Jill’s review of Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe > Likes and Comments
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Maybe it's an age thing. When I was younger I thought Bryson was hilarious, but the older I got the more strained his humor seemed to be. When I read Walk in the Woods and Lost Continent I smiled a few times but found myself checking how many more paged I needed to read before I could move on to better books.
You may be right, Jamie. Some of it bordered on offensive.
I never did like this one much, but I also agree with Jamie's comment. I thought The Lost Continent was hilarious when I read it 30 years ago but would probably find it too snarky now.
"Snarky" is an excellent word for it. There were some cringe-inducing passages. Many of these people are economically disadvantaged and just trying to make an honest living however they can; there is no need to point and gawk,
What is it with travel writers? I haven't read vast numbers, but many do go down that road......of negative comments passing as humor or "interesting views". Like "I ate this horrible stuff" or "the natives were so pesky" or "there was trash everywhere as I picked my way down the once beautiful beach", ad nauseam. OK, once in a while, but if that's your main tone??? Does interesting writing have to point out the faults in everything or make fun of the subjects?
I think the difference is that there is lowbrow travel writing, which tries too hard to be funny by pointing out how different other people are from us, and thoughtful travel writing, which gives insights into cultures and places. In the latter category I would recommend Paul Theroux and Robert Kaplan.
Well, I certainly agree on Robert Kaplan, and I could add Colin Thebron among some others too. However, Paul Theroux's work, for me, falls into the "Everything Was Disappointing and the People Were Such Idiots" type of writer. I think he has gotten more cynical and critical as he has gotten older. Sure, this is a general human tendency, but it doesn't do a lot for travel writing. Thanks for the comment anyhow. Bob
Thanks to y'all for the interesting comments with which I totally agree. I almost didn't finish the book because of the negativity. Some of the comments such as, "I can't believe nobody spoke English" while he visited Istanbul made me cringe. I bet Bryson doesn't speak Turkish, Kurmanji, or Arabic!
Having lived in Europe, more people speak English than about to it. There were times were is be struggling to speak German with a person who said they didn't speak English, when they'd break out in perfect English.
They just get tired of people (mostly Americans) not event trying to speak their language
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Jamie
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Jul 17, 2019 09:09PM
Maybe it's an age thing. When I was younger I thought Bryson was hilarious, but the older I got the more strained his humor seemed to be. When I read Walk in the Woods and Lost Continent I smiled a few times but found myself checking how many more paged I needed to read before I could move on to better books.
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You may be right, Jamie. Some of it bordered on offensive.
I never did like this one much, but I also agree with Jamie's comment. I thought The Lost Continent was hilarious when I read it 30 years ago but would probably find it too snarky now.
"Snarky" is an excellent word for it. There were some cringe-inducing passages. Many of these people are economically disadvantaged and just trying to make an honest living however they can; there is no need to point and gawk,
What is it with travel writers? I haven't read vast numbers, but many do go down that road......of negative comments passing as humor or "interesting views". Like "I ate this horrible stuff" or "the natives were so pesky" or "there was trash everywhere as I picked my way down the once beautiful beach", ad nauseam. OK, once in a while, but if that's your main tone??? Does interesting writing have to point out the faults in everything or make fun of the subjects?
I think the difference is that there is lowbrow travel writing, which tries too hard to be funny by pointing out how different other people are from us, and thoughtful travel writing, which gives insights into cultures and places. In the latter category I would recommend Paul Theroux and Robert Kaplan.
Well, I certainly agree on Robert Kaplan, and I could add Colin Thebron among some others too. However, Paul Theroux's work, for me, falls into the "Everything Was Disappointing and the People Were Such Idiots" type of writer. I think he has gotten more cynical and critical as he has gotten older. Sure, this is a general human tendency, but it doesn't do a lot for travel writing. Thanks for the comment anyhow. Bob
Thanks to y'all for the interesting comments with which I totally agree. I almost didn't finish the book because of the negativity. Some of the comments such as, "I can't believe nobody spoke English" while he visited Istanbul made me cringe. I bet Bryson doesn't speak Turkish, Kurmanji, or Arabic!
Having lived in Europe, more people speak English than about to it. There were times were is be struggling to speak German with a person who said they didn't speak English, when they'd break out in perfect English.They just get tired of people (mostly Americans) not event trying to speak their language
