|
Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe (平装)
by Bill Bryson
| Category:
Travel, Travel writing, Fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 158.00
MSL price:
¥ 148.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A humorous and insightful look into travelling in Europe. Typical Bill Bryson writing, good for language learning. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
|
| |
AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
|
|
An Austrian reader (MSL quote), Austria
<2007-01-04 00:00>
In the book Neither Here Nor There the American writer Bill Bryson tells about his adventures during his trips to Europe. The whole book is divided into twenty two chapters and every chapter tells the reader about a different place. In the first two chapters he describes his trip to the northernmost European town Hammerfest and in his typical sarcastic way he tells about the exhausting bus ride and the people he get to know. After an apparently endless journey by bus he finally arrives at Hammerfest. At first he is really bored in the small town as nothing ever seems to happen there, but after he have spent some weeks in the dark Hammerfest, he starts to enjoy the easy way of living there. He gets to know the advantage of having time for things you usually can't do. Furthermore, he starts making friends with the Mayor and some other inhabitants. So at the end of his stay in Hammerfest he doesn't only has got to know most of the people there, but even has seen Northern Lights, which had been the reason for that trip. After the fascinating event of the spectacular Northern Lights, that impressed him deeply, he decides to return to Oslo, although for a moment he has doubts if he should leave Hammerfest so quickly.
He also remembers his first trip to Europe as a young man in the seventies, where he went by plane and got impressed by Europe and its people as it seemed to be so different from everything he had known before. He got to know the hospitality of a couple from Belgium and their Citroen 2CV as he hitch-hiked to find a room for the next few days. Although the wife didn't really trust him, the man was fascinated of him and wanted to spend more time with him, but Bryson himself thought that they had been very strange. So he was glad when he finally found a small hotel where he could stay. That summer he also tramped through Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. |
|
|
J. Klerks (MSL quote), The Netherlands
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Neither Here Nor There is Bill Bryson's travel accounts through Europe, mostly some large cities. Now Bryson really isn't a traveler, he's more of an observing tourist. Typically, Bryson arrives somewhere, checks into a hotel, has something to say about it, goes out for a hike, wondering about what he sees, comparing it with how it looked twenty years ago when shoestringing the place with his side kick Katz, goes into a restaurant and either mocks or glorifies it. As always, food and beverages are quite a big deal in Bryson's accounts. And as ever, when being bored of it, he just skips some parts. He seems quite easy in strolling the local Main Street and then happily scratching the city of his list as a done deal.
Now that all sounds quite shallow if it wasn't for Bryson's observing eye and him taking a keen and clever interest in everything he sees, being accurate while at it. Plus he's hugely witty and funny, he really is. Even when he's P.O. about something, he's always amusing. Besides, more then his feet, his mind wanders in all directions at times, placing things into amusing perspectives. One really shouldn't judge this as a travel book, you just want to enjoy it for it's Bill Bryson who wrote it. |
|
|
Megan Johnson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
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! |
|
|
|
1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
