Only in Ireland! (Round Ireland with a Fridge - Tony Hawks)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Round Ireland with a Fridge - Tony Hawks
Date:	11/08/08 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An amusing and nicely written book, humourous, a lovely style of writing, some great observations

Disadvantages: Not as side splittingly funny as the back of the book would have you believe

I don't know why I originally picked Round Ireland With A Fridge up in the library as it's definitely not the kind of book I would usually read, but as it was due back in a few days and I had nothing else to read I thought I might as well try it.

Round Ireland With A Fridge is, as you would suspect from the title, a comedy look at a trip around the circumference of Ireland that one man made with, well, a fridge in tow. A strange image I know, but author Tony Hawks explains the idea away by recollecting a boozy night out with friends where the tale of a man seen hitchhiking with a fridge caused much amusement. A wager was then made, £100 said that he couldn't travel Ireland for one month with a fridge.

One of the first things that tickled me was the fact that the fridge cost more than the bet, but Tony Hawks is just wacky enough to pull off this odd idea.

The book is quite short with only 272 pages and to be completely honest this was enough for me. It's a very light read which makes me think it would be the idea book to take on holiday with you, Round Ireland With A Fridge is one of those books that is easy to pick up and put down again because it's definitely not a page turner by any stretch of the imagination. Bearing in mind how simple the storyline is, you'll find the only reason to carry on reading is to have a giggle at the amusing and strange situations that Tony gets himself into.

Without meaning to stereotype, only in Ireland would a man carting a fridge around be so accepted. Well, perhaps in the US too but the Irish are so laid back that this man (who would probably be arrested should he try this stunt in England) was able to wander amongst them, with his fridge of course, with many of the natives not even batting an eyelid! I spent a lot of time in Ireland during the 1980's and early 90's and can visualise the reaction to Tony and his fridge because absolutely NOTHING seems to phase the average Irishman.

The chapters are nicely set out with each one leading comfortably to the next, by around page 199 I was starting to get a little bit bored because each chapter is very much the same as the one before with only the jokes and observations changing. At the beginning of each new chapter Tony and his fridge arrive in a new village or town, there are lots of exclamations of surprise and a bit of friendly ribbing and then something goes wrong which leads to the comical situations.

It's extremely amusing, but is very samey throughout the entire book. It's the widely varying ways in which the Irish people react to Tony that makes the book as funny as it is, as a race the Irish are naturally warm and accepting and it's these attributes that make this such a lovely book to read. I found Round Ireland With A Fridge to be nicely written and very witty, Tony Hawks has used his comic talent to create some wonderful one liners and can also tell an anecdote with the amusement in all the right places.

Tony is obviously an educated man and this shows in his style of writing, occasionally I noticed he would use a word in the wrong context which I found endearing rather than irritating because this said to me that he wasn't one of those snobbish authors but a plain and simple chap who happens to be good at writing. His writing flows well and although there are a lot of 'you had to be there' moments in the book he has kept these to a short minimum and understands what experiences would translate better to the written word.

I liked how personally written this book is. As a travel guide it's probably a little bit rubbish, although there are some good out of the way villages mentioned that sound like they would be interesting to go and have a look at it you're visiting Ireland. Mind you, you probably won't be travelling with a large household appliance so don't expect the exact same friendly welcome as Tony had!

If you haven't read anything by Tony Hawks then this is a good book to start. He's written quite a few of these wacky books and judging by reviews I've read they have all been very well received, he's never going to win a Booker Prize so do not expect a novel of Salman Rushdie intensity but if you're looking for an easy read that in places will have you in stitches then you could do much worse that Round Ireland With A Fridge. I'd liken him to Dave Gorman in style, I've actually never read anything by Dave Gorman but I've seen him on the TV and Tony Hawks writing style reminds me of Gormans visual comedy. If that makes sense.

The blurb on the back says this book will have me laughing out loud and shouldn't be taken onto public transport for fear of embarrassment. I wouldn't go that far if I'm honest, although it did raise a few smiles because Tony is such a likeable man and has a nice friendly way of writing. There's something amusing on every page as he has included little observations about such things as the architecture of a town (totally unsuitable for his fridge) or a fleeting reaction from a member of the public which a less observant man might not have noticed.

You can buy a paperback copy of Round Ireland With A Fridge from Amazon for £5.54 which I think is good value, or do as I did and borrow a copy from your library as I get the impression that not everyone will like this book as much as I did.

I am going to Ireland in the next few weeks for a short holiday to visit friends and have pencilled in a few places I'd like to see based on what I've read in this book so perhaps it's not so rubbish as a travel book after all!

Summary: A book which will have you smiling, not roaring with laughter.