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Notes from a Small Island
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 942.082
EAN: 9780380727506
ISBN: 0380727501
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 282
Publication Date: May 01, 1997
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: May 01, 1997
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Review:
Reacting to an itch common to Midwesterners since there's been a Midwest from which to escape, writer Bill Bryson moved from Iowa to Britain in 1973. Working for such places as Times of London, among others, he has lived quite happily there ever since. Now Bryson has decided his native country needs him--but first, he's going on a roundabout jaunt on the island he loves.
Britain fascinates Americans: it's familiar, yet alien; the same in some ways, yet so different. Bryson does an excellent job of showing his adopted home to a Yank audience, but you never get the feeling that Bryson is too much of an outsider to know the true nature of the country. Notes from a Small Island strikes a nice balance: the writing is American-silly with a British range of vocabulary. Bryson's marvelous ear is also in evidence: "... I noted the names of the little villages we passed through--Pinhead, West Stuttering, Bakelite, Ham Hocks, Sheepshanks ..." If you're an Anglophile, you'll devour Notes from a Small Island.
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestsellingauthor of The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to returnto the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out ona grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."
After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestselling author of ,i>The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.
Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Couldn't finish this one....
I've read five of Bryson's books so far, but this one has put the nail in the coffin for me-there will be no more Bryson books for a while. I'm about half way through it but am finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate Bryson's mean-spirited remarks about people he's never met. Bryson's comment that an overweight teenager was a, "greedy, fat, pig" wasn't funny at all. It was just mean, plain and simple...and this coming from an author who needs to take a look at himself in the mirror. In ... Read More
Rating:  - notes about small complaints...
Bill Bryson travels his adopted homeland of Great Britain and his observations about the people and places take the spotlight in this travel diary.
This is classic Bryson. Lots of acute observations, some dry humor along the way, and many adventures. While I enjoy Bryson, his writing is not for people who have not been to the place he is talking about. I enjoyed his other book "Neither Here, nor There" much more as I had been to Europe and the places he had been to in that book and therefore ... Read More
Rating:  - I wet myself reading this one
Ok, may that was a little lie, but "Notes from a Small Island" was that good. I laughed out loud so many times I cried. He hits the countries mannerisms spot on. Having lived in the UK for many years I enjoyed all of his rants and raves. Sure, some of them may have been a little preachy or exagerated, but the point was to show the differences and he came through with flying colors (or should I say colours). His witty observations remind me of things we all think but never remember to put to pen. Instead, ... Read More
Rating:  - A long way from his best work
After a lengthy residence in England, journalist Bill Bryson and his family had reached the decision to move back to their native USA. Before leaving, Bryson pulled out all the stops and embarked on a freewheeling 7 week whirlwind tour of England, Wales and Scotland. Shank's pony, bus, train, and the occasional rented car were his only modes of transportation. Of course, as one would expect, the journal from that trip formed the core of a book about the English people, their habits and customs, their towns, ... Read More
Rating: - Hysterical
A witty insight into the nation that gave us Harry Potter, P.G. Wodehouse and Shakespeare - and you can see traces of all three genres in Bryson's writing. Two thumbs up for both the entertainment and the poignant insights it gives into contemporary British life.
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