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Robin
took the never-ending book quiz.
| questions answered: | 47 |
| correct: | 44 (93.6%) |
| skipped: | 5 |
| best streak: | 20 |
| questions added: | 0 |
I enjoyed this. Not particularly blown away, but liked it well enough. Bryson hadn't quite hit his peak yet (around the time of 'Notes from a Small Island,' IMHO), but the book is still a nice, quick read, and his trademark grumpy humor is well in place.
I hadn't realized how... dated the book is. It's not as noticeable in the early chapters--his experiences in France, Amsterdam, & Italy sound a lot like mine ten years later--but as he gets into Eastern Europe, I had to step back and remind myself that this is a different world. 1990 may not *seem* like that long ago, but the map of Europe has changed considerably since then; reading the chapter on Yugoslavia is almost painful, knowing what's in store for them. This was also before the heyday of the European Union and the coming of the Euro.
I wonder what the same trip would be like today, and if Bryson might have another travelogue (or three) left in him. ]]>
I read this in fifth grade... or so I thought. Bits & pieces were familiar, but there were a couple of points where I found myself wondering if I just made it up.
I remember liking the book then, but enjoyed it so much more now as an adult and Anglophile; there were a lot of subtleties lost on me as a pre-teen. I was also quite impressed by the twist in the mystery (the only other Agatha Christie I've read is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. That one's hard to beat, but I thought this was almost as clever). I'm curious to read a few of her others now. ]]>
bookshelves: to-read
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