Neither Here nor There

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: William Roberts

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

In Neither Here nor There Bill Bryson brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia. Whether braving the homicidal motorists of Paris, being robbed by gypsies in Florence, attempting not to order tripe and eyeballs in a German restaurant, window-shopping in the sex shops of the Reeperbahn or disputing his hotel bill in Copenhagen, Bryson takes in the sights, dissects the culture and illuminates each place and person with his hilariously caustic observations.

©1991 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Amazing book

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book, Bill Bryson is hilarious and I was laughing out loud, there were parts that I was driving on the highway and I thought I might get into an accident cause I was laughing so hard.
I thought the book gives you a fair review of what to expect in each country and city
Most guide books tell you the place is great and amazing and recommend all museums and everything touristy there is to do
In this book, Bill Bryson does other things that not all tourists do, he goes to places that not all guide books recommend and gives you his honest opinion of the country and its people
I liked it much more than a lot of other guide books
Highly recommended

What a disappointment...

I have enjoyed many of Bryson's books; Sunburned Country, Thunderbolt Kid & others were delightful. Sadly, i found this book was a collection of miserable, self-centered recollections of the worst possible views/interpretations of Europe. I have been to, and delighted in, but many of the places that his jaundiced eye denigrated. Thank God I didn't have to travel with him!

The narration was excellent, however it didn't make up for the grumpy lack of appreciation Bryson shows for the places he visited. Give this one a pass.

Amusing whirlwind through 90s Europe

The wit and pace of Mr. Bryson's writing again made this enjoyable. The latter part of the book was a bit thin on his customary interesting and often facing sharing of history and generally interesting information.

Authentic Bryson, but that might be the problem

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend Neither Here Nor There with reservations, because the actual traveling-around-Europe portion of the book is exactly what I wanted from Bryson. Unfortunately, he indulges too much in digressions where he displays quite unlovable character traits, some of which include:

-despising all dogs and most animals in general
-shameless objectification of women
-defending his complete lack of remorse over beating up the fat kid in his middle school.

In a travel book, I seek to identify with the author so that I may see the places he goes through his eyes. Bryson's digressions make this very difficult, and it is hard to understand why his editor permitted them to remain in the work, since they are so extraneous to the purpose of the work.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I think there is a book that covers his ORIGINAL trip through Europe with Katz, and as a fan of A Walk In The Woods, I'm curious about that one.

What didn’t you like about William Roberts’s performance?

Bryson freely admits being completely ignorant of all non-English languages, except for mostly-forgotten lesson in school. Despite this, Roberts continually indulges in heavy accents and pronunciations that feel false in the context that Bryson has created.

Do you think Neither Here nor There needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nope. I don't want to tempt Bryson into deeper navel-gazing, since this book took him to some pretty dark places already.

Going Back Again

In his younger years Bill had taken this tour with a guy he had just met and thought he'd see if it had changed much over the years.

So much whining!

I think I’ve read almost everything. I’ll Bryson has written and loved every word of it. Except for this book. There wasn’t a single place in all of Europe that he didn’t bash and complain about.

Great

This is only my second Bryson book and is much better than the road to dribbling which was my first I highly recommend this book if u r looking for a good quick listen.

The narrator delivers the book

Would you consider the audio edition of Neither Here nor There to be better than the print version?

It is difficult to compare audio editions with the print versions in most cases. When listening to others read a book, I almost always find I would have read it in a slightly different way. When I read a book, I put my own voices on the dialog, and I have my own way of reading and interpreting the sentences. These are small, subtle changes that I find important for my reading experience.

William Roberts does an excellent job narrating this book. I mean, Bill Bryson is who he is, funny, a great storyteller, and able to make almost any subject appear intriguing through his observations. I've read a book by him before, so I knew what I was getting for content. Therefore, William Roberts' narration came as a pleasant surprise and really made the listen a very enjoyable experience. He read with a voice much better than my own internal one, and in my opinion, emphasizing exactly the right words for each sentence, thus bringing out those extra subtleties I enjoy.

Therefore, I'm inclined to consider the audio edition better than the print version in this case.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Neither Here nor There?

Being from Norway, I obviously found the part where he travels to Norway particularly interesting. It is interesting to hear a foreign take of one's own culture. It is clear however, that the book is more than 20 years old now, so there's a lot of those small cultural observations that no longer applies. But, I'm old enough to remember!

Which scene was your favorite?

I'm not going to lift a particular scene up to favorite status. The book was generally enjoyable, and not to mention a reminder of how much the world and particularly Europe has changed during the last 20 years. Some cultural differences have disappeared, some have emerged, as with currencies, politics, customs and culture.

In a way, the stories and observations are a bit outdated, but for someone of my age, that didn't lower the reading experience.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had had the opportunity to do so, I probably would do so. But then again, I would with any book, I guess.

Any additional comments?

In summary, I would say a very enjoyable listen, great but slightly outdated content, but with excellent narration.

Usual good yarn from Bryson

Bryson doesn't disappoint with his wanderings around Europe noticing things and occasionally getting into entertaining trouble.

Perfect, as always

I love Bryson's writings, and the performance was superb...I loved this book. Highly recommend this