Jan-Maat's Reviews > Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

I find Bryson a very skilful author, easy to read, enjoyable while it lasts and then completely forgettable. It is the the snack you can read between books and not spoil your appetite. All I can definitely remember from this one is the 'pick-up' line his sidekick used in pubs and clubs (view spoiler)[he invited young women to assist him in moving his seminal fluid a short distance in more or less those words, at least, that is how Bryson reports it (hide spoiler)].

It is an OK, middle of the road, Bryson effort. The middle of the road is where Bryson aspires to be, and that is the key to his writing. It is not challenging, there is flow, he creates a genial atmosphere. In it's own way it is almost perfect writing, demonstrating a consistently easy facility. From another point of view it's strengths make it highly unsatisfying, it is lazy, makes no connection with the people or places he visits and provides no insights into other lives. It is the literary equivalent of easy listening, perfectly providing the experience of having a pleasant time without actually engaging the reader in a substantive way.

This book is neither enlightening nor informative, I would recommend Notes from a Small Island as the best example of his work.