting 20 years, this celebrated journalist decided to move back to the U.S.--but not before embarking on a prolonged jaunt around Britain, mainly by way of public transportation. Bryson's entertaining travelogue combines the intimate knowledge of one who has lived among Britons for a sustained period with the refreshing sense of wonder from a first-time visitor. When Bryson engages in chronicling typically British customs and characters, his love of the place is as obvious as his writing is delightfully irreverent. A great success in the U.K., Bryson's remarkably lively view should enchant the U.S. travel audience as well. Alice Joyce --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
After two decades as a resident of England, Bryson (Made in America, 1995, etc.) bids a very fond farewell to that sceptered isle, to that promontory of clotted cream. Before returning to his native America, Bryson launched himself on a seven-week peregrination through the hills and dells, the High Streets and hedgerows of England, Wales, and Scotland. As always, he found most of the towns and the hummocks very much to his liking, indeed. And who wouldn't smile broadly wandering through the environs of Horton in Ribblesdale or Giggleswick or journeying to Milton Keynes (which is, be assured, a place, not an economist)? The main trick to successful hiking, the author knows, is to take a bus or train or rent a car frequently between the beds and breakfasts--the latter being full English and full cholesterol. Of course, not all he encountered was wonderful. ``Bradford's role in life,'' he notes, ``is to make every place else look better in comparison, and it does this very well.'' ``Blackpool's Illuminations,'' he says, ``are nothing if not splendid, and they are not splendid.'' British Rail and the ubiquitous Marks & Spencer are not favorites, either. Bryson also has an eye, unsurpassed by that of Prince Charles himself, for nasty architecture, especially shopping centers. Despite those dark, satanic malls, England delights him. He asks, ``can there anywhere on earth be, in such a modest span, a landscape more packed with centuries of busy, productive attainment?'' The spelling is American, the writing is English (fat folk are seen to ``Hoover up'' their comestibles), and the wit is genuine. A diverting travel journal, for Anglophiles especially. A short glossary (translating such terms as ``knickers,'' ``loo,'' and ``George Formby'') is provided. A map of the journey (not included) would have been nice, luv. But all in all, a tasty crumpet. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
?Bill Bryson is a funny writer?doubled over belly shakes and seltzer through the nose funny.?
?Globe and Mail
?The year?s best travel book?funny and witty and truthful.?
?Toronto Sun
?The funniest book I read this year ? winded by its humor, tears on the cheeks.?
?Ottawa Citizen
?Bryson is first and foremost a storyteller ? and a supremely comic and original one at that.?
?Winnipeg Free Press
From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Book Description
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it." After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestsellingauthor of The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to returnto the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out ona grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile. "Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestselling author of ,i>The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.
Inside Flap Copy
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain--which is to say, all of it. Every last bit of it, good and bad--old churches, country lanes, people saying 'Mustn't grumble' and 'I'm terribly sorry but,' people apologizing to me when I conk them with a careless elbow, milk in bottles, beans on toast, haymaking in June, seaside piers, Ordinance Survey maps, tea and crumpets, summer showers and foggy winter evenings--every bit of it."
After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such bestsellers as The Mother Tongue and Made in America, decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while. This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland--and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him.
But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of modern-day Britain, and to analyze what he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, zebra crossings, and place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells.
With characteristic wit and irreverence, Bill Bryson presents the ludicrous and the endearing in equal measure. The result is a hilarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
From the Back Cover
“Bill Bryson is a funny writer…doubled over belly shakes and seltzer through the nose funny.”
–Globe and Mail
“The year’s best travel book…funny and witty and truthful.”
–Toronto Sun
“The funniest book I read this year – winded by its humor, tears on the cheeks.”
–Ottawa Citizen
“Bryson is first and foremost a storyteller – and a supremely comic and original one at that.”
–Winnipeg Free Press
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Bill Bryson's many books include, most recently In a Sunburned Country, as well as I'm a Stranger Here Myself, A walk in the Woods, Neither Here Nor There, Made in America, and The Mother Tongue.He edited The Best American Travel Writing 2000. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he lived in England for almost two decades. He now lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, with his wife and four children.
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