Notes from a Small Island

Rating:
Summary: Come pay us a visit
Review: I'm not sure what drove the previous reviewer to describe London as a "Dickensian slum", nor why any light-hearted look at Britain would leave you "feeling angry". I can only assume he was here looking up ancestors round Wormwood and Holloway.

London is one of the world's older cities and centre of the world's fourth largest economy, so it's going to have a little dirt under its fingernails. At the same time it boasts a larger percentage of parkland and more museums, plus the oldest museum, than any other capital. For the most part it's a genuinely nice place to take the kids. Please don't be put off.

And please don't go thinking this book dwells on London. It doesn't. Bryson travels the length and breadth of the country, covering all the things he feels makes Britain what it is, for better or for worse. The two downsides to his very personal approach are firstly, that anyone unfamiliar with or plain not interested in Britain (in which case, why are you here?) may find their mind wandering, and secondly, that ole Bill comes across as being in a bad mood for whole sections of the book. But like I said, it's a personal trip, and being incredulous at other people's imbecility -- in this case, ours -- is often what he does best.

As other reviewers have noted, nothing he says is ever presented with any malice and he often displays an enthusiasm that greatly exceeds that of the natives. Is he mad? Quite possibly. Given the fact that he's only recently moved back, we should expect a sequel...

Rating:
Summary: If you love drizzle & brick
Review: I lived in London for 12 months. Bryson calls London the most perfect city in the world. I say it's a huge overpriced crumbling Dickensian slum. If you love brick and drizzle and hate carparks, playgrounds and shopping centres then you'll love this strongy opinionated guide to Britain. Otherwise, forget it, you'll just end up feeing angry.

But don't let it put you off Bryson's "History of almost everything", which is superb.

Rating:
Summary: Funny as a book can be
Review: I thought this was a brilliant piece of work by Bryson. Not only did the book have me laughing out loud it had me wanting to read more, which of course is what you want. The only reason i haven't given this a 5 star rating is i found that Bill tended to repeat himself a little, with his description of builings, although some of these descriptions where very funny.

All in All, I would definately recommend this book, especially to Ex-Pats living away from Britain, it certainly makes you chuckle at the things we do, things we dont even realise until somebody like Bill points them out.

Rating:
Summary: England loses its luster.
Review: I have not read any other Bill Bryson book but have listened to interviews with him on such programs as Fresh Air on NPR. I had heard much praise for his other books and hearing that he had lived in Britain for two decades decided to see what his opinions on the country were and picked up Notes from a Small Island. I guess I was expecting him to share many of my own opinions on England, especially about its magical qualities and rich history. Instead, despite his claim to adore the UK, he seems to focus only on the negative aspects of Britain. I recently toured England myself and found many of his decripitions harsh and crude. I was especially offended by his description of Oxford and feel like he went looking for the worst aspects of everywhere he went. Quite frankly I disagree with him about everything (he seems to think Stonhenge to be in a beautiful solitude when really it sits in the middle of two highways complete with cars zooming by) except for his descriptions of the inhabitants he encountered. The lone thing this book has going for it is its humor and the only reason I continued to read it after some of his appalling comments.