Rating: 
Summary: high points and low points
Review: I thought that his insights into the British character were hysterically funny. After having lived in the UK for a year, even more so. However, his descriptions of the scenery were disappointing. For example, he spent 2 pages on the caravan parks on the Welsh coast but only spent one sentence on the beauty of Cader Idris. He seemed definitly focused on the negative aspects that any trip would entail. Unfortunatly, he did not present a very endearing picture of one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. Yet, in some parts, the beauty of the landscape did seep through regardless of his belly aching. An interesting read whether you come out hating it or loving it.
Rating: 
Summary: Spot On
Review: People who moan about how dismal the author makes Britain look obviously aren't acquainted with the UK of the early 80's. It was a dump!! If you want someone cooing over scones or gurgling with rapture over English gardens look elsewhere. 1982 Britain was grey, dreary, and poor. The book captures the essence of Britain at the time.
Rating:
Summary: Another must-read Paul Theroux Book
Review: Read it twice and found it better the second time. One of the few books I laughed out loud to. Touching and funny at the same time
Rating:
Summary: What are the British really like?
Review: Stereotypes may often be quite cruel, but they also may hold kernels of truth that are quite funny if we can laugh at ourselves. Paul Theroux's The Kingdom by the Sea affectionately recounts his experiences with the wonderful and slightly eccentric subjects of the British Isles. Theroux had lived for years in London, but he had never really got out into the countryside to meet the "real" people. So he decided to walk the coastline starting in Margate and then going clockwise on the map along the edges of England, Wales and Scotland (with a brief foray into Northern Ireland)and winding up back in London. It was 1982, and the prime subject of conversation in the pubs, B&Bs, and on television was the invasion of the Falklands by the "dastardly" Argentines. Theroux observes the raucous behavior of leatherclad and shaved-head youths on the train to Margate, and how most of the other passengers studiously ignore them. He notices that ! ! the average Britons are so excessively polite that they are the only people in the world who say "sorry" to you if you step on their toes. Theroux doesn't know quite what to make of this, but he begins to wonder if British shyness and reserve may be rooted in depression. Every where he goes, people seem to be depressed. They probably have plenty reasons to be depressed, but getting them to tell the reasons is next to impossible. Instead, the wry, ironic wit that has become a stereotype of the British keeps showing up. The love of "small passions" and the sublimely ridiculous are apparent from the thousands of lined-up "chalets" on the shore to the shabby "holiday camps." Although, Paul Theroux can come across as crabby, he is wonderfully observant, and you get the feeling that he is not only vastly amused by the British "national character," he has great affection for the people.
Rating:
Summary: Going to Britain? Read this!
Review: The best book to read before your trip to Britain! On your first trip or your 50th, this book will provide fascinating insights into the people, land, and culture that you won't get in any travel guide. Read it before your 1st trip to Britain and you'll find yourself thinking back to it again and again. You'll recognize little things in Britain that would otherwise be a mystery or go unnoticed (like "caravans" and "promenades"). Once you've been to Britain, you'll laugh out loud at the incredibly accurate descriptions of the people, their language and out-look on life. Even the bleaker portraits of the run-down coastal towns and old mining villages are fair, accurate, and will make you appreciate this island even more - for its depth, complexity and tenacity. If you've never been to Britain, you'll feel like you've been there after reading this book. If you've been, you'll see it in a whole new way.
Rating:
Summary: sour, downbeat, but comprehensive
Review: The main thing you have to remember when reading this book is that it is a travelogue and must therefore, by definition, reflect a good deal of the author's personality and subjective impressions. The most damning thing about this book is that noone would ever choose Mr. Theroux for their traveling companion. And the best thing you can say about it is that it is thorough and that it makes you feel like you had really visited many of these places. You often get the feeling that this book is less of a travelogue than a protracted act of vindication, even vengeance, against the British people he had lived amongst for 11 years prior to writing this book. In fact, the introductory pages of this book are so dense with catty put-downs of the British that I was tempted to throw the book down and walk away from it. Thankfully, the catty-ness thins out as Theroux begins his actual journey. One word of advice for those who plan on embarking on reading this book is to get a copy of a good map of Great Britain so that you can better follow Mr. Theroux on his journey. I used an A-Z Road map, which may not have been the best, but it was still very useful. One thing that is hard to reconcile about this book is that Mr. Theroux's definition of travel seems to be based on how much of a stunning vista a place presents. This seems like a very narrow attitude, as well as an extremely self-defeating one, givin how crowded and lived-in Britain is. After all, how many everyday living places provide stunning vistas? Theroux meets a fellow writer on the way who has a similar plan, to circumnavigate the coast, but this other writer adopts a method more conducive to sight seeing: he takes a sailboat. All in all, I would rather not have made this trip with Mr. Theroux, and cannot say I am glad to have met him, nor do I plan to read any of his other travel books. I saw a special program on PBS a while ago that showed the coast of Italy from the vantage point of a helicopter. The beautiful sunny sights were accompanied by nice soft music and a pleasant narration. That would be the way I would like to see the coast of Britain, if I had a choice. While reading Mr. Theroux's book, I mostly felt like snail stuck at the bottom of a well. If I hadn't had a map handy to show where the places visited were, I would have given up at least half way through. Theroux makes a lot of sociological comments about Britain and quotes the news of the day, but I don't feel that that added much to the book. Theroux's comments come across as a lot more condescending than insightful. One thing that Theroux harps on is how shabby everything has become because of the dissolution of the British empire. But so what? At least they were trying to live within their means. Theroux never really tries to enter into the social cheeriness that, in my opinion, sustains the British. Instead he stands at a safe distance and sighs about how tired and depressed everyone looks. Theroux quotes Dr. Johnson's famous put-down of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, when he says that it is worth seeing, but that it is not worth GOING to see. Mr. Theroux makes you feel the same way about most of Britain. And although this book is thorough and comprehensive, the perspective is very narrow, so all the detail presented doesn't really add up to that much. You feel like you've just made a cross country trip with the Dustin Hoffman's Rainman who just can't stop reciting meaningless, but 100% accurate, statistics. Reading this book was a real long, arduous, unenjoyable chore for me. One fact that really shows how bad the disconnect is between Theroux and the people of Britain, is that he doesn't visit anyone on the entire trip. How can you live in a place for 11 years and not know anyone? He came to the country a stranger and he left the same way.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Way to Travel UK
Review: This book is filled with interesting little stories about who he met while he was traveling on the coast all around Great Britain.
Taking trains or walking, he visited the places off the beaten path. This book does not help to use as travel guide for ordinary tourists, but it provides interesting aspects of the country and the people. It is a bit dated, but none the less I would like to visit some of the places he wrote about after I get more acquanted with UK. I've been there only twice as an regular tourist and I loved every minute of the stay.
Rating: 
Summary: I could not finish this
Review: This was a book I stopped reading when I was one-third of the way into it. It's not because I think Great Britain is a boring place to read about (quite the opposite), it's because Theroux's writing is filled with so much sneering contempt for the places he visits and the people he encounters. With a greatly inflated sense of his own intelligence, he snorts at everyone's little foibles and stupidities and sniffs disdainfully at every little town or vista he passes. It's like being stuck in the car with a conceited sourpuss for a REALLY long road trip... not worth it.
Rating:
Summary: The traveler not the tourist
Review: When I moved to New York City alone, a while ago, I was brave and all that stuff but there were moments where even as I was walking along to job interviews.. I'd feel a rising worry. Being alone then and just diving forward could feel like the moment the roller coaster hits the first big drop- you dive into nothingness but you keep going and eventually it all works out. I picked this book at random to have something about travel to read- something to work "for" and keep my spirits up- and inside I found a guy just falling forward like me- heading off everyday into the unknown and instead of worrying and keeping his head down, he'd look around and find the nicest things where no one else would. Those windows staring out onto the streets had people behind them living their lives- he'd explore the lives he encountered and find things that made me feel a kindness for humanity struggling along. Theroux's tone of voice is funny in a cranky way and you look forward to what the next page might throw his way and how he'll express it. I love how he peeks into the shallys- I would have.. I think its cute he notices one girl in a town's local chorus line who has jiggly thighs. His bleak look into Butlins Holiday Camps is sad, the humble pleasures the people seek make you sad for the ones there but greatful they found relief somewhere. The boys he questions where one wants to be a plasterer and another a Chef- you wonder and hope to this day that the Chef child made his dream come true and hope that the plasterer boy is finding satisfaction in his work. The ladies he runs into hiking along the coast would have made fun of me too... The artists in the big old creaky houses, you feel for, that maybe like Paul Theroux's vision and way of seeing, they'll be able to look at the world and find the minute beauties and not be so sad. There are so many more moments of humanity expressed that he causes you to feel a sad affection for people you don't know and will never meet. His tone of voice and writing skills make you regret the book comes to an end. I just carried my paperback until it shredded and got taped together. I even dared, years later, to bring its sorry little form to a book signing and Paul signed it happily. (On a personal note I gave him my band's CD, ..... , and he actually bothered to listen to it and wrote me a wonderful letter back) He really is the guy in the book, he really does see things no one else might. His kind of falling forward bravery and seeking life in this book helped me start out and wander and strangely gave me a little more courage. Its an inspirational book beyond being about England. He has a true gift and creates a feeling of compassion for humanity in a way I didn't have then. These are the books that can never be made into a mini series or movie but deserve to be read- to show you what great books are capable of doing.
Rating:
Summary: The traveler not the tourist
Review: When I moved to New York City alone, a while ago, I was brave and all that stuff but there were moments where even as I was walking along to job interviews.. I'd feel a rising worry. Being alone then and just diving forward could feel like the moment the roller coaster hits the first big drop- you dive into nothingness but you keep going and eventually it all works out. I picked this book at random to have something about travel to read- something to work "for" and keep my spirits up- and inside I found a guy just falling forward like me- heading off everyday into the unknown and instead of worrying and keeping his head down, he'd look around and find the nicest things where no one else would. Those windows staring out onto the streets had people behind them living their lives- he'd explore the lives he encountered and find things that made me feel a kindness for humanity struggling along. Theroux's tone of voice is funny in a cranky way and you look forward to what the next page might throw his way and how he'll express it. I love how he peeks into the shallys- I would have.. I think its cute he notices one girl in a town's local chorus line who has jiggly thighs. His bleak look into Butlins Holiday Camps is sad, the humble pleasures the people seek make you sad for the ones there but greatful they found relief somewhere. The boys he questions where one wants to be a plasterer and another a Chef- you wonder and hope to this day that the Chef child made his dream come true and hope that the plasterer boy is finding satisfaction in his work. The ladies he runs into hiking along the coast would have made fun of me too... The artists in the big old creaky houses, you feel for, that maybe like Paul Theroux's vision and way of seeing, they'll be able to look at the world and find the minute beauties and not be so sad. There are so many more moments of humanity expressed that he causes you to feel a sad affection for people you don't know and will never meet. His tone of voice and writing skills make you regret the book comes to an end. I just carried my paperback until it shredded and got taped together. I even dared, years later, to bring its sorry little form to a book signing and Paul signed it happily. (On a personal note I gave him my band's CD, ..... , and he actually bothered to listen to it and wrote me a wonderful letter back) He really is the guy in the book, he really does see things no one else might. His kind of falling forward bravery and seeking life in this book helped me start out and wander and strangely gave me a little more courage. Its an inspirational book beyond being about England. He has a true gift and creates a feeling of compassion for humanity in a way I didn't have then. These are the books that can never be made into a mini series or movie but deserve to be read- to show you what great books are capable of doing.
| 
