Into the Heart of Borneo: An Account of a Journey Made In 1983 to the Mountains of Batu Tiban with Ja |
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Redmond O'Hanlon
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Pages: 208 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0140073973
Pub: Penguin Books Ltd
Pub date: 1985-09-05
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 62671
Reader Reviews:
Laugh out loud funny (0/0 people found this helpful)
Some reviewers are disappointed by the lack of useful information on Borneo. They have missed the point. This is not a travel guide. It's a book aiming to give an entertaining account of an expedition.
It succeeds wonderfully. The ups and downs of his relationship with his travelling companion, journalist and poet James Fenton, are (it seems) honestly portrayed. O'Hanlon does not shy away from making himself look like an idiot; indeed it the stock comic trope of the book. Some scenes are so funny that they made me giggle, snort and laugh out loud on the London Underground - which is not the done thing.
But I give the book five stars because of the quality of his writing. As well as being amusing, he just writes beautifully.
An interesting insight (0/0 people found this helpful)
I enjoyed this book, and I've also enjoyed James Fenton's poetry that I sought out as a result of reading it. O'Hanlon tells a good story against himself, and the Iban people come across as, well, just like people, really. The change of tone as they encounter the Ukit towards the end, and the sense of a debasing of traditional culture is well handled and not overdone. It would have been nice for them to have found a rhino, but you can't have everything. If I ever go to Borneo, I shall certainly take a copy of Smythies with me.
More fun than others (1/1 people found this helpful)
I read this book when studying for my A' levels 11 years ago. It was a change from Shakespeare and Chaucer. It was lighthearted and combined with an enthusiastic tutor the class was eager to do the after class reading required!
A classic from a great travel writer (4/4 people found this helpful)
I'm moved to write my first review for Amazon by this classic of the travel genre. It moves effortlessly from humour to history, from adventure to scientific account. Like all the the best travel books, it takes you there without having to go to the expense of airline tickets. I got a real flavour of Borneo, borne out by a trip there which would have been all the poorer had I not read this book.
A hilarious comedy - not a stuffy travel book (12/12 people found this helpful)
My husband was reading this book while we were on holiday in Borneo and he drove me so nuts chuckling every few pages that I just had to read it myself.
Where I had expected a stuffy travel book I found a hilarious comedy. Well worth the read!
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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 -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> Travel Writing
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> Countries & Regions -> Asia -> Indonesia -> Borneo
uk-shops -> Travel -> Travel Guides & Books -> General