<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: An Entertaining Book
Review: As the author of "All You Need is Luck", I am delighted that Michael Frederick found this book entertaining. Humor being a matter of such individual taste, "entertaining" is definitely a description I prefer to "funny" or "side-splitting." I hope he'll find the just-published sequel, "A Little More Luck", equally entertaining.I would, however, just like to correct a possibly misleading impression left by something Michael wrote in his review. He says he was looking "more for a tale of a few exotic locales and more far-flung adventures" and in this connection mentions only our visit to Bangkok. In fact, almost three times as much space in the book is devoted to the time we spent on Bali and the neighboring Indonesian island of Lombok, destinations I think most readers would consider pretty exotic and far-flung. Having said that, I'm happy to concede that the book, true to the notes on the back cover, does indeed focus on the adventures we had while living and working in New Zealand, Australia, England and the United States. P. S. Although I think the book really deserves five stars, I'm giving it just four so as not to unduly influence the existing star-rating!
Rating:
Summary: A new Bill Bryson on the block?
Review: I'm a great fan of travel writers, especially ones who make me laugh, like Bill Bryson and Pete McCarthy. I've never heard of Frank Nelson before but he sure made me laugh. This book covers a lot of ground, from New Zealand to New England to old England, with a few other stops along the way. I think Nelson is originally English. Anyway he certainly has that dry British sense of humor while also (like Bryson and McCarthy) a sharp eye for the ridiculous things all around us in everyday life. In addition to all the laughs, this tale of two ordinary people just roaming the world year after year makes fascinating reading. I'm envious!
Rating: 
Summary: Moderately Entertaining
Review: I, too, am a fan of travel writing, especially the humorous type. I didn't, however, find "Luck" particularly funny. Entertaining? Yes. Side-splitting? Not quite. This short work sheds some light on what it's like to work odd jobs in the English speaking countries of the world (New Zealand, Australia, England, the States) but I was looking more for a tale of a few exotic locales and more far-flung adventures. What little there is of this (Bangkok) doesn't stray far from guidebook descriptions (Floating Market). The repetitiveness of the countries the Nelsons go to got a little stale. The descriptions of dogs that had to be walked and cheap (and I mean cheap) accommodation the couple stayed in also got just a tad old. Consequently I was a little disappointed in the book. I did enjoy some of the folks they encountered, particularly the typical Aussie response to Frank's door knocks for a survey job in Melbourne, "Piss off, mate." I also found the descriptions of cities I may never visit (Brisbane, Sydney) enlightening. Frank's recounting of what it's like on modern long haul jet travel is also quite apt. One comes away with the question, they're doing this for fun? All in all a moderately entertaining story worth its paperback price.
<< 1 >>
| 
