Rating:  Summary: Laughing Out Loud Funny! Review: It was great! It's hard to read this book in public, lest one's laughter upset nearby people! The book is best represented by an excert of an Irish Times Review, that the publishers put on the cover to represent the book! --"Part autobiography, part travelogue, part Guiness-addled ramblings"...well, that about sums it up....
Rating:  Summary: Rolicking fun, but in the end you ask, um, what's the point? Review: Just a rollicking romp around Ireland on a dare: hitchhiking with a fridge in tow. That's what comes from drinking and betting in pubs. You wake up in the morning and realize you've got 30 days to buy a fridge and circumnavigate all of Ireland with it in order to win a bet that cost just about what you paid for it. And in the end, what've you got? An uncollected bet and a spare fridge. Fun, funny, but...
Rating:  Summary: This is not supposed to be a travel book! Review: Many reviews here have critisised this book as being a rubbish travel book. This is not a travel book and was never intended to be a travel book. It is simply the story of a man who travelled around Ireland with a fridge - end of story. I am Irish and remember when all this happened - I remember listening in to the radio show every day to hear what he was up to and remember his arrival to Dublin when nobody came out to see him. It is therefore interesting to read his actual story and see what was really happening behind his story on the radio. But it's not a travel book!
Rating:  Summary: No star for Tony or his fridge Review: McCARTHY'S BAR made me laugh out loud. I was given the book for my birthday. The remark 'Bill Bryson without the boring bits', on the back cover of Pete McCarthy's book, led me to buy NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND and other books by Bill Bryson. Money well spent and more laughing out loud. A friend mentioned Tony Hawks. On the front cover of ROUND IRELAND WITH A FRIDGE the Sunday Independent warns that this book is 'Not just brilliantly written, but far too hilarious to read alone in a public place.' I bought the book. In my opinion the warning is unfounded. I could not describe the book as exceptionally, magnificently, outstandingly or splendidly written, as the word 'brilliantly' implies. And unlike the works of Pete McCarthy and Bill Bryson, this book by Tony Hawks rarely made me chuckle let alone laugh out loud. What puzzles and saddens me most is the number of reviewers giving this book more than a one star rating. I would give it no stars at all.
Rating:  Summary: the meaning of life Review: Of course everyone from Plato to Ariana Huffington has chimed in with there view of the meaning of life, but one feels they miss the mark just so. Not Tony Hawks, with fridge in tow, he reveals the three secrets of a truly happy life -- stout, friendship, and a goal.Now if your goal is to hitch-hike around Ireland towing a fridge behind you, well... then the friendship and stout take care of themselves. In a hilarious read Hawks recounts his adventures in Irealnd after having bet his friend 100 pounds that he could hitch-hike around Ireland towing a fridge with him. Don't dawddle, buy this book! I would sell you mine, but I've only just finished it and already want to start reading it again. Truly laugh out-loud funny...
Rating:  Summary: Great fun! Review: The author loses a bet with a friend and pays the penalty: he must hitch-hike around the perimeter of Ireland, with stops at two remote islands, within in month. Not so bad, but he must do so with a small refrigerator in tow.
The result of his epic journey is a completely engrossing, thoroughly entertaining and smartly funny book, LOL in places, and full of charm and wit. The people who help him along his journey are lovingly characterized and the whole book affirms the positive side of human nature. Light, fun, and recommended.
Rating:  Summary: How can you not like it. Review: The title explains the book's plot quite well. Tony years before saw some guy trying to hitch around Ireland with a large refrigerator. Drunk, a theme throughout the book, he relays this story, and before he knows in he made a 100 pound bet that he too could hitch around Ireland with a fridge (his is a small dorm fridge, kind of a cop out). He has many adventures, drinks much, and even gets lucky. I just ordered his newest book from the UK site, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis. Looking forward to reading it.
Rating:  Summary: Simply Charming Review: There is something to be said for a man who keeps his promises and follows through on his bets. There is much more to be said for Tony Hawks, for whom following through on a bet means traveling around Ireland with a fridge. The quote on the cover of the book warns no read the book alone in a public place because it is far too funny. I found that reading this book in my home brought questions of my sanity from those I lived with because I couldn't stop laughing. Hawks tells a story that is funny, philosophical and, yes, even heartwarming. The stories that unwind as Hawks travels range from strange to funny and are a great picture of a man on an adventure and the warmth of a country.
Rating:  Summary: A light, entertaining read... Review: This book doesn't claim to be anything but what it is: a rollicking good time. Hawks has detailed his misadventures with a fridge whilst traipsing around the Green Isle. It makes for a fun time, it really does. The premise is so absurd it has to be real: the author makes a bet with a mate in the midst of a party... that he attempt to take a fridge all the way around the country of Ireland - and do it in 30 days or less. Hawks, not being of right mind, agrees. Then he gets sober and realizes the enormity of this £100 bet. The first hilarious mis-step in the adventure is that the fridge he bought for the trek cost him roughly what the bet was for. From there things get better (or worse, if you're Hawks) and a great time begins. The book doesn't just reflect Hawks' strange experiences whilst hitching with a compact fridge - it also shows the generous and good-natured heart of the Irish. I bought this book for my trans-atlantic flight home and it keep me fully entertained for the entire 8 hours. This isn't a challenging read, but it's darn good fun all the same. I give it a recommend.
Rating:  Summary: miracles do happen Review: this book restored my faith in them
|