Authentic Bryson, but that might be the problem

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend Neither Here Nor There with reservations, because the actual traveling-around-Europe portion of the book is exactly what I wanted from Bryson. Unfortunately, he indulges too much in digressions where he displays quite unlovable character traits, some of which include:

-despising all dogs and most animals in general
-shameless objectification of women
-defending his complete lack of remorse over beating up the fat kid in his middle school.

In a travel book, I seek to identify with the author so that I may see the places he goes through his eyes. Bryson's digressions make this very difficult, and it is hard to understand why his editor permitted them to remain in the work, since they are so extraneous to the purpose of the work.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I think there is a book that covers his ORIGINAL trip through Europe with Katz, and as a fan of A Walk In The Woods, I'm curious about that one.

What didn’t you like about William Roberts’s performance?

Bryson freely admits being completely ignorant of all non-English languages, except for mostly-forgotten lesson in school. Despite this, Roberts continually indulges in heavy accents and pronunciations that feel false in the context that Bryson has created.

Do you think Neither Here nor There needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nope. I don't want to tempt Bryson into deeper navel-gazing, since this book took him to some pretty dark places already.

11 people found this helpful

9 hours in a prison camp

9 hours in a prison camp certainly would have been more enjoyable. The author is an extremely arrogant and self righteous twit that has only s superficial knowledge of people, cultures and religions but that doesn't stop him from hating everyone and everything. Tedious and boring are his constant rants. Sarcasm is funny but constant whining is just annoying.

8 people found this helpful

Might want to skip this Bryson

In general terms this just isnt one of Bryson’s best. I love so many of his other books but this comes off more whinging and ranty than humorous without the usual wry and sometimes subtle wit you’d expect of Bryson. This is more like the stories you would get traveling with your drunk, entitled and mildly racist uncle across Europe with the tired blanket statements about cultures (the french are so rude!) and predictable sexual or derogatory statements about all the women he sees. These jokes were tired long before this book was written. He also is almost certain to insult half his audience at some point in this book be it from discussing the great childhood joy of pounding on the fat kid at school (a treasured memory), to the rather uncomfortable objectification of women, the hatred of dogs/idea that all dogs should be gotten rid of to a remote island except poodles which should all be shot because dogs dont like him (wonder why), the book is just filled with statements that are likely to fall flat to modern audiences. Of course much of this is just said in humor but that type of humor tends to fall flat and this book really does just that.

6 people found this helpful

Disappointed

I enjoyed some of Mr. Bryson's other books, namely Made in America and the obvious A Short History, and was excited to listen to a book about his own direct experiences. Unfortunately I didn't get what I was expecting. I couldn't imagine having so much privilege in life while complaining so much. Trip around Europe, full of new sights and experiences! Sounds great. Better complain for half the book about the bus ride in a way that's far from amusing. There is nothing compelling or interesting about this book or Mr. Bryson. I'll stick to his writings not about his miserable existence.

4 people found this helpful

Negative and Outdated

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I LOVE Bill Bryson's "Tales of a Sunburnt Country" and "A Short History of Nearly Everything" (or whatever their exact titles are) but I found this book to be a series of negative events stitched together with negative train rides and negative hotel experiences. It's like Bill would rather be anywhere else but having to travel through Europe. The book is written in the 90's, so it's a bit dated now (Yogoslavia is no longer a country, for example), but the experiences are the same. I really feel like Bill didn't want to take this trip and was FORCED to find a positive aspect of every country he visits. I muscled through listening to this book, though I was quite disappointed. I usually like his humor and wit, but it became rather annoying.

Would you ever listen to anything by Bill Bryson again?

Yes, he is still a good author, obviously he was just in a bad mood when he wrote this book.

What does William Roberts bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator was great, with no weird verbal "ticks" that tend to annoy the listener. While I don't know any language besides English, it sounded like he pronounced everything quite well.

1 person found this helpful

Early work shows rawness of author

Would you try another book from Bill Bryson and/or William Roberts?

I love Bill Bryson books especially when they're narrated by Mr. Bryson.

What could Bill Bryson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Read it himself.

What three words best describe William Roberts’s performance?

I beleive he did it justice, but it really sounded contrived.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment compared to later works by Bill Bryson.

Any additional comments?

I don't believe it was the narrator, but I just couldn't finish this book. It was not the usual Bill Bryson that I've come to relish. It seemed to me that most of the stories were a bit contrived, and therefore Bill had to stretch the truth of what actually occurred. Well, maybe the narrator had something to do with it as Bryson's books definitely benefit from him reading them aloud. I may try to finish this book later, but for now it's on to something else.

1 person found this helpful

The narrator delivers the book

Would you consider the audio edition of Neither Here nor There to be better than the print version?

It is difficult to compare audio editions with the print versions in most cases. When listening to others read a book, I almost always find I would have read it in a slightly different way. When I read a book, I put my own voices on the dialog, and I have my own way of reading and interpreting the sentences. These are small, subtle changes that I find important for my reading experience.

William Roberts does an excellent job narrating this book. I mean, Bill Bryson is who he is, funny, a great storyteller, and able to make almost any subject appear intriguing through his observations. I've read a book by him before, so I knew what I was getting for content. Therefore, William Roberts' narration came as a pleasant surprise and really made the listen a very enjoyable experience. He read with a voice much better than my own internal one, and in my opinion, emphasizing exactly the right words for each sentence, thus bringing out those extra subtleties I enjoy.

Therefore, I'm inclined to consider the audio edition better than the print version in this case.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Neither Here nor There?

Being from Norway, I obviously found the part where he travels to Norway particularly interesting. It is interesting to hear a foreign take of one's own culture. It is clear however, that the book is more than 20 years old now, so there's a lot of those small cultural observations that no longer applies. But, I'm old enough to remember!

Which scene was your favorite?

I'm not going to lift a particular scene up to favorite status. The book was generally enjoyable, and not to mention a reminder of how much the world and particularly Europe has changed during the last 20 years. Some cultural differences have disappeared, some have emerged, as with currencies, politics, customs and culture.

In a way, the stories and observations are a bit outdated, but for someone of my age, that didn't lower the reading experience.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had had the opportunity to do so, I probably would do so. But then again, I would with any book, I guess.

Any additional comments?

In summary, I would say a very enjoyable listen, great but slightly outdated content, but with excellent narration.

1 person found this helpful

So much whining!

I think I’ve read almost everything. I’ll Bryson has written and loved every word of it. Except for this book. There wasn’t a single place in all of Europe that he didn’t bash and complain about.

I don’t get it

Why write a book about travel if you hate everything? This book is whiny and entitled. I get it was written “in a different time”, but dear god, have some respect for the people around you. Offensive, ranting and boring. I tried to trudge through and finish it, but for the first time ever I won’t make it. This was my first Bryson attempt, and I won’t be making another one.
I thought the narrator did a nice job.

hard for me to keep track

The stories and funniness were there, but some of it was lost during driving, which is where I listened the most. Great delivery, but I might have done better actually reading the book.