My 'Dam Life: Three Years in Holland (Lonely Planet Journeys (Travel Literature))

Paperback - February, 2003 - Lonely Planet Publications
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By: Sean Condon and Sean Condon
ISBN: 0864427816

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Reviews by readers

'Dam Right

Sean Condon has written a funny, realistic picture of what it is like to live in Amsterdam. I have lived in Amsterdam and all the things he talks about are right on the money. While living in Europe's most beautiful city can be difficult, painful and frustrating, it is all worthwile to call this great city home.
This book will give you a personal insight into the Dutch culture and people. I highly recommend this for expats or anyone that enjoys travel.

Amsterdamnation

Sean Condon gives us a precious gift; his own idleness. If he actually had something meaningful to do and an interesting life to write about, he'd be off doing it without so much as a see ya later.

But instead, he's forced, not altogether happily, to find meaning in the word soup of sound-bites, daily exchanges and media droppings that form the soundtrack of the inside of our heads in this day and age. And it's brilliant.

I mean, Sean and Sally land in the most quirky, sexy, kinky, interesting, liberated city in Europe. And you know what? The dialogue inside Sean's head, about the minutiae of everyday life, is kinkier, sexier, quirkier and more interesting than the Amsterdam it finds itself in.

So buy his book, but don't buy too many copies, because he might become rich and successful and then he'd have to find another schtick. Sean would turn into another Larry David, pretending (unconvincingly) that his fabulous life annoys him. So enjoy Condon's books, but let's try to keep him a failure, because it's just better that way for all concerned. Prospective readers can borrow my copy to preserve the bitter, penniless Sean Condon we love. OK?

My 'dam pathetic unemployed life

I found this book to be a complete waste of time; the only reason I even bothered to finish it was because I had some of these (seeded?) positive reviews lingering in my mind and I kept expecting it to get better.

Although the book does offer some insight into a certain sub-culture in the Netherlands (with a sprinkling of humor here and there), I should have taken the hint from some of the previous reviews before I ordered. As others have alluded, this is more of an autobiography than a book about the city or the culture. And a worthwhile autobiography it is not - I wasn't particularly impressed with the way the author chooses to live his life as a lazy unemployed slob while his wife struggles to make ends meet.

I feel generous giving it two stars - the second star appearing mainly for the catchy title and the sporadic bits of humor.

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