In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
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Book Reviews of In a Sunburned Country
Book Review: Pleasing!!...
Summary: 5 Stars
If you like Bryson and enjoy reading about travel, you should love this book. Once again Bryson brings to us hilarious anecdotes intertwined with some of the best travel literature around. While not as funny as A Walk in the Woods, it is equally just as an enjoyable read. Some of the more memorable moments are the descriptions of Harold Holt and the various venomous and other lethal buggers you might encounter in the vast country that is Australia. If you are a Bryson fan, I would recommend this book in an instant."The loathsome sluggish stone fish, so called because it is indistinguishable from a rock, but with the difference that it has twelve spikes on its back that are sharp enough to pierce the sole of a sneaker, injecting the hapless sufferer with a myotoxin bearing a molecular weight of 150,000."
"And what does that mean exactly?"
"Pain beyond description followed shortly by muscular paralysis, respiratory depression, cardiac palpitations, and severe disinclination to boogie. You might similarly be discommoded by fire-fish, which are easier to spot but no less harmful. There's even a jellyfish called the snottie."
Book Review: Just when I thought Bryson was running out of steam...
Summary: 5 Stars
...he penned this book to prove otherwise!I bought this book reluctantly, because I thought it would be another set of, frankly, quite predictable Bryson's jokes and his annoying moralizing. It is anything but - Bryson looks at the country (too often perceived as home of thick semi-literate rednecks) with genuine interest, admiration and goodwill, and these qualities result in a very, very entertaining and informative read.
The chilling account of gruesome fate of Australian aborigenes is relayed with compasion and sensitivity. Horrid details do not spare the reader; at the same time, the book avoids self-righteous preaching tone which was beginning to plague Bryson's previous books.
On a lighter note, some people may think that Bryson's self-confessed fascination with all that is deadly and poisonous on the Australian soil is a touch excessive - but I find these factoids about murderous jellyfish et al very interesting.
The book reads with ease and (unlike, for example, in "Neither Here Nor There"), you actually learn something new after you have finished it, on top of having really good time reading it.
Book Review: Why I read it twice...a review in two parts.
Summary: 5 Stars
I took this book with me on a recent trip to Central America and absolutely loved it. While there is less narrative flow than, say, A Walk in the Woods, reading Bryson's thoughts on Sydney harbor, Australian-rules football, former Prime Minister Harold Holt (peace be upon him), forever walking through Canberra, and his near run-in's with a seemingly endless list of nasty (and apparently deadly) native animals was engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. He does this all the while encountering some pretty terrific and endearing folks, drinking many Victorian Bitters, and relaying an impressive and affectionate recounting of Australian history. There really is a lot to like here. So much so that upon finishing the book while still in Central America, and realizing that I committed the unpardonable sin of only bringing one book with me to read (you try finding a decent bookstore in Central America), I turned to the first chapter and started all over again. And it was equally engrossing, witty, and informative if not more-so. I can think of no higher compliment for a book and I recommend it whole-heartedly.Book Review: Funny and Loving and Adventurous, with Lots of Drinks
Summary: 5 Stars
Bill Bryson is consisently one of the funniest writers around, particularly in In a Sunburned Country, as he stumbles his way around the great continent of Australia. And he does almost literally go all around it, as well as taking several journeys into its dusty heart. My only regret with this book is that I read it after coming back from Australia rather than before I began that particular journey. I do not know that I would have changed any destinations, as the author is most hilarious and poignant when describing places into which one would probably never venture, but this book makes one appreciate the Australia that one encounters much more fully. This book is recommended for those who have seen Australia, those who will see Australia and those who may never see Austarlia. In short, this book will amuse and delight everyone, much like the wonderful country it documents. During the day see something you can see no where else in the world and in the evening go to pub and relive the experience over a few pints, but first read this book.Book Review: Wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
During my two years working for a certain book store I resisted reading any Bill Bryson, despite having it constantly recommended to me. I was extremely nervous that they wouldn't live up to my expectations, which I must admit were extremely high. I really shouldn't have worried! It was absolutely excellent! I fell in love with In a Sunburned Country almost immediately, it was funny and informative, but more than anything else I related with Bryson in a way that no girl my age has a right to. Infact though, its hard to see how anyone could not share his delight in monotremes and stromatolites or cringe just a little when he discovered that he had drunkenly agreed to a house swap. And who can resist tidbits like the alleged nuclear bomb set off by Aum Shinrikyo in the outback.
Bryson's work is consistenetly excellent and I see several of his books in my very near future and I can hardly wait. My only fear is that I won't get to satisfy my curosity about Uluru and Ned Kelly before I have a whole new set of sites to explore.