This post is part of the 2016 Classics Challenge.

“Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing."

Suffering from every malady in the book except housemaid's knee, three men and a dog decide to head for a restful vacation on the Thames. Anticipating peace and leisure, they encounter, in fact, the joys of roughing it, of getting their boat stuck in locks, of being towed by amateurs, of having to eat their own cooking and, of course, of coping with the glorious English weather.

WHEN I Discovered This Classic
I can't quite remember but it might have been when I first got my Kindle back in 2011. I downloaded a whole bunch of out-of-copyright classics for free and this was one of them. But it wasn't until I started the classics challenges that I actually decided to read it.

“We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can't do without.” 

WHY I Chose to Read It
I wanted a short, light read and this seemed like the perfect classic! I came across the audiobook on Spotify, and started listening to it on the way to work.

WHAT Makes It A Classic
It's one of the oldest books I've read –  127 years old! (That's 100 years older than myself).

"I don't know why it should be, I am sure; but the sight of another man asleep in bed when I am up, maddens me.” 

WHAT I Thought of This Classic
Three Men in a Boat was a thoroughly enjoyable classic – and I don't say this lightly. It helped that I was listening to the audiobook narrated by Hugh Laurie, who was perfect for the story. It's told with typical British humour that I forget how much I enjoy until I hear it – witty, hyperbolic one-liners told in a serious tone. I rarely laugh at any book, but this one had me trying not to giggle on the way to work.

Three Men in a Boat is exactly what it says on the tin (or should I say, cover). George, Harris, narrator Jerome, and a fox terrier called Montmorency (a fantastic name!) take a two-week boating holiday from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back again. Even though much of the story is about the everyday experiences of the river journey – from washing one's clothes to making a pot of tea – it's made much more enjoyable by Jerome K. Jerome's expert understanding of the things that tie us all together; it's like a 100-year-old version of Very British Problems.

WILL It Stay A Classic
Yes – even though it's over 100 years old, it still feels funny and fresh. I could quite believe that it was only published this year.

WHO I’d Recommend It To
People who enjoy British humour. People who want to read older classics. People who want to give classics audiobooks a try.

“But who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand.”

I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.

Three young men from London in the late 19th century (all of them hypochondriacs) decide to take a two week trip "up the river". They bring with them the one man's dog and only the various things they will need. Or so they claim. The long passage about packing would indicate otherwise.
What follows is a funny story in which a great many things go wrong, many other stories are told, and the dog proves to be the smartest of the bunch.

The anecdotes the men share, always something that happened to a friend or a friend of a friend, are funny. The antics of the three men themselves can be downright hilarious.

If you like the classics and are looking for a quick, amusing read then I would highly recommend this book.

Okay. Right from the beginning, it is a hilarious thing to read. This book was written in 1889, and it is still too funny. According to what I read, at first, it was going to be a travel guide, but that got lost among the humorous anecdotes that took over the whole book. I thank you, Jerome, for that.

So, three men (with a dog) started talking about how ill they were, almost like a contest on who was in the worst shape ever. And then, Jerome said his liver was out of order. Without visiting any doctor, he affirmed that his liver was out of order. How did he know that? Because he read a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed all the symptoms. And that single thing was my first hypochondriacal (is that a word?) laugh. I mean, don't most people do that? They feel unwell so they start looking for information, and suddenly they are writing a will because they KNOW it is their last week on earth. Then, if they have any time left, they visit the doctor. So, Jerome read that circular, and on another opportunity, went to the British Museum with the single purpose of reading about diseases (now, we have Wikipedia...).

Anyway, every paragraph is filled with amusing lines; not stupid funny, but witty funny. The thoughts of these hypochondriacs are written in such a way that you are entertained all the way through. Who never experienced "a general disinclination to work of any kind"? Poor boy, he was not lazy, it was his liver!

So, after all this chatting and feeling sorry for themselves, they arrived to the conclusion that all those maladies were caused by overwork. That is why they decided to take a boating holiday. While describing the trip, the author shared a lot of hilarious anecdotes. And I mean, a lot.

The one thing I didn't like that much is the fact that this story seems to be told by a weird creature I named "Seinlet": there can be a funny paragraph narrated by a hilarious Seinfeld and the next one can be so dramatic like a dying Hamlet. It is an abrupt change and I was a bit lost. Jerome’s funny writing and the poetic writing are really good, if they are far, far away from each other, like in different books or something... Otherwise, it can be confusing. At least, it was for me.

"I sat for awhile, frozen with horror; and then, in the listlessness of despair, I again turned over the pages. I came to typhoid fever - read the symptoms - discovered that I had typhoid fever, must have had it for months without knowing it - wondered what else I had got; turned up St. Vitus's Dance - found, as I expected, that I had that too, - began to get interested in my case, and determined to sift it to the bottom, and so started alphabetically - read up ague, and learnt that I was sickening for it, and that the acute stage would commence in about another fortnight. Bright's disease, I was relieved to find, I had only in a modified form, and, so far as that was concerned, I might live for years. Cholera I had, with severe complications; and diphtheria I seemed to have been born with. I plodded conscientiously through the twenty-six letters, and the only malady I could conclude I had not got was housemaid's knee.
I felt rather hurt about this at first; it seemed somehow to be a sort of slight. Why hadn't I got housemaid's knee? Why this invidious reservation?"

"From the dim woods on either bank, Night's ghostly army, the grey shadows, creep out with noiseless tread to chase away the lingering rear- guard of the light, and pass, with noiseless, unseen feet, above the waving river-grass, and through the sighing rushes; and Night, upon her somber throne, folds her black wings above the darkening world, and, from her phantom palace, lit by the pale stars, reigns in stillness.
"…we fall asleep beneath the great, still stars, and dream that the world is young again - young and sweet as she used to be ere the centuries of fret and care had furrowed her fair face, ere her children's sins and follies had made old her loving heart - sweet as she was in those bygone days when, a new-made mother, she nursed us, her children, upon her own deep breast - ere the wiles of painted civilization had lured us away from her fond arms, and the poisoned sneers of artificiality had made us ashamed of the simple life we led with her, and the simple, stately home where mankind was born so many thousands years ago."

"But there, everything has its drawbacks, as the man said when his mother-in-law died, and they came down upon him for the funeral expenses."

I can quote hundreds of passages. My favorite parts are the funny ones, of course. Oh my, how I laughed. I am out of synonyms for “funny” (I think you noticed that). Jerome, you are a new safe place for me.

This is a solid 4.5-star book.



Note: I read this book many months ago... I'm trying to catch up with my reviews.

Aug '13
* Also on my blog.

Inno al lavoro (guardato da lontano)

"La vista, da sveglio, di un uomo addormentato nel suo letto ha l'effetto di farmi impazzire.
Mi sembra così sconvolgente vedere le ore più preziose della vita - gli inestimabili momenti che mai più torneranno - sprecati in un sonno bestiale. Ecco lì George nella sua odiosa neghittosità che getta via il dono impagabile del tempo."

"Quando Harris viene invitato a qualche ricevimento, e gli chiedono di cantare, ha l'abitudine di rispondere:" be', sono capace soltanto di cantare una canzone comica.
E lo dice con un tono in cui è sottinteso che almeno una volta nella vita andrebbe sentito, se si vuole morire senza rimpianti."

“Sii eloquente, profondo e tenero; guarda, con occhio limpido, nella natura e nella vita; apri le candide ali del trepido pensiero, e librati, spirito divino, sul mondo turbinoso al disotto, su per i lunghi sentieri delle stelle fiammeggianti fino alle porte dell’eternità.”

Tre ragazzi, più un cane su cui è meglio tacere, alle prese con una travagliata gita in barca sul Tamigi.
L'aspetto che più sorprende è il tempo passato, estremamente galantuomo verso un'opera che ha mantenuto brillantezza nella sua semplicità.
Lo sgangherato trio, ottimamente tratteggiato con una peculiare tendenza all'ozio e nobilitato da slanci pseudofilosofici di bassa lega, diverte e colpisce nel segno a più riprese; quello che funziona meno è la continuità narrativa, difetto che emerge impietoso in quelle fastidiose transizioni fra i passaggi di connotazione storica - all'inizio l'opera fu pensata come guida turistica - e la vicenda narrata.
Momenti cult: l'aneddoto su Zio Podger e il racconto della canzonetta comica di Harris.

It was suggested that I read this prior to reading Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. This is an amusing read. Some sections evoke out-loud chuckles even over 100 years after the original writing. This comedy of 3 men and a dog taking a river trip on the "sacred Thames", so-called, has lasted quite well. There are a few sections that seemed to labor but far more that hit their marks well. Now I will move on to Willis' book.

Dnevnik o putovanju tri prijatelja i jednog psa po Temzi je potpuno rasterećujuće djelo bez posebne akcije i uzbuđenja, ali djelo koje me u više navrata od srca nasmijalo, te stoga 4⭐️ za četiri putnika na čamcu!

I have had Jerome's books in my shelf for a long time, and somehow never got to them - this is the first I have read. It is one of those famous books everyone seems to have read - I don't think it receives rave reviews - but it has a sort of appeal to most.

Published in 1889, it survives aging well and while of course very dated, it is still very readable. There are small elements of the language which are archaic and not in common use now, but not such that it would hinder the reader.

For me, the highlight of the book is the dog - Montmorency.

n  Montmorency's ambition in life, is to get in the way and be sworn at. If he can squirm in anywhere where he particularly is not wanted, and be a perfect nuisance, and make people mad, and have things thrown at his head, then he feels his day has not been wasted.
To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour, is his highest aim and object; and, when he has succeeded in accomplishing this, his conceit becomes quite unbearable.n

Other memorable interludes are Montmorency and the water rat - his contribution for the Irish stew; Montmorency and the kettle episode; and generally Montmorency's many fights and complications.

But generally, this is story of a short, two week, voyage up the Thames of Jerome, Harris and George (not to forget the fox terrier), but it is more digressions and asides than it is voyage. From Kingston to Oxford, the voyage proceeds, but literally every chapter contains side stories and analysis of everything imaginable from literary works to medical complaints, from weather forecasts to local history and sights.

As to whether it is fiction or non-fiction, you would have to consider that while Jerome and his friends made a number of river trips between them, this one was most likely a literary amalgamation of those and all his random side stories, although another reviewer plotted the route, the stops and the sites and it looked quite legitimate, so perhaps...

I understand that Hugh Laurie narratives an audiobook version - which I can imagine works very well with this content. For me Jerome has the voice and mannerisms of Hugh Laurie.

One quote to finish:

n  Among folk too constitutionally weak, or too constitutionally lazy, whichever ti may be, to relish up-stream work, it is a common practice to get a boat at Oxford, and row down. For the energetic, however, the upstream journey is certainly to be preferred. It does not seem good to be always going with the current. There is more satisfaction in squaring one's back, and fighting against it, and winning one's way forward in spite of it - at least, so I feel, when Harris and George are sculling, and I am steering.n

4 stars

I originally read this because I'm a big fan of Connie Willis and she went on and on about it, but when I actually read it, I was charmed for its own sake. :)

It's all so very droll.

Fish stories, laziness, incompetence, dishonesty, pathos and great verve stud these pages. It's an adventure for the ages! Of course, it's just three men in a boat, to say nothing of the dog.

Set in Victorian England, it captures the overblown hypochondriac feel of the age. :)

Well worth the read, and now I think I'm gonna hunt down takers for a first or re-read of Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog, which, I might add, might be a bit superior in every way. :)

This book reminded me of some not-so-successful camping trips that I took in my early twenties! Back in the day when I was willing to sleep in a tent and on inadequate padding on the ground. These are learning experiences, as you cope with rain that prevents comfortable hiking, mosquitoes & blackflies that prevent comfortable cooking, and forgotten items that could have made the trip better.

Who hasn’t brought canned food and forgotten the can opener? I read the pineapple tin scene with amusement! And I think even casual picnickers have had food disasters! As youngsters, we overestimate our abilities, learning that our cooking or navigating skills are not as advanced as we thought. Inedible food and getting lost are all part of learning to make our way in life.

Most of all, Jerome reminds us that we shouldn’t waste too much time trying to be “good.”

n  In the church is a memorial to Mrs Sarah Hill, who bequested £1 annually, to be divided at Easter, between two boys and two girls who “have never been undutiful to their parents; who have never been know to swear or to tell untruths, to steal, or to break windows.” Fancy giving up all that for five shillings a year! It is not worth it.n

I find myself agreeing with him wholeheartedly. We must fling ourselves into life!

I know i don't take to plotless books with lackluster characters but Since this is a comedy i decided to give it a go. Somewhere between pointless frivolity and introspective human incite. classified as a comedic travelogue. man, Victorians loved travelogues!

As i said not much of a plot, In fact the title will suffice to tell you all you need to know so i'll keep this synopsis brief. Three men George, Harris and J. our narrator travel down the Thames river with J's dog Montmorency. Telling you what they saw and experienced with many amusing anecdotes along the way!

personal taste in Comedy can be very different. i found three men in a boat amusing sometimes and over-the-top slapstickish at others. kind of like watching Charlie Chaplin you think so this really made them LOL back in the day. More so then the humor i liked the historical tidbits interspersed throughout. since this is a travelogue. I can imagine how a knowledge of the area would improve your enjoyment. This seemed like a good snapshot of Victorian life!

I enjoyed this the more i listened to it. Narration you choose is important i did the one read by Frederick Davidson free on audible+ and was greatly disappointed. May spring for another version on audible later there're several to choose from! can see this being like Monty Python's the holy grail where at first i was not that impressed. Only to find myself quoting it and having watched it many more times years later!

I first read this book about forty years ago, after watching an excellent BBC TV adaptation (1975). On second reading, I found myself smiling and occasionally laughing aloud at the jokes and slapstick scenes, and I believe those comic bits, now more than a century old, have held up very well. However, this prototypical buddy road trip (or river trip) up the Thames has a dark side that pops out at times before beating a hasty retreat behind its shield of jovial gags.

Three late Victorian, middle-class young Englishmen and the narrator’s dog take a boat trip up the Thames. Jerome used this narrative framework for a series of jokes, comic tales and slapstick scenes based on keen observations of human and canine behavior. There are jokes about the characters’ quirks and foibles, including, but not limited to, hypochondria, eating, drinking, cooking and sleeping habits, bad singing and even worse banjo playing, not to mention rowing, punting, sailing, fishing etc. often in a lazy, incompetent or reckless manner. As for the dog, his Fox Terrier nature gets him into scrapes and dangerous confrontations, most notably with a hot tea kettle and a tough old Tom cat. The slapstick scenes are many and varied; among the funniest is an attempt to open a can of pineapple chunks without a can opener. The Three Stooges couldn’t have done it better—or worse. And the scene where a bunch of tourists get lost in the maze at Hampton Court is priceless.

Jerome interweaves some poetic descriptions of the journey into his comic narrative. He also makes some philosophical observations, references to several historical sites, and even speculates on what people in 2088 will think of the commonplace objects of 1888. Will a cheap late Victorian knick-knack become a treasured antique?

As for the “dark side” I mentioned above. It comes out in the moodier descriptions of nature, and culminates in the sudden appearance of a dead woman floating downriver. The scene, which appears near the end of the story, is reminiscent of Thomas Hood’s poem, The Bridge of Sighs, about a young woman who drowned herself in the Thames. Moreover, the scene is foreshadowed by a dead dog spotted in the river. The scene with the dead dog is darkly humorous; the scene with the woman is deadly serious. The weather changes to reflect the mood; cold rain pours down from a gray sky. The friends tell morbid jokes about disease and death. They try to tough it out.
“On one point we were all agreed, and that was that, come what might, we would go through with this job to the bitter end. We had come out for a fortnight’s enjoyment on the river, and a fortnight’s enjoyment on the river we meant to have. If it killed us!”

But they’d had enough. The three men and a dog abandon the boat and board a train for London, where they enjoy a good meal (with the dog) and a show (sans canine).

That I read this novel is due to serendipity. Wanting something on the light side to read while spending a few days at the beach, I decided to check out some Scandinavian crime fiction. (Why did I think this would constitute "light reading"?!). A search for a suitable novel led me to read an article about Scandinavian crime fiction in the The Guardian. Nothing jumped out at me, other than a link to another article in the same newspaper: crime writer Val McDermid's Top 10 Oxford Novels. Included in McDermid's list was a novel I'd never heard of before, Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog, which I immediately decided to read. However, A GR friend's review of that novel referred to this book, which I'd also never heard of before. (I have, it seems, been living under a rock, because if the GR reviews are anything to go by, it's a classic.) Reading this before reading To Say Nothing of the Dog seemed like a good idea. So here I am, less than a week later, having finished reading this book and started on the novel it inspired.

First published in 1889, the work is part novel, part travelogue and part memoir. Three friends - the narrator J, his friends Harris and George and Montmorency the dog, embark on a boat trip on the Thames. The narrative alternates laugh-out-loud silliness, bits of purple prose (which I think were meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but may just be examples of high Victorian descriptive language), information about the not always interesting localities through which the friends pass and discursive anecdotes of varying degrees of inherent interest. It's a short work and there's enough humour in it to make the duller bits easy to get through.

Reading this gave me plenty of laugh-out-loud moments on various forms of public transport. It's lots of fun.