Genre: Book
Grade: B+/B
Notable People: Bill Bryson
Title: Neither Here Nor There
Review: I was so smitten by Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” that I got three more Bryson books from the local library (they have a lot of them- apparently he is more popular than I realized-especially in Vermont- since he lives in Dartmouth, NH area). Frankly, it was a disappointment. Bryson is witty and acerbic-and a great social and political commentator in his travels….but it got kind of thin the second time around-for me. This one is his 1992 reprise of a back packing trip across Europe that he had previously taken in 1972 The reminiscences about the earlier trip were much more enjoyable to me- partially because they included the great irascible Katz sidekick character- and partially because I too backpacked Europe in 1972 and there were very familiar signs of the times. Katz being missing took a lot away from this book, I thought….and the jokes became over familiar. Still, he is quite the unique travel writer…but I think I’ve had my share for a while As an aside, the film version of “A Walk in the Woods” is available on Amazon Prime, and though not as rich as the book, Nick Nolte is gem as the bedraggled Katz…though Robert Redford as Bryson seemed like a stretch.