Audio CD review - an excellent listen, but sadly abridged

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	• Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe Bill Bryson Harper Perennial, 1999 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 161 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

He's not a Xenophobe

Bill Bryson does make fun of the cultures he encounters in this book. Yep, on just about every page. But guess what? He also makes fun of his own native culture, America (for an entire book of Bryson poking fun at the oddities of American culture, see "I'm A Stranger Here Myself") and of the UK, the country that he adopted as his own for 20 years. No, Bill Bryson is not a xenophobe: he makes fun of everyone equally, and he does it in a way which makes it obvious that he is in loving awe of the differences that can occur amongst members of the same species depending on where/how/by whom they were raised.

This book has two personalities to it- the involved tourist and the observational tourist. Bryson spends some time recalling the previous trek he took across Europe in the 1970's with his friend (of "A Walk in the Woods" notoriety) when he was much more involved in what was going on around him. He communicated with the people and the culture of the places he visited. During his return visit, 20 years later as a lone middle-aged tourist, he was less involved and chose to merely peer through the glass at the places he visited; this part of the story involves a lot of "I went from here to here, I couldn't find a hotel, the last bus had left, no one spoke English," etc etc. While this aspect of the book might not be as fun to read as Bryson's misadventures from other books, it is endearing because it is real. This is not a book that gushingly romanticizes travel, rather it is one witty, sarcastic man's take on the people and cultures that he encountered, both in the 1990's as a middle aged American expat, and in the 1970's as a curious 20-something backpacker. My favorite Bryson book.

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Irreverent portrait of Europe

Bryson might be the funniest travel writer around. He is also very informative. This is one of his early books, he has not yet really found his style.
Mr. Bryson travels through continental Europe. His journey has two purposes: he wants to write about Europe, and he wants to relieve a journey he made in his youth with, the by now infamous, Katz. His inner journey is a middle-aged man trying to remember his youth, even if you sometimes wonder if he has really grown out of it! His outer journey lets him experience the feel of all the places he visits. That is by far the best aspect of the book! Here he is no-holds barred funny! He can pinpoint the national bad habits of every country he visits. Since he also lets us know about his own bad habits it is not insulting. There is a love and a respect hidden among all his writings. He loves travelling, and he loves all places he visits. He seems to have a nack for capturing the soul of the places he visits. His books can almost be used as travel guides.

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Not Bryson's Best

I've read a number of Bryson's books and this is by far the weakest one in my opinion. It's not terrible, but Bryson seems to be traveling just for the sake of crossing cities off of his to-visit list. He has a great writing style, but he seems to have very few really intriguing experiences and spends so little time interacting with the locals that you wonder why he bothers leaving home. If you want a more entertaining and informative story about traveling in Western Europe, consider reading my book, "Searching for the Holy Grail: My Travels in Western Europe."

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Audio CD review - an excellent listen, but sadly abridged

I am a huge Bryson fan, I love his humor and his talent for noticing absurdity in everyday situations.

This audiobook is on 5 CDs and plays for 6 hours, and features Bryson's sardonic voice telling us about his adventures over Europe. If you have liked his other books, you will like this one. He writes in a detailed enough way that you will want to slow down to savor this book, so hearing it read aloud is perfect.

Unfortunately, this audiobook is abridged, and while that is not always a problem for me, since I get bored easily and prefer the story to move along, with Bryson, I always feel like I am missing a little extra something with his audiobooks. His books are good enough to want to savor every word.

So, do buy this audio CD version, but perhaps read the book first so you get the entire scoop and all the description, and listen to the audiobook in the car or while doing something else. It is one you will likely want to keep and listen to every time you get antsy for travel.

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