Notes from a Small Island

• Audio Cassette - 04 May, 1998 - Random House Audio
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• By: Bill Bryson
• ISBN: 0553525077

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About this book

Bill Bryson is an unabashed Anglophile who, through a mistake of history, happened to be born and bred in Iowa. Righting that error, he spent 20 years in England before deciding to repatriate: "I had recently read that 3.7 million Americans according to a Gallup poll, believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me." That comic tone enlivens this account of Bryson's farewell walking tour of the countryside of "the green and kindly island that had for two decades been my home."

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Reviews by readers

Very enjoyable

I am of two minds about this book. First, I hated to come to the end, as with most Bryson books. It's like traveling with someone who amuses you a great deal and whom you will miss when you part ways. On the other hand, I was often clueless about where he was (no, I did not bother to consult a map). Athough he provides a short glossary, there were many unfamiliar terms to this California guy. There are certainly recuyrring themes, to say the least. There might be room for an abridged version of this book for people outside the U.K. But I would buy the unabridged version because I would not want to miss a great turn of phrase, even at the cost of listening to more whining about bad hotels. And what's with the binge drinking? Why didn't his wife accompany him to ANY of the cities? I propose that she write "What I do while Bill is gone on his trips."

fantastic yarns

Suberb wit both dead pan and absurdist.It is like listening to a good friend tell a story totally enthralling.If you enjoy books of wordplay clever dialouge and charcters and enjoy a writer who's a bit like a modern James harriet with a pinch of Evelyn waugh this is the book for you.Also has the obsession with funny names of rohl dahl.

Laughs galore

This is the third Bill Bryson travelogue I have read. This has several laugh-out-loud sections, particularly if you have travelled in the United Kingdom. It is excellent for relaxing on weekends or on a plane. If you have never been to the UK and don't know any British people, then don't form all your opinions based on this one book, but Bryson does a good job distilling some of the differences between our nations into an amusing few hundred pages.

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