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Tarfumes.com - Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $10.17
Your Save: $ 4.78 ( 32% )
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Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 914
EAN: 9780380713806
ISBN: 0380713802
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 1999-04-06
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: 1993-03-01
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Reviews:
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Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies -- in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales. Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies--in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not a balanced view of Europe: 19 out 22 Chapters are on Western Europe
Comment: PROS:
- Bryson's writing style is fluid and funny.
- Good coverage of Western Europe: 19 out of 22 chapters are on it.
CONS:
- The subtitle of the book is, "Travels in Europe", but it should have been called "Travels in Western Europe" since that's where 90% of the book takes place.
- Bryson has minimal interaction with Europeans, only interacting with the locals briefly, even though he traveled alone. He seems to travel with his guidebook in hand, looking at buildings, but not really spending much time getting to know the people. Part of that probably is that he doesn't speak a foreign language well.
- Not terribly informative.
CONCLUSION: Don't expect to learn that much about Europe, but do expect to laugh out loud. If those are your expectations, then you will love this book. I gave it 4 stars because it was so funny, so entertaining, that it overcame the flaws I listed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A review from someone who actually lives in Europe!! (nearly)
Comment: Ok, let me make some things clear for some readers.
a) This book does not (well, the version I read 12 years ago did not) present itself to be some sort of travel guide to Europe. If you want a recommendation for the best coffee shop in Rome or the nicest phone both in Hammerfest, buy a Lonely Planet Guide or something like that.
b) Mr Bryson whilst raised in Des Moines, Iowa, lived in the UK for 20 years, latterly near Settle in North Yorkshire, where I oft saw him leaning over dry stone walls, swinging on gates, or drinking a quiet cup of coffee at the Old Naked man café.
c) The above establishment, despite its name does not guarantee any sightings of old men, naked or otherwise. You have to go to the Golden Lion pub for that.
d) C) (above) was mild sarcasm, a very British trait and which is you don't appreciate or don't "get" means that no matter which BB book you read, you are going to end up disappointed.
e) This is very important. ALL OF BILL BRYSONS BOOKS TEND TO BE THE SAME SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE d) (above), YOU WILL BE VERY UPSET.
f) Points b) to e) (above) are written in the style of Mr Bryson, so if you don't like this review, you are unlikely to like the book.
So, if you are still with me, BB rambles around Europe in a hap-hazard way, making wry observations. The thing is this, and I suspect that many readers don't get it. Maybe its an English thing.
It spoils the book if you actually try and recreate it by going to see the things that he describes! It is more fun to not go there, and imagine that that's how those places and people actually are, and that amusing and gently madcap adventures follow him around. You will find that should you follow in his footsteps, madcap adventures are unlikely to follow in yours.
I think that BB explains his mindset best in his Down Under book, where he explains his best introduction to a new place is to have a cup of coffee and read the local paper. If that sentiment mirrors your own thoughts and attitudes, then I welcome you to the world of Bill Bryson, you will have a wonderful time.
For some others, I can save them some heartache by (forgive me Bill) offering you this abridged version.
"Neither Here nor There - By Bill Bryson (abridged by Pastor of Disaster) .
Chapter 1 - I visited every country in Europe (East and West even though the Berlin wall is still up and travel to some eastern-European countries can be rather difficult). All of the hotels I stayed in were really brilliant offering huge rooms with wonderful views, the food was amazing in all of them, and every restaurant and café, I had no problems at all with public transport and found every local I met totally helpful, and eager to present the fascinating cultural and historical aspects of their city/country in all of their splendour and in such a way that I could find no humour in it, just a further respect for my European brothers and sisters.
Chapters 2- 34 contains a detailed list of hotels I stayed in, the names and addresses of friendly locals and GPS co-ordinates of places I visited that have faithfully promised not to have changed in the intervening 16 years since I visited them in-case it offends your enjoyment of this book.
I thank you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hillarious - for a while
Comment: About 100 pages into this book, I was on my way to ordering all of Bryson's books. A few pages later, my pace of reading started to slow down. And then suddenly I couldn't get any further, however hard I tried...
Maybe it was partly because his journey started in my home country of Norway, but I found myself laughing out loud constantly during the first part of the book. I also enjoyed the start of his European travels, but as he left Rome, I just didn't care anymore. The jokes seemed to dry up, and perhaps he lost interest himself? Anyway, I've tried to pick the book back up several times, but I'm just not into it any longer. And so far I haven't purchased any more Bryson books....
Customer Rating:
Summary: Truly a "tour" de force!
Comment: I'm not much of a traveller, but this book is one of the most delightful romps I've ever been on. Bryson is not only a very funny guy, he has a keen eye for detail, especially the traits that make us all human in our own particular, regional way. I've already started another Bryson book.
AW
Customer Rating:
Summary: Grouchily amusing.
Comment: This was an enjoyable, undemanding read. At his best, Bryson is grouchily funny, though not as hilarious IMO as some other reviews would have you believe. He is better when describing the rough spots of travel than its pleasures. At times, an unattractive whining tone takes over - for instance, when he complains how a particular location, like Florence, is overrun by tourists. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit to finding his skewering of the Swiss and the Austrians pretty much on target.
Three stars, because Bryson never approaches the level of a travel writer like Jan Morris, whose essays are infinitely superior.
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