L.J.'s review
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson
My first Bryson book (thanks Terry and Barbara) and it was a very fun read. As I have read most of everything on the travel essay shelf that interests me I was not too sure of reading something about domestic travel. The writing style is first rate humorism, not the sarcasm or deep literary depth of a Theroux but a good read. I like the view of Bryson returning to the US from abroad and seeing things anew, something I think he explores in other novels yet to be read but in this book he gleefully picks on the good and bad to America. Nothing wrong with his strong opinion on the loss of the small town of America and in several places you truly want to pack your crap and slip off to a quiet corner of the Western states to live peacefully (or you might actually be content living there and happy you're there) but it is not his best book as it drags a little and the interesting places he looks for are not as exciting once he discovers them. Good, but after a second attempt of reading it I sh...more
