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Summary: Hilarious
Review: I read this book while I was back-packing Oz. An absolutely hilarious book with great insights about an amazingly strange and beautiful country. Enjoy life...get to Australia!
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Summary: Yet Another Positive Review
Review: I'd rate this somewhere between a 4 and 5. I read this book before a recent trip to Australia and found Mr. Bryson's comments about both the country and the people to be right on the mark. Additionally he has a great sense of humor. I saw Australians reading the book, perhaps the ultimate endorsement. Althought I only went to major cities, Mr. Bryson made me want to go deep into the continent. A great read.
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Summary: Bemused Down Under
Review: Bill Bryson is my favorite, contemporary, travel essayist. He’s taken me places near and distant, portraying his subjects with an endearing blend of affection, bemused fascination, and Farm Belt admiration. (He’s from Iowa.) And, when telling of those places, persons, events, or situations that are unfathomable, or just a little bit odd, he does so with dry wit and a straight face. (His style can be enjoyed on the video version of his book on Great Britain, NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND, available from..., in which he serves as the on-screen narrator.)IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY, Bill takes us Down Under, to Australia, for his latest love affair with another country. Perhaps it’s because he lived for so many years in England that he feels such an affinity for this former British colony that is largely ignored by the rest of the world. Whether he’s thrashing about in the ocean over the Great Barrier Reef, driving across an eternity of barrenness just to see Ayers Rock, wandering through the mind-numbing blandness of Canberra, describing the region’s deadly fauna, or commenting on the uniqueness of a shop specializing in pet supplies and porn, he does so with a good humor that makes you wish you were there too. (Well, most of the time, anyway.) Concerning the radio’s play-by-play presentation of a cricket match, endured on a long drive through the outback, Bryson records with evident relish: “Neasden, it appeared, was turning in a solid performance at square bowel, while Packet had been a stalwart in the dribbles, though even these exemplary performances paled when set aside the outstanding play of young Hugo Twain-Buttocks at middle nipple. The commentators were in calm agreement that they had not seen anyone caught behind with such panache since Tandoori took Rogan Josh for a stiffy at Vindaloo in ’61. At last Stovepipe, having found his way over the railway line at Flinders Street – the footbridge was evidently closed for painting – returned to the stadium and bowled to Hasty, who deftly turned the ball away for a corner…. I may not have the terminology exactly right, but I believe I have caught the flavor of it.” Only once does Bryson become uncharacteristically testy. On checkout from the Darwin City Frontier Hotel, when he was invited to visit again by the desk attendant, his retort, “I would sooner have bowel surgery in the woods with a stick”, is indication of a truly bad experience. Commendably, the author provides the reader with many facts, figures and anecdotes behind Australia’s history and evolution as a nation (although even he can’t say for sure if the actual number of original convict-settlers was 529, 696, 751 or 775). Thus, it comes as a surprise and disappointment that he relatively ignores the Aboriginals. These unfortunate people ostensibly present such an awkward problem for the population’s majority that Bryson comes to adopt the same stance as the locals, and simply ignores the natives after a few cursory observations. To his credit, however, he admits it, and doesn’t seem too proud of the fact. But, in a beginning at redemption, he also makes absolutely no mention of Paul Hogan or any reference to “puttin’ a shrimp on the Bah-B for ya”.
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Summary: Another winner from Bill Bryson
Review: This is really a love letter to Australia. Bryson is good company, and he's not afraid to share his opinions about just about everything. One thing I really liked is how often Bryson chooses to walk places, even if this may take him all day and half the night. How better to really get to know a place? A couple of VERY minor complaints: The appendix on the Olympics adds little. Also, Bryson is occasionally a little crude, which doesn't bother me, but some may be put off by it.
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Summary: Finished reading this book . . .
Review: On a white hot sunny afternoon in July, which seemed to fit the excruciating description of Bill's trip with his friend Allan to Alice Springs. I particularly enjoyed the Perth and New South Wales bits for their greeness and freshness, and what a rousing introduction for me into the world of travel books after six years of what has mostly been high-brow literature! I relished every anecdote, but here is a warning: if you are a fan of the high-brow literature Bryson's prose is disappointingly without song. He is funny, and a tremendous source of information, but he abuses abstract adjectives like 'splendid,' 'comfortable,' and phrases like 'of course.' Perhaps these terms are the trademark of travel writing; since I am new to the field I can't say for sure. All in all, though, this book was 'splendid.' I am off to ship it to my father in Ohio. I am hoping he will find it 'splendid' as well.
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Summary: Great Australia Guide
Review: Bryson tackles Australia with the same zest and wry observations that produced "A Walk in the Woods", the other book of his I've read. This Down Under travelogue entertains and informs. The author does an outstanding job of weaving interesting facts about Australians, the continent, it's cities, landscapes, flora, fauna and history with the sites and people he meets on his jaunt around the country. It's the small things that make this book interesting. Like Bryson's visit to a building shaped like a giant lobster (one of fifty creature-shaped buildings that populate the country we discover). Or his wonderment at the case of a woman who was gobbled up by a salt-water crocodile while wading in knee deep water. Or the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling expedition that recently forgot two American tourists and left them thirty odd miles out at sea at the end of the day. Or the fact that Australia is possibly the only country to have lost a sitting prime minister in the surf. Or the fact that many desert explorers resort to drinking their own urine (mentioned more than several times) as a last resort and that this only makes thirst increase. Add to this descriptions of major cities, physical attractions like Ayer's Rock, the great deserts and bushlands, everyday Australians whom he encounters and the minor irritations associated with living out of a suitcase for weeks at a time and you've got a very enjoyable book.
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Summary: Finding humor in the small things
Review: I found this book on the humorous side. Bryson was able to take the small unnoticable things and find some sort of humour in it. Like the idea that Austraila is the home for most of the world most dangerous animals. Bryson travels all over Austraila and has many personal encounters with the "locals". Some good, some bazaar
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Summary: Great Reading
Review: I felt like I was riding in the car with Bill Bryson while we toured Australia. An easy book to read with good humor and lots of great information about the history of Australia.
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Summary: Downunder for the Aussie traveller
Review: There are some people who can describe things the way it is and Bill Bryson is one of those people. Although not Aussie born, i have lived here for several years and returned after an absence of a over 15 years- it is interesting to note the authors comments on the country and certainly how it is changing (or is it?). Travelling around with Bryson is as it really is..his descriptions are brilliant, the places he describes one can relive if one has been there and one looks forward to visiting the places he describes that one hasn't. Save for the lack of more detailed descriptions of the bigger cities which will no doubt follow in his new book, this book is a gem for the local traveller and foreign visitor alike. Some very interesting facts obviously a lot of research, and a great arm chair trip around...I can't wait for the full length feature film. Bryson is masterful
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Summary: Bryson captures the essence of Australia!
Review: Whether you are traveling to Australia or just curious about the overlooked continent, In a Sunburned Country is a MUST READ! Bill Bryson is a master of storytelling, distilling the most poignant parts of the Australian landscape, people, and culture, and presenting them in a way that is indicative of this often contradictory, but truly wonderful country. Anyone who calls his style of writing "too haphazard" should limit themselves to high school text books, for this book is history, adventure, AND entertainment at its finest. I was slated for a 4 day business trip to Melbourne and took this book along for the 24 hour airplane ride. Although I used my brief stay in Australia to devour every scrap of the culture I could get my hands on, the book gave me a truly complete picture of Down Under--confirming some of my own observations and filling in with rich history and anecdotes that one wouldn't have known, had they spent a month there. Kudos to Bill Bryson for allowing virtual or curtailed travelers a chance to enrich their experiences.
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