Vista la mia scarsa conoscenza dell'Australia non so dire se le informazioni dell'autore siano sempre precise e corrette ma, come lettura, è stata molto carina e piacevole. L'autore ha uno stile molto frizzante e divertente e riesce a non annoiare mai il lettore, anzi.

In a Sunburned Country is a 4 Star, mostly humorous, romp through Australia. It is perhaps a little dated now, he traveled there in 1999. Still he brings to life a place most of us do not know much about. I laughed a lot; he has a self-deprecating and subtle way of expressing himself. You will get to know the various states of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia in some detail. You get an abbreviated (and frankly unfair) exposure to Queensland and the North Territory. Sadly, you get nothing on Tasmania, a gaping hole in his travels, IMHO.

At times, Bryson paints incredible word pictures of the beauty of forests populated by unique creatures and plants. And then he gets to the terrible emptiness that separates the east from west, north from south. Through many miles, he brings to life the beauty, desolation and character of the bush. He will entertain you with stories of Australia’s explorers, some tragic and some just plain funny. It is a hardy group that has settled there. When he stops trying so hard to be funny, he can be poetic. The descriptions of the Alpine Nat’l Park near Melbourne and the Southwest forest area near Perth are good examples. The cheerfulness and welcoming manner of Australians shines through clearly. I want to visit Australia now! But, damn, it is far away and darn big when you get there. And, by the way, filled with creatures like snakes, insects, fish, crocs, lizards, etc that want to kill you or, at least, make your day very uncomfortable.

The book is not all goodness and laugh-out-loud funny. Australia and the Australians get 5 Stars but Bryson only gets 3 Stars. He can be very snarky and superficial. His discourse on the Aborigines was frankly condescending and ill-informed. He doesn’t appear to have made an effort to go meet Aborigines but he has plenty of judgments and opinions on the issue. If he was going to cover this social concern, he needed to devote some real time to it, not just passing shots. As mentioned, he left out Tasmania, which I really want to know about. His account may start to grate on an Australian or someone familiar with the country as he exaggerates and makes fun of some quirks. Hearing Bryson on Aussie sports, cricket for example, is like hearing these Brit talking heads showing up on our financial TV networks expound on US politics, i.e., clueless.

In the end, he shares a very appealing and attractive country and culture with us. An enjoyable read.

Warning! Don't listen to this while driving! You'll be doubled up with laughter at times! Interesting book about an interesting place. I enjoyed hearing about the character(s) of Australia.

Es lo primero que leo de Bill Bryson y también lo primero sobre narrativa de viajes que leo y no va a ser lo último porque me ha gustado muchísimo. Nunca me había llamado el género pero un día en la biblioteca me topé con este libro y hojeándolo me pareció super ameno y divertido así que me lo llevé a casa; y estaba disfrutando tanto su lectura que a los dos días me lo había comprado para poder anotarlo tranquilamente.

Siempre he querido viajar a Australia y al leer la experiencia de Bryson por allí, los lugares que vio y todas las curiosidades sobre el país que nos cuenta me han dado aún más ganas. Además es una lectura super amena y ágil y me ha encantado el humor de Bryson y todas las anécdotas que nos cuenta.

No soy mucho de leer no ficción pero este se ha colado en mi top de favoritos del género.

A highly entertaining travelogue, sprinkled with humour, lashings of tidbits & sense of exactly what it is like to live and be an Australian.

Man, did I ever hate this book. Someone is paying this guy to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world and all he can do is bitch and moan about it. I get that he's trying to be funny, but he comes off as a prentious douchebag instead. And it's particilarly in-your-face in his self-narrated audiobook. He speaks with quite a condescending tone, going on and on about how backwater everyone is and how quaint it is that they're all stuck in 1958.

For example, early on in the book, Bryson gets a chance to go boogie boarding in a gorgeos, ecologically diverse ocean. Instead of being so freaking excited that he's going to see some amazing sea creatures and plants, he whines about the "dangers" of rip tides, sharks, and poisonous jellyfish. As if he isn't on a super well funded tour with guides and zero need to worry about anything other than how awesome his life is.

Example two. Bryson is looking for something to eat. Instead of doing some research and finding somewhere interesting, unique, and Australian to eat, he decides to ask some teenagers on the side of the road where he can go to get some Italian or Thai food. There are so many reasons this is just wrong. Then when the teenagers inevitably tell him where the closest McDonald's or whatever is (they're fucking teenagers, what did you expect?) he actually blames the town for not having anywhere decent to eat!

Example three is just plain funny and shows how fake Bryson is. He ends up at a pet shop, that also happens to be a porn shop. Bryson goes on and on about how he's only checking out the back of the store to be thorough in his "research" and how he would never visit such a place in America. I'm onto you Bryson, they know by name at your local Adult Source. Admit it!

So publishers of Bryson, if you're sick of the stupid, whiny, little bitch you hired and want someone who would be so happy to work for you for almost nothing if you will send me to beautiful places, then I'm your lady!

A hilarious book.

Questo libro mi ha fatto venire una gran nostalgia. Ho avuto la fortuna di vivere un anno in Australia nell’ormai lontanissimo 1997. Ero a Perth, Western Australia, ospite di una zia di mia mamma che è mancata da poco alla veneranda età di 97 anni. Di quella vacanza conservo ricordi indelebili, perché effettivamente l’Australia è un posto unico che ti entra nel cuore e nella mente per i suoi colori meravigliosi (il rosso dell’ Outback ha una sfumatura indescrivibile, ma lo stesso si potrebbe dire del bianco delle spiagge o del verde intenso delle foreste di eucalipti), per la gente (che effettivamente è molto amichevole, forse perché consapevole di vivere in paradiso), per la flora (ho visto le piante dalle forme più strane) e per la fauna che in effetti un po’ fa paura (la mia gamba ha avuto un incontro ravvicinato con un simpatico red-back che per fortuna non mi ha morso, altrimenti non sarei qui a recensire questo libro). Il libro di Bryson racconta tutto questo e molto di più, parlando di molti luoghi che io non ho avuto il privilegio di visitare, ma dove mi piacerebbe molto andare in futuro. Ecco, non mi è sembrato così divertente da farmi sbellicare, anche se qualche buona battuta c’è. L’ho trovato comunque molto attinente alla realtà, perché l’Australia e gli australiani sono veramente così e l’unico modo di capire appieno la loro mentalità così laid-back è metter piede in quello sconfinato continente, dove nonostante le distanze, gli animali velenosi e tanti altri problemi, la gente vive felice. Prima o poi ci torno!

Ok! First of all I'm here to tell you that non-fiction is normally not my bag. I think I got this book because I forgot to send in the "do not send" notice in a book club. That said..... I'm soooo happy that I didn't and I "made" myself read this. OMG!!! I lost track of how many times I laughed until there were tears running down my cheeks and how many smiles and chuckles it rang out of me!
This is a book about Bryson's trips (I believe he combines a few trips to "Oz" into this one book) to the really undiscovered island of Australia and his impressions of what he sees and who he meets. There is history, wonderfully funny and horribly gruesome and sad stories, lodging and traveling tips and a long list of places there that I really now want to see.
His wit and sarcastic humor is what did it for me. I will look for more of his books and hope that he goes on more journeys to share with his reading audience.

If laughing out loud appeals to you, read it.
If learning about rare plants and animals from Bill Bryson's perspective appeals to you, read it.
If you've always wanted to visit Australia, read it.
If you need a good book, read it.

This travelogue of an American in Australia was hilarious. I had no choice; I had to give this five stars. I have this rule you see: if a book makes me think, cry, or laugh out loud, I give it top marks. I was smiling madly by the middle of the first page--at page 17 I was giggling. I haven't laughed so often or so hard since Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens. Bryson gets a lot of mileage out of Australia being a "wondrously venomous and toothy country." Here's a snippet:

"You probably won't see any redbacks out there," Sonja reassured us. "Snakes are much more of a problem."

This intelligence was received with four raised eyebrows and expressions that said, "Go on."

She nodded. "Common brown, western taipan, western puff pastry, yellow-backed lockjaw, eastern groin groper, dodge viper..." I don't remember what she said exactly, but it was a long list. "But don't worry," she continued. "Most snakes don't want to hurt you. If you're out in the bush and a snake comes along, just stop dead and let it slide over your shoes."

This, I decided, was the least-likely-to-be-followed advice I have ever been given.

Yet he keeps repeating that "it's a wonderful country." And he means it--his affection for Australia and Australians shines through. He gives us plenty of reasons why through the book--the wide spaces, the unique natural wonders, the friendly and optimistic people he meets. He doesn't gloss over that Australia has its dark side. The Aborigines are the "oldest continuously maintained culture on Earth," but are also Australia's "great social failing." The Australians don't want to talk about them and Bryson describes people looking right through them and describes a history every bit as heartbreaking as that of Native Americans. But mostly this is a very sunny book--in just about every way you can imagine.

This is an amazing book by an amazing author--and reader! Bill Bryson made me able to visualize everything he discussed in the book, and I wanted to go on listening to him! I am certain to read more books by him!