Down Under |
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Bill Bryson
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Pages: 400 (Paperback)
ISBN: 055299703X
Pub: Black Swan
Pub date: 2001-08-06
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1310
Editorial Review:
As his many British fans already know, bearded Yankee butterball Bill Bryson specialises in going to countries we think we know well, only to return with travelogues that are surprisingly cynical and yet shockingly affectionate. It's a unique style, possibly best suited to the world's weirder destinations. It's helpful here: Bryson's latest subject is that oddest of continents, Australia.
For a start, there's the oddly nasty fauna and flora. Barely a page of Down Under is without its lovingly detailed list of lethal antipodean critters: sociopathic jellyfish, homicidal crocs, toilet-dwelling death-spiders, murderous shrubs (yes, shrubs). Bryson's absorbing and informative portrait is of a terrain so intractably vast, a land so climatically extreme, it seems expressly designed to daunt and torment humankind.
This very user-unfriendliness throws up another Aussie paradox. If the country is so hostile how come the natives are so laid back, so relaxed? As Bryson shuffles from state to state, he seeks the key to the uniquely cool Australian character and finds it in Australia's tragicomic past, her genetic seeding of convicts, explorers, gold diggers, outlaws. This is a country of lads and mates, of boozy gamblers--nowadays mellowed by sunshine and sporting success.
Down Under is a fine book. So it may not be quite as deliciously malicious as Bryson's The Lost Continent, nor as laugh-out-loud funny as Neither Here Nor There. But so what? A Bill Bryson on cruise control is better than most travel writers on turbodrive. --Sean Thomas
Reader Reviews:
Makes Me Want to Pack My Bags (0/0 people found this helpful)
I must be honest and say that I started this book in tandem with another just because I didn't think I'd be terribly interested in the subject matter, much as I love Bryson. By the end of the second chapter, I wanted to book a ticket on the next flight to Perth. The flora, fauna and folks that inhabit this wondrous country intrigue me strangely.
Bill Bryson is one of the funniest writers I have ever encountered. I find myself reading bits aloud at the slightest hint of encouragement. I challenge anyone to read his discussion of running through a park trying to get away from some scary dogs, and ending up in an unsuspecting housewife's back garden, without laughing out loud. If you can get through that section without giggling, you have nerves of steel.
I learned a great deal about Australia that I never, ever had heard before. This is a criminally neglected area of the world and I would love to find out more. What better place to start than with Bill Bryson. Highly recommended.
Dear Bill (0/0 people found this helpful)
You kickstarted a love for my home country that I thought had died many years ago. This account is so sentimental (in a good way) without glossing over the awfulness, I couldn't help but be interested and proud of my home nation. Thank you. Oh the bit about the cricket had me giggling out loud. I know some people don't "get" you but we don't all find the same things funny. No shame in that. Lovely book.
Good Old Oz (0/0 people found this helpful)
This is a fantastic book on Australia and is worth a read by anyone who plans to visit. Not only does Bill Bryson talk about the places he visits he also comes up with an enormous amount of anecdotes about the history of the country, which are quite fascinating, which makes it much more than just a travel book. The whole thing is sprinkled with his tongue in cheek humour. I loved it.
Oz Travel (0/0 people found this helpful)
Although this book has been out some time, it still merits another read. As always, Bryson is at his best when he tries less. His perfect clarity for the absurd is never far away, although I feel it would have been a tighter book had he covered less of this great continent. Like that other great Australian read - Return to Oz - John Brown, it ticks all the boxes.
The best way to plan a holiday. (3/4 people found this helpful)
Bill Bryson, an expert at writing about places he is comfortable with,an example, the USA a place where he was born and brought up, and no doubt the source of many a storey and much inspiration, England a place where he lived and worked for many years and again is ery familiar with.
So what happens when he visits a land virginal to him.Well what happens is that you have a very informative and hugely entertaining book that for me was perhaps his best of the lot.
Not only do you get a run down of the nations history and its increadible history, but you also get a larger than life appreciation of its people and unique wild life. The book is as diverse as the landscape and its people who have adapted in line with their surroundings. I very much enjoyed the book and it gave me a feel of what the real Australia must be like. As a result of the contents of this book it inspired me to visit Australia. This book was the only travel book that I have read that didnt leave me disappointed when faced with the reality of the actual place.
The book was so so acurate in many many ways and is recommended whether you plan a trip there or not.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Travel & Holiday -> Countries & Regions -> Australia & New Zealand -> Australia -> 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)