Bookshop's review
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Unlike the previous Bill Bryson's books, including the rather technical A Short History of Nearly Everything, this is his first book that I couldn't finish in one sitting. I was lucky I went with my instinct and waited for the paperback instead of splurging on the hardcover.
Style-wise, he remains funny and different but the story is so spread all over the place that I can't really say what this book is all about: his childhood? Sure. America in the 50s? That, too. Thunderbolt Kid? Who the hell is this?
Maybe I am not familiar with America of that era so I cannot relate but I don't think that's the problem. A good book should be able to engage me regardless of time and place and this book doesn't. Furthermore, unlike his other books, it's really difficult to understand whether he was kidding or being serious. Some were obvious (cigarettes were deemed to be good for you then and people smoked in droves) but some were less (like the story of the kids who stole, at first a containe...more
Style-wise, he remains funny and different but the story is so spread all over the place that I can't really say what this book is all about: his childhood? Sure. America in the 50s? That, too. Thunderbolt Kid? Who the hell is this?
Maybe I am not familiar with America of that era so I cannot relate but I don't think that's the problem. A good book should be able to engage me regardless of time and place and this book doesn't. Furthermore, unlike his other books, it's really difficult to understand whether he was kidding or being serious. Some were obvious (cigarettes were deemed to be good for you then and people smoked in droves) but some were less (like the story of the kids who stole, at first a containe...more
