the first part was a 'Jolly jape 'and would have deserved. 5 star.But the second story was tedious and no where near as funny as the first and only deserves 2.
But all in all the classic 3 men in a boat boosts the score .
An old fashioned story but undoubtedly a classic and was my maternal grandfathers favourite,so much so that he changed his surname to Jerome in his later life

I read somewhere that this book was intended as a legitimate guide. And certainly, it smacks of that, as our largely unnamed and totally hapless protagonist ‘J.’ (Presumably Jerome himself) navigates himself, his two friends, George and Harris and the dog Montmorency up the river Thames on a skiff popular in the Victorian era. Starting at Kingston, and ending at Oxford, J describes what signs can be seen by the expectant tourist as they make their way up the Thames, in often alluring prose style.
 
The humour however, is the biggest triumph - and, in what I am sure is a controversial statement - disaster in the book. Yes it feels fresh, despite its age. Yes, it deals with the commonplace blunders we all encounter in daily life. It’s just not that funny. I think what tipped the scales for me is how hapless J is. In nearly every venture they set out on, there is something there to thwart them - often it is natural elements, like the weather, or a misunderstanding. But nearly always, J anthropomorphises the cause - presumably for comic effect - to some deliberately malevolent force of nature, and in doing so - for me at least, is where it fell flat.
 
You see J  and his colleagues are just so hapless that you border on frustration in sticking with them. Their inability to get anything done on time and with certainty is this the rhythm of this book’s drum, and boy, does it beat it.
 
The plot is simple enough. Three gentlemen of means decide they are tired, and overworked, and must have a rest. They decide to do so on a boating holiday up the Thames. The rest of the book is about that journey. No whodunnit, no resolution of character, no complicated narrative, just the scrapes they get into on the way.
 
En route, J regales you with tales of not only this sailing trip, but others he has been on. As he explains, it is customary to tell ‘stretchers’ (love that phrase) when you embark on life upon the river. Some wonderful turns of phrase, and history abound within the book. Take this, about the excitement of setting off on the trip:
 

‘Throw the lumber over, man! 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.
You will find the boat easier to pull then, and it will not be so liable to upset, and it will not matter so much if it does upset; good, plain merchandise will stand water. You will have time to think as well as to work. Time to drink in life's sunshine - time to listen to the Aeolian music that the wind of God draws from the human heart-strings around us.’

 
Some other memorable scenes that were wonderfully described include the  chiefly imagined narrative of the forcing of King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. And some excellent comic turns of phrase:
 
 

‘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.’
 

  

‘They sat down with the air of early Christian martyrs trying to make themselves comfortable up against the stake’
  

The boat expedition ends almost as abruptly as it begins, when the inept trio abandon the skiff near Oxford, in inclement weather, and sneak back to London by train in time for dinner in their favourite French restaurant. Their incompetence, for allegedly experienced oarsmen, is staggering.
 
One thing that is clever, and a repeated device, is how J outlines his wants, describing them perfectly as an antidote to the failings of others, but then is indignant when he gets his own way, as precisely the failings he describes are ascribed to himself. This, indeed, is how three men on the bummel starts: he explains that he would be glad to have a rest from his wife (but she should be sad to be rid of him), but is affronted when she describes, obliquely naturally, how glad she would be of a break.
 
The Brummell is more or less what the boat is - a journey that takes place where its sole object is to return to the place one started. Of course, these are not infertile grounds for a story, but the Brummell does not deliver quite as much as the boat did. This time the trio are bicycling through Germany, but the themes and frustrations are largely the same as the boat.
 
I cannot be the only one, particularly with the bummel, to draw a comparison between Robert M Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The bike is a contemplative place, after all – although perhaps J does not achieve the level of introspection that Pirsig’s Chautauqua revealed.
 
I did feel that J was a bit insulting towards his audience. He assumes little knowledge on their part, but still manages to speak to them with a tone of condescension, although explaining things about the world to the lower orders - perhaps that is precisely the point.
 
I also enjoyed the perspective of the British holidaymaker in Germany pre-WWI - the origins of totalitarianism, as Arendt would put it, were there alright, and caricatured by J with a disturbing preternaturally which I understand was a popular trope of the day.
 
Overall, the books were good, the second not so much as the first, but the unlikability of J and the constant, grating, failings of the cast that fell short of their comic marks, made it difficult to love. I understand why this classic is lauded, but I do query as to whether we overstate how good it is today, particularly when far, far better alternatives (Hello, Wodehouse) are readily available. One to read, one to enjoy - just perhaps not one to love. J would no doubt describe me as a force of nature railing, deliberately - against him. Perhaps I am.

Now I know this is a worldwide classic that has been published many many times over the years and is loved by a wide majority, but it didn't really do a lot for me. I found it funny and entertaining to begin with, but then I found myself getting bored with it and to be honest I struggled helplessly to the end. I felt like an untrained marathon runner, crawling to the end of a very long race.
The book follows the adventures of three men and a dog as they travel along the River Thames by rowing boat, camping out in the evenings. Each chapter deals with another part of I their journey and seems to be full of facts about each area of London they pass. There is absolutely no plot to this book what so ever and I think that is why I struggled to get into it, it just didn't seem to be going anywhere for me. I think the only parts of this book I actually really enjoyed were the chapter summaries at the beginning of each chapter, which seemed to go into great detail about each one's content.
I almost feel that there must be something wrong with my sense of humour, because after that first chapter, it did absolutely nothing for me, where as others have cried with laughter at it. So I really wouldn't pay too much attention to my opinion of this book as I seem to be in a minority.

Peak comedy.

В детстве эта книга мне понравилась больше. Или я был под впечатлением советского фильма с замечательными Ширвиндтом, Державиным и Мироновым? Сейчас же больше чувствуется, что книга задумывалась изначально как путеводитель по Темзе: сюжета как такового в ней нет. Юмор присутствует, но приём по большей части используется один и тот же.

Что касается самого издания, то книгу приятно держать в руках. Иллюстрации в наличии, хотя их не так много.

So these books are supposed to be funny, but I could barley stand them. I wish I would have just walked away and left this writing unread, but I have a difficult time not finishing the books I start.
Anyway, I forced myself to read every damn page of both "Three Men in a Boat" and "Three Men on the Bummel."

There were parts of this two-books-in-one-volume that were enjoyable, and I laughed once.

On the whole though, I would use the word tedious to describe these works.

Both of the books were dull and pointless.

In "Three Men in a Boat" these three friends and their dog go on a boating adventure down the river. It's supposed to be like a funny, ridiculous retelling of their mishaps, much like a version of "Dumb and Dumber"--only from back in the day.

Unfortunately for me, I absolutely loathed, "Dumb and Dumber" and I loathed this book too. There were simply too many pointless tangents that I didn't find interesting. There was history that I don't know. There were jokes that went right over my head.

I think I probably lack education, which is why I didn't get many of the jokes. I also have never been to England. I don't know that much of the history of the place.
The writing itself was good, but I just didn't enjoy the book. I made myself read it and it took me a solid month to do so.

"Three Men on the Bummel" was just as bad as the first book, and actually, I don't even know what to say about all the smack he wrote about Germany. I had no idea if what he said was true but I do know it was supposed to be funny, and yet (in my opinon) it simply wasn't.
I thought both books sucked.

I had read a review that this book was very funny and although I did enjoy some of Three Men in a Boat by the end of it I had had enoug so much so that I didn't read Three Men on the Bummel.

ROMANESTE
Acolo zice ca "finished the book", dar din pacate eu nu am "finished the book". Poate ii voi da o sansa candva in limba romana sau poate voi incerca inca o data in engleza.
Inaintez foarte greu, avand in vedere ca o citesc pe Kindle, aproape in fiecare fraza exista 2-3 cuvinte pe care nu le cunosc. Este vorba de acea engleza really, but really high class. De aceea cititul intainteaza dificil si trunchiat de cautarea intelesului la cuvinte.
Practic, trei prieteni se hotarasc sa efectueze o excursie pe Tamisa si, cel putin cat am citit eu, pregatirile sunt amestecate cu diverse amintiri haioase (cel putin episodul cu branza este haios bine de tot).
Am momente cand imi imaginez figurile unor gentlemeni plictisiti, dand ordine la servitoare, fumand trabuc, bogati, discutand ce sa mai faca ca sa le mai treaca plictiseala. Si in momentul ala, cartea nu mai imi place. Sunt prea de stanga pentru asa ceva.
Descrierile de natura (unde abunda adjective nemaipomenite pe care le citesc pentru prima oara) sunt frumoase, si ideile legate de natura etc sunt parca mai cinstit prezentate decat la Thoreau.
Nu am reusit nici cu P.G. Wodehouse (Jeeves and stuff...) - acolo macar nu mi-a placut de la inceput. Aroganta plictisita a personajului principal m-a lovit din plin de la prima pagina.

ENGLISH
There it says "finished the book", but unfortunately I did not finish it. Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime in Romanian or maybe I'll try again in English.
I hardly progress, given that I read on the Kindle and in almost every sentence there are 2-3 words that I do not know. It's about that English! That really really high class English. That is why reading is difficult and truncated by the search for the meaning of the words.
Basically, three friends decide to go on a trip to the Thames and, at least in the part I did read, the preparations are mixed with various funny memories (at least the cheese episode is funny all the time) and proofs of Murphy's laws.
I have moments when I imagine the figures of bored rich gentlemen, giving orders to maids, smoking cigar, and discussing what else to do to overcome their boredom. And at that moment, I don't like the book anymore. I'm too left for that.
The descriptions of nature (where great adjectives abound that I read for the first time) are beautiful, and ideas about nature etc are more honestly presented than at Thoreau.

Three Men in a Boat is one of those books about which I've been thinking 'I really ought to read that' for a while, and I finally got to it. I have to admit, it's not what I expected. I'd imagined finding it dry, but it's actually very funny. The Gilbert and Sullivan joke had me laughing out loud, as did a few others. Some of the humour does focus on late Victorian matters, but if you aren't familiar with such things, there are notes explaining key figures and ideas mentioned in the back of the book. Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read, and I am happy to have finally crossed it off my reading list. If you are looking for a light and humorous classic, this is your book.

Enjoyable book, I found myself bursting into uncontrollable laughter while reading some of its most funny passages. With that being said, the book's subject is not particularly complex, being reduced to some charming little stories that accompany the main thread of the trip. I have enjoyed both novels, but I slightly preferred "Three Men in a Boat".

A wonderfully refreshing read filled with elaborate daydreams, hilarious hijinks and utter ridiculousness. Depicting the everyday life of three rather bored middling men, who decide it would be a great plan to take a fortnight boating holiday from London to Oxford along the River Thames.

The characters ridiculous in the need to always outdo each other’s boasts and stories, and even their more humble stories are filled with hilarious moments of misdirection,miscommunication and a mistaken belief that they can easily do anything provided only a little amount of effort is needed.

3.5 stars