Down Under by Bill Bryson

(Book Review)

I actually read the British edition of this book. (Some British friends were moving out of their apartment in Japan, and gave it to me before they left.)
I flipped through the American version, and there do appear to be some differences between them. I'm not sure if this is a major issue or not, but I've decided to play it safe and review this under the British title "Down Under", even though it is probably more familiar in America as "In a Sunburned Country."

I've discovered Bill Bryson a bit late, but it's safe to say I'm becoming a fan. (For other books of his that I've read, see also:
"The Mother Tongue",
"A Walk in the Woods",
"The Lost Continent",
and "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid".

Outside of Bryson, I'm not really familiar with travel writers, but I always pictured the genre as filled with a lot of books about strong people going through rough places.

Bryson, however, seems to spend a lot of time talking about where he stopped for a cup of coffee. Or the food he ate at the hotel. Or the conversation he had with a waitress at the bar.

It's the "normal guy out having a look" type quality to his books that make them a lot of fun to read.

(An exception to this life of easy travel might be the grueling hike he and Stephen Katz did in "A Walk in the Woods." But even there, what makes that book such a classic is the blatant "fish-out-of-water" quality these too have as they attempt to conquer the trail, and end up bickering with each other the whole time.)

When reading Bryson's books, I always feel kind of inspired to go out and have my own little adventures, and then write up something. (I took a lot of inspiration from him for my "Better Know a City" project, or at least the second wind I got on it two years ago, shortly after reading a couple of his books.)

However, comparing my own efforts to Bryson's, I'm reminded of what my Calvin English professors used to always stress: the kind of breezy conversation tone in good writers, which appears so effortless, is actually very difficult to write. It takes a lot of revision and hard work to achieve that casual tone.

How much work Bryson puts into his prose I don't know, but he has got the easy conversational tone down pat, making him a perfect guide for any sort of travel book.

I read this book on the plane on my way in to Australia, and it's been really neat the past few weeks to actually see in person the things Bryson talks about in the book.

...Although when one reads a travel book about an area one is visiting, I suppose one would just expect as a matter of course to see in person at least some of the things described in the book. So I don't know why it was a big deal to me whenever I saw some sort of landmark Bryson mentioned, but it was. Perhaps because Bryson is so famous, and perhaps because he's almost more of a humor writer than a travel writer, I was always like, "Hey, that's just what the famous guy was talking about in his book."

And although I have, as of this writing, yet to venture anywhere beyond walking distance from Melbourne University, I've already managed to see several little things that got passing references in this book.

And so, I was delighted when I saw Crown Casino, and realized it was the same Casino Bryson mentioned in his book.
And also when I saw a statue commemorating the tragic expedition of Burke and Wills, and realized I had read about this in Bryson's book.
I set off to see the "Immigration Museum" in Melbourne, precisely because Bryson had talked about it in this book.
And when I visited the Parliament building in Melbourne, I knew it had also once been a national capital because Bryson had mentioned it in his book.
And when an Australian friend pointed out to me the jail where Ned Kelly (W) was hanged, I knew the whole story from this book.
And the infamous Melbourne right turns--this book again filled me in, so the other day when some people were complaing about driving in Melbourne, I knew what everyone was complaining about.
And, the argument between Australian politicians Abbot and Costello (which Bryson has a laugh at in his book) is apparently still going on. Just saw an article about it in the Melbourne paper the other day (link).


And that brings up another good point about this book: it's one of those books that teaches you a lot of stuff without you even realizing it. You think you're just having fun reading about Bryson and his zany adventures, but without knowing it you suddenly develop a wealth of knowledge about Australia. Several times already since I started reading this book, someone has tried to tell me something about Australian culture, and I've found myself saying, "Yes, I already know that. It was in Bill Bryson's book."

One final note:
Bryson relates that some of the Australians he meets (particularly the ones on the Indian Pacific Railroad) have unfortunate attitudes about the Aboriginal people.
While living in Japan, I've also noticed that some of the older Australians can casually refer to the Aboriginals using terms that would be considered politically incorrect back in the United States.
But I should also say that among Australians my own age or younger, I've not observed this same attitude. In fact many younger Australians seem very sensitive to the Aboriginal issues.

I've also noticed in my brief time at the University of Melbourne that they will frequently begin large assemblies by acknowledging the Aboriginal tribes who originally owned the land the university is standing on.

I don't remember any assemblies back home begin by acknowledging the Native American tribes. Wouldn't be a bad idea though.

Addendum:
Here are some of my videos from Melbourne Australia HERE:



Link of the Day
Chomsky on Nicaragua - and international law

Down Under by Bill Bryson: Book Review (Scripted)