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Summary: Interesting and Fun
Review: I've always been curious about Australia. Never been.
Hey, it's far away, really big, and lightly populated.
Every Australian I have met in my travels has been 'in your face' friendly, and fascinating to talk to. I somehow manage to bump into Australians everywhere when I travel, perhaps because they tend to stand out as far younger and more adventurous than the typical retired American tourist. They apparently get "months" of vacation during what is our "off-season", which is when I like to travel.
I know perhaps a dozen Americans who have been to Australia, and few travel destinations have gotten such extremely divergent reviews. Each either loved or hated it. No middle ground. Several said "skip it", and spend all your down under time in New Zealand instead. I believe Bryson has now explained why this is the case. It all depends upon where you go, as well as your attitude and expectations when you get there. This realistic storytelling approach is so much more useful when evaluating a place then a dry guidebook. When was the last time a guidebook outright declared a place "boring"? Now that's travel news you can use!
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Summary: Bryson's A Great Guide
Review: Bryson delivers the world's biggest, best kept secret in IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY. Australia is a truly miraculous place. This is a country where a prime minister impetuously dives into the water while strolling on the beach with colleagues, never to be seen again, where the world's most lethal and otherwise poisonous species are concentrated in mind boggling numbers above and beyond the rest of the planet, where the ecosystem is the most diverse of any, where the ores and minerals have yet to be tapped for anything near their full potential, where the features of the landscape vary dramatically, with no look-alikes anywhere else. The world's largest living organism is there-the Great Barrier Reef; also, the world's oldest living organisms, stromatolites. It is the last continent to be colonized by Europeans, and then it was used as a penal colony at first, and as a nation it is barely a century old. It was been the scene of wretched racism and maltreatment of natives; more recently, it has chosen to throw the doors open to all nationalities. And does any of this make it to American news media? Noooo. There's lots to learn from this country and Bryson is an informative guide. In the manner honed in his earlier travel books, he imparts an amazing amount of information thoughtfully, in graceful, witty prose that evokes all the eccentricities and ironies of this mysterious, ancient place. Bryson is happy to tell the jokes, but in the end, he is much happier imparting the wonder.
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Summary: Bryson can make plain dirt intersting
Review: Bryson can write about absolutely anything - watching grass grow, watching fish not bite, watching dirt just lie there by the side of the road - and make it interesting. In a Sunburned Country is not his best, best book, but it's right up there.
Bryson is in his favorite element when confronted with oddities of whatever area of the planet he's exploring. If there's one place on this planet that's filled with enough oddities to keep a curious man on the tips of his toes, it's Australia. The place abounds with critters that exist nowhere else on earth, including its people. As usual, for at least part of the way he is accompanied by a memorable companion, which gives him an opportunity to talk to his reading audience via dialogue with the guy sharing his motel room or sitting next to him in a car traveling thousands of miles through sere terrain.
This is travel writing at its best, with a HUGE dose of humor.
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Summary: A place we really don't know...
Review: I picked up a copy of In A Sunburned Country and like usual, when I get hooked into a book I quickly devour it. Then there is a slight mourning time afterwards because I wanted to keep reading more. Bill Bryson's newest book takes a look at the land down under, Australia. Having read A Walk in the Woods I expected Sunburned to be a great read and I wasn't disapponted. He conveys the danger of land in very clear terms, yet makes you aware of it's inherent charm. I'll confess to little interest in traveling there before reading Sunburned, not even for a good reason, I'd just hate the idea of being in an enclosed space for the the 24 hours the trip takes. But having finished Sunburned I'd like to give it a try sometime, though I think it would be in their winter season. As Bryson tells the story of his travels he conveys his mistakes and disasters in a way that you can imagine standing next to him in the middle of the Outback wondering if he will indeed run out of gas before making it to the next town. He also informs us about the history and hardship of the land. It does in a sense lead us to understand the rye Australian humor and perpetual cheer, to be bluntly put, smile we are here today and you never know when a shark, jellyfish, snake, spider, or other wild creature may make you lunch. Last and certainly not least his style of prose is fun to read. Perhaps it's his two decades of living in England that makes his writing engaging, but what ever it is he captures the readers attention and drops him into the story of the place be it the woods or the Outback. Looking for a good summer read for travel or even a bit of engaging writing then pick up this book. ps- One rather minor complaint, the abrupt change between some chapters could have flowed alittle better.
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Summary: Hilarious look at Australia
Review: Bill Bryson is such a talented writer that he could make the phone book funny. This is a laugh out loud look at the land of Oz and our Aussie cousins. Anyone familiar with Bryson knows that this is not a typical travel book which deals with what places to visit, the best places to dine etc. Is is a hilarious look at all those things which make Australia and its people such a fascinating place. Bryson has a knack for really understanding his subjects amd for finding humor in the most trivial things. This is an extremely enjoyable book.
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Summary: Witty and accurate!
Review: I was born in Australia and spent my first 28 years living in various parts of the country, so I wondered how accurately Bill would portray my old home. Well, he did a fantastic job. His summary of Australian history taught me more than I garnered from years of schooling, and the way he fleshes out the facts with witty vignettes makes them anything but dry. I clearly recognised, not only familiar Australian places, but also the people depicted here. The book had me laughing out loud in places and reading sections to my family. My only negative commment on the book has to do with the chapter that deals with the aborigines. His chief source of information is a lawyer who makes his living representing them legally, not someone who is able to give an unbiased opinion. Without launching my own little political tirade, I thought that this aspect was just a tad one-dimensional and written more for the shock value, rather than in order to present a balanced view of current affairs.
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Summary: Quick trip
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this book. Having read several other Bryon works which I had enjoyed, and having just returned from 3 1/2 years living as an expat American in Sydney, I thought Bryson would not only be able to express many of the things I had personally witnessed, but with his talent and experience as a writer and social observer would reveal and expose to me many of Australia's exotic quirks and sublties. Unfortunately I found I was reading a document barely worthy of publication, far below expectation, and lacking in anything that might educate or inform. Now, this is not to say I didn't have a laugh now and again; this is Bryon's keenest talent after all. It's just that Australia is a damned BIG country! And Bryon spends a matter of weeks traversing and pondering. For God's sake Bill, if the effort is going to feed your family for a couple of years give a worthy effort to actually immerse yourself for a few months! Call up Paul Theroux and get a few pointers why don't you?! I still hope people read this book, if only to get an all too rare insight as to what an incredible place the Australian continent is.
Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: Bryson's witty, self-effacing humor and wry observations make this a fun read. Australia is an interesting continent and Bryson really brings it to life and our attention. I listened to the unabridged audio version of the book, read by Bryson himself (which was a treat).
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Summary: Only one thing could have made this book better
Review: The book didn't disappoint. Bryson was pretty much at his best. I sure could have used a Katz fix, though.
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Summary: if there is a funnier author please email me the name
Review: Bill Bryson is my Idol. I suffer from agorophobia so I don't get to travel. But I vicarioulsly get to travel through books like this. Bill Bryson is very detailed and he must do a ton of research. In this book he travels through the whole of Australia and stops at all the interesting places. The wonderful thing with Brysons books is you get to laugh and learn at the same time. I have systematically started reading all of his books, but I am almost afraid to real all of them for there will be no others. Weather You give a hoot about Australia or not you will get a hoot out of this book.
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