A Piano in the Pyrenees: The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains |
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Tony Hawks
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Pages: 352 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0091903335
Pub: Ebury Press
Pub date: 2007-07-05
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9977
Reader Reviews:
A very funny book! (0/0 people found this helpful)
I wonder if he's finished the pool yet ... ? In spite of the publicity surrounding Tony Hawk's other well known book Playing the Moldovans at Tennis I decided to read this book first of all. It didn't disappoint, in fact it was hilarious ... especially his experiences with white vans! The book had me in stitches from start to finish. I was amused to read about local village life in the Pyrenees and the characters that add to the amusement ... What I like best about Hawks' style is that he always tells it how it is - no holds barred!
Easy Going - nothing spectacular but enjoyable nonetheless! (0/0 people found this helpful)
An easy-going, quite enjoyable book - I found it effortless and quite funny - perfect for someone who wants something they can pick up and put down without any fear of losing of track of where they got to.
On the flip-side, bearing in mind I like a real page-turner, something a bit gritty - this was not the book for me. I didn't real find that anything about Tony's French adventure inspired me to race onto the next page and to be honest, I'm not sure that I would have bothered writing about my experience if I was him - not a great deal happened.
It was more like a cross between a travel guide, a journal and a GCSE essay.
I hate the words 'nice' and 'good' as they are so undescriptive but in this case they are just right. Nothing amazing - wouldn't recommend it - but have read far worse.
A pleasant way to spend a few hours (0/0 people found this helpful)
Tony Hawks is one of those people who's been around for ages and is pretty much a professional panellist on the various comedy shows which pervade TV and radio. This is the second book I've read of his and I very much enjoyed it. His wit shines through certain chapters - such as the 'white van saga' and various other things. It isn't 'laugh out loud' funny, but it's amusing enough.
The French villagers seem to be a strange lot though and you get the impression that Hawks has embellished them a fair bit to shoehorn some more comedy into the book. The ending is a bit of a whirlwind, which in some ways doesn't ring true. All in all, it's a good book to while away a summer's day or to lull oneself into a (refreshing) state of slumber in the evening.
A Pleasant Time in Good Company (1/1 people found this helpful)
I think some of the negative comments in the less positive reviews of this book miss the point. I would hope that anyone wanting advice about the legal process of buying a home abroad, with due respect, wouldn't be buying anything by Tony Hawks. Similarly, I'd be surprised if those wanting to learn more about the challenges involved in renovating older properties or learning more about the cultural history of this region of France would go looking for that information in such fare as this. (But Tony Hawkes doesn't indulge in the 'aren't foreigners funny with their silly little ways' line, though.)
To use a cliche, Tony Hawkes' books 'do exactly what it says on the tin'. This book relates a feel good story in an easy, relaxed, conversational style that I found very entertaining. No, I didn't discover any great insights into the human psyche nor did it change my life but it gave me a few laughs and I was happy with that.
Should be zero! (0/4 people found this helpful)
This book is boring, lazily written, predictable and not at all funny or readable. I have never read any of Hawks other books, and with this level of writing probably never will. Perhaps there are two books by the same title, as some of the reviews certainly don't apply to the copy I read. Another one for the Charity Shop.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Travel Writing
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Countries & Regions -> Europe -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Countries & Regions -> Europe -> France -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Humour -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)