Despite having enjoyed several of Bryson’s other books, I couldn’t really get into this one which was about his travels in Europe, roughly following in his own footsteps from 20 years earlier. It was well-written and quite witty but it took me most of the book to realise why I didn’t hugely enjoy it. I think I didn’t enjoy the book because he didn’t enjoy the trip. He spent a lot of time moaning and this affected the tone of the book. I just wished he’d either find something to enjoy, or just pack up and go home.
He started off well, with a good amount of detail and good cheer and described the locations and people skillfully, but as it went on, you could feel him getting listless and this came through in his writing. I’d look up some of his other work (eg Notes From a Small Island) rather than this one.
