Bryson's guide to Europe... (Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson)

Name: Daniel K

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Product:	Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson
Date:	13/05/03 (121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good guide to Europe, Some very funny chapters, Easy to read

Disadvantages: Some parts are a bit boring

'Neither Here nor There' is one of Bill Bryson's earlier 'travel writing' books, which this time focuses on his trip around Europe in the early nineties, visiting many of the places he went to when he came here in his early twenties.

Much of what follows is very similar to many of Bryson's other novels - he visits a city/country, makes some observations about the places or attractions on offer, often he makes witty observational comments on what's going on at the time there, and also he will occasionally make jokes at his own expense, which is even more funny. But one thing is for sure, lots of what he writes is very interesting (in my opinion) and makes you want to read on.

'Neither Here nor There' is very comparable to 'Notes from a Small Island' (another of Bryson's books) in both style and the fact that Bryson travels around a place he's been to before, and is familiar with. In some cases, like in 'Notes form a Small Island', he also takes in parts of Europe he has never been to before. There are also some obvious parts of Europe missed out, for example, Spain, Greece, and Portugal, and there are also a few other obscure places, like the tiny country of Liechtenstein, and Hammerfest in Norway (where the novel begins), which seem a bit unnecessary to visit.

On his journey to Hammerfest in the first chapter, Bryson remembers about his trip to Europe in 1972, and some of the places he sees for the first time - he mostly talks about his arrival in Luxembourg, and some of the other places he visited at that time, before returning to the present. This makes quite a good introduction to the book, with references to his past trips to Europe being mentioned in nearly every other chapter that follows, and sets up later chapters very well, as they are similar in their content.

The rest of the places that Bryson does visit and travel around are fairly predictable: they include
Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Copenhagan, etc. There are also whole countries that Bryson travels around, such as Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia. The best chapters from all of these are the ones which have plenty of humour and wit, as well as facts about the places Bryson sees, and some stories which seem to have a marginal part of what goes on in the novel.

My favourite chapters would have to be the ones about Paris, where Bryson admits he does not like the French much, but enjoys much of the culture here, despite the fact he does not like some of the architecture of Paris, and that he believes the motorists of Paris want him dead! Also the chapters about Amsterdam and Hamburg are interesting too, especially in some of the bits where Bryson reminisces about his first visit to Amsterdam years ago, and he says it is the first time he has been to Hamburg, but enjoys it all the same.

Probably one of the only disappointments about 'Neither Here nor There' is that a lot of what Bryson says about the places he goes to tends to get repetitive and a bit predicatable, and although the book is amusing to read, sometimes parts of it it can get boring and dull. That said, if you enjoy Bryson's style of writing, especially about travelling to places, then it will make a good read, and you won't be disappointed. He is never short of a thing to say, whether it's about the places he visits or other anecdotes associated with the parts of Europe he encounters.

Although Bryson does not travel to every country of Europe, and often takes in several places/cities in one whole chapter, 'Neither Here nor There' is a very good book, not one of Bryson's best, but still very funny and entertaining to read. I enjoyed much of the book when I read it for the first time, and still find large parts of it amusing to read again. If you like travel writing, humour, or factual genres of literature, then you'll probably enjoy '
;Neither Here nor There', and I would highly recommend it.

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