Rating: 
Summary: Way too much time on his hands
Review: "Everything you read from this moment forth is a tribute to what can be achieved as a result of a shabby night of booze."Thus does Tony Hawks elegantly describe the genesis of his journey chronicled in ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE. To be more precise, it was the result of a drunken gamble made with a buddy that in itself doesn't make much sense. The bet was for 100 British pounds, and the refrigerator cost Hawks 130 pounds. What was he thinking? By the way, in case you're wondering, the fridge in question was a small cube perhaps two feet or less on a side, not one of the behemoths in which one stores provisions for a family of six (or beer and frozen pizza for a single bachelor). The terms of the wager allowed Hawks, a comedian by profession, one calendar month to hitchhike the circumference of Ireland with fridge in tow. A month can accommodate a fair number of paying gigs. So, with apparently that much free time on his hands, one wonders how successful a comedian Tony was at the time (1997). Well, that's neither here nor there. In any case, the author's talent for dry humor translates well to the printed medium, as when he observes: "Shooting hordes of insubordinate natives was acceptable when 'needs must', but jumping a queue was always quite intolerable. The whole raison d'être for a vast British Empire had been a desire to teach the ignorant peoples of the world how to queue correctly." Quite right. I think even the Queen would agree. Indeed, it's the humor of ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE that supports the narrative as far as it goes. It falls short as a travel essay, which, in my mind, should be descriptive of the locale being traversed. Beyond this reader's conclusion that the Irish are remarkably tolerant of and generous to eccentrics, most of the insights gained don't extend beyond the walls of the many pubs where Hawks spends his hours when not actually on the road. Granted, this isn't entirely the author's fault. The friendly Irish are just always offering to buy him a pint. However, as an example, at one stage in his journey Tony and the fridge are coveyed between points A and B by a white van with "Galway Swan Rescue" emblazoned on the side. Now, I'd like to know what a swan rescuer does, but Hawks never tells, and my curiosity remains unsatisfied. This lack of useful information pervades the volume as a whole. In the end, the book's 247 pages were amusing enough to warrant three stars, but it's mindless reading with a capital "M". Even telling how he got a splinter while Doing It in a doghouse didn't add as much to the saga as he probably thought it might. Is Tony a girl's dream date, or what?
Rating:
Summary: ma ci fai o ci sei?
Review: ...literally: "are you really so (naive) or you simply pretend to be it?" yes, i did not appreciate the "Troubles" being described as... well i can't quote, it's the rule... see pages 82-83. ok, this kind of description can be a good way to express his disapproval on that conflict, but i simply felt it as noncurance, inability to go in depth when facing some more complex problems than the temperature of the shower. this is my disappoinment: i hoped to read what does an englishman think of ireland, rather than what does an englishman think of HIM WHEN HE IS IN ireland. many pages are however very well written and i would advise you to read them, if you do not expect ireland to be the protagonist: a fridge is on stage as well!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Craic
Review: After a heavy alcohol-fuelled session at a party, English comedian Tony Hawks wakes up to find that he has entered into a bet to hitchhike around the coast of Ireland in the company of a fridge. Not a man to welch on his bets he sets off to do precisely that and manages to write us a hilarious book detailing the experience. The people of Ireland respond to the idea of this English lunatic pulling this stunt as if it's an excellent proposal and pitch in to help Tony on his way with madcap enthusiasm. By car, truck and van, Tony and his fridge progress around the coast; on the way having the fridge christened, blessed, named and adopted as well as entering into a batchelor competition. The passing through of Tony and his fridge becomes an event in many areas and he achieves a cult following as "Fridge-man". If you want to read a travelogue with a difference you'd be hard-pressed to find one as bizarre and enjoyable as this which serves to warm the reader's heart to Ireland, the Irish, Tony and free-willed kitchen appliances everywhere. Good craic.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and interesting
Review: Although i liked "Playing the Moldovans at Tennis" more, the Ireland book is writen in the same funny and interesting tone. I dont know anything about Ireland but now, i am dreaming about going on a trip similar to this(well, without a fridge).
Tony's book is extreamly easy to follow, he doesnt take a long time to "describe the scenary", which is an alternative to traditional travel book. I love the dry humor and the wild imagination. I will defenetely recommend it to people who would like to smile.
Rating: 
Summary: "A Pointless Exercise"
Review: Author Tony Hawks describes his journey with the fridge as a pointless exercise. I was intrigued by the possibilities of his comical take on his Irish journey. After reading his book however I can't quite figure out which exercise was more pointless, his journey or my time wasted reading about it. This booked seemed to fail on all levels. As a travel book it offers little in the way of information. As a book to detail the Irish personna as seen from the outside he offers little other than "stage irish" observations which at times seem to be delivered in a condesending manner which befits his British background. Even as book written by someone who makes their living as a comic, I found few humourous anecdotes. For those looking for books in this vein I would recommend McCarthy's Bar or more highly No News at Throat Lake by Lawrence Donegan.
Rating: 
Summary: With a little help from new friends
Review: Awakening with a hangover, the author finds that he has made a bet for L100, so he buys a L130 "dorm" refrigerator and gamely goes out to accomplish the mission - hitching `round Ireland with a fridge. This book does not purport to be a treatise on Anglo-Irish relations. Nonetheless, the author does come to empathy (See, for instance, pages 109 and 185,) while providing the reader with a rollicking fun account of his trek. Without droning on, it speaks volumes that the people we meet in the book embrace the folly and help a Brit with his fridge - christened Saiorse (Gaelic for "freedom") and subsequently blessed by a nun. Here's how the author sums up: "The journey may not have changed the lives of the people of Ireland, but it had changed mine. I was a different, a better person. I had made discoveries, learned some important lessons. From this day forth, I was going to stop for hitch-hikers, laugh along with happy drunks in pubs, and respect the right of the bad guitarist to play along with the rest. I had learned tolerance, I had learned that you could trust in your fellow man for help, and I had learned a new and pleasurable way of acquiring splinters." (p. 240)
Rating:
Summary: A fantastically funny and entertaining romp
Review: For lighthearted, enjoyable, and fun reading, you can't do better than this book. I picked it up in Gatwick Airport on my way back home to Cleveland, and managed to finish it before the wheels touched down. At some points, the person sitting next to me on the plane must have thought I was a bit nuts the way I was giggling and stifling guffaws. Quite simply, the book is a great story, written in such an accessible, breezy, and comical style that I found it impossible to put down. The experience was heighten for me because I had spent much time in Ireland hitting many of the same spots Hawks did in his travels. But you needn't have traveled to Ireland to appreciate this book. Even if you've never been to the Emerald Isle you'll find this well worth six hours of your time. But read it alone, lest the people around you begin to stare!
Rating:
Summary: Only in Ireland....
Review: Genius. That one word sums up this idea. If I had a pound ($1.48 to my American friends) for every drunken bet I had made in a tequila haze, I would be a rich man. The difference between Mr Hawks and I, is that I always forget them. I am so glad he didn't forget his, as this book is a gem in my collection, which has been read by more of my friends than you can possible imagine. I first heard of the book here in London, and purchased it for reading on a flight to Boston. The first time I realised I was in the air was when the wheels bumped down, and my chicken kiev went untouched as I read 75% of this book in one sitting. I am loathed to spill too much, as this is an original idea, and would like to leave it that way until you read it for yourself, but this story could be written in no other country than Ireland! I have since visited the country myself, and if anyone reading this review ever finds themself in Ireland, mention to anyone the name Tony Hawks, and they will knwo him as if he were one of the family. Has since written a book named 'Playing the Moldovans at Tennis', which was, wait for it, another drunken bet! I would love Tony Hawks to read this review, as he has certainly provided this reader with many nights of laughter out loud! Please buy this book, and tell everybody else to do likewise, it is a real gem!
Rating:
Summary: The Remarkable Story of a Quite Pointless Achievement
Review: Given the choice of touring Ireland with a Ferrari or a fridge Hawks provides an unassailable case that you will have a far more enjoyable time if you leave your Italian monster in the garage. As a fan of Bill Bryson's repartee and Theroux's narrative, the otherwise non-event of circumventing Ireland with a fridge makes for an eye-twinkling, beer-consuming epic that surely some day a Hollywood director will recognize. He may need a few pints of Guinness and his "beer goggles" on before he recognizes this work of genius for the masterpiece that it is. Hawks skill as an accomplished comedian who is a regular on BBC Radio traverses to a very readable book. If you've read the title and cannot possibly conceive why somoene might attempt such an excercise then this book is for you. Hawks recounts the confusion, verve and passion that is created on what can only be accurately described as a marathon pub-crawl, with talking point in tow, around the worlds best venue for pub crawling. If anything this book serves to explain why anyone would take on a bet for 100 pounds involving buying a fridge costing in excess of the winnings. The one question that remains that after it's travels, immersion in the Atlantic and use as a dirty laundry repository, did the item in question work when plugged in?
Rating:
Summary: round ireland with a fridge
Review: Having been a reader of travel essays since Paul Theroux's "Great Railway Bazzar" and dipping into the British travel books of the thirties, I think I can tell what is good and what isn't in this genre. What makes a for good travel book? Well, for armchair travellers, the descriptive power of the author always helps along with what they encounter and how they use it in their book. Theroux is great at this because he becomes part of the environment. He travels light,knows a bit about the place and is able to get the most from his chance meetings. Now about "Round Ireland...." I tried to like this book. Really. But the more I read the more fatuous it became. I'm very surprised that he found a publisher. In an genre where terrific books abound, please pass this one by.
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