One of the things that happens when you get older is that you discover lots of new ways to hurt yourself. Recently,in France,I was hit square on the head by an automatic parking barrier,something I don't think I could have managed in my younger,more alert years.
Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling marks the return of the world's favourite anglophile to his beloved Britain,and the result is a still properly-funny,and sometimes withering,summary of where we are today.
Two decades ago saw the publication of Notes from A Small Island,Bryson's often-ascerbic and sporadically baffled gazeteer of our fair isle; his humour and evident love for Britain found a legion of fans,with Waterstones in particular providing a certain kinship for Des Moines'most famous son. Now many,many shop events and a number of equally-superb books later, The Road to Little Dribbling reminds us of just how clear-eyed his vision is: there's much humour here,but it's a humour laced with a certain quiet truth that Blighty has undergone massive change - and not all necessarilyto the good.
In a journey that takes us fromBognor Regis to Cape Wrath (by way of a myriad of other destinations,largely as yet unobserved by the gimlet-eyed Bryson),we are served with his unequalled delight in obscure fact and ability to cast a new light on the deeply familiar,presenting a version of Britain that is at once revealing and strangely compelling.
Publisher: Transworld Publishers LtdISBN: 9780552779838Number of pages: 480Weight: 325 gDimensions: 198 x 127 x 28 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'I snorted with laughter...The Road to Little Dribbling is consistently and unendingly fabulous...I intend on buying a copy for everyone I know.'- Clare Balding
'Fans should expect to chuckle,snort,snigger,grunt,laugh out loud and shake with recognition...a clotted cream and homemade jam scone of a treat.'- The Sunday Times
'Is it the funniest travel book I've read all year Of course it is.'- The Daily Telegraph
'There were moments when I snorted out loud with laughter while reading this book in public...He can be as gloriously silly as ever.'- The Times
'Bryson has no equal. He combines the charm and humour of Michael Palin with the cantankerousness of Victor Meldrew and the result is a benign intolerance that makes for a gloriously funny read.'- The Daily Express
'Bryson rails magnificently against the bad manners,mediocrities,rip-offs and talentless celebrities that have infested the place since he arrived,because this is a book about growing old in a country that maddens and baffles you but that has won your heart.'- The Independent
Bill Bryson
Coming from Des Moines,Iowa - because,as he notes,'somebody had to'- bestselling Anglo-American author Bill Bryson has won over a legion of readers with his books which comprise travelogues,memoirs and popular works of history and science. His best-known works include Notes from a Small Island,Neither Here Nor There and A Short History of Nearly Everything.
Visit the Bill Bryson author page
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