Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson

Monday, January 28, 2019

Review of "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson

In this book travel writer Bill Bryson wrote about a whirlwind trip through Europe that seemed designed solely to give him something to write about rather than a journey he actually wanted to take. I didn't take notes so Bryson's stops in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lichtenstein, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Austria, Italy, etc. blended together into a continuous blur of traveling, finding hotels, walking around, looking at things, eating, drinking, and so on. I could hardly distinguish one city from another.

Leichtenstein

Bulgaria

Bryson's observations are meant to be humorous (and sometimes are) but they're almost always snide and critical. Again and again Bryson complains that the cities he visited were dirty and filled with litter; had menus he couldn't read; served bad food that cost too much; harbored surly, unhelpful or purposely obstructive service workers (clerks, waiters, hotel staff); sported poor transportation with inconvenient schedules; wouldn't accept whatever kind of money he happened to have; allowed panhandlers in the streets; sold useless merchandise; and on and on and on.

Käsknöpfle from Leichtenstein

Kachamak from Bulgaria

Bryson has a (probably well-deserved) animus toward Germany for the Holocaust and Austria for electing a former Nazi to be president - but his extreme hostility is a jarring note in what's supposed to be an entertaining romp. The book is also heavy with sexual innuendos, has numerous comments about prostitutes, describes lots of excessive drinking, and contains 'dirty' language that's off-putting in the context of a light-hearted travel story (and I'm no prude).

On the positive side Bryson's descriptions of some of the sights he sees are interesting: the northern lights, museums, parks, historic sites, artworks, and so on. Still, I had to force myself to finish and was glad when he finally went home. Not one of Bryson's best efforts.

Northern Lights

Rating: 2 stars

4 comments:

Dennis HesslerJanuary 29, 2019 at 5:35 PM
I haven't read this particular book but I too find Bryson overrated. He's snide and cynical, and often fails to engage personally with the local populace he writes about. I think of him as a reporter sitting in the back of a dark bar, jotting down every negative thing he overhears. That said, I can't argue that much of his stuff is really funny. I just don't like him personally. No invite to my Christmas party for Mr. Bryson.
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MorganFebruary 27, 2019 at 11:22 AM
I'm a little late to the party here, but I thought the same way about Bryson's criticisms. I read A Walk in the Woods, and the first half was good, but the second half was pretty much really snarky criticisms. It's like, if you hate the USA so much, why not go back to Europe...but then apparently he has all kind of European criticisms as well. And I thought I was the only one!
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Barb's Book Reviews

Monday, January 28, 2019

Review of "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson

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