In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
My review: 4 of 5 stars
Bill Bryson is my favorite travel writer and an excellent storyteller. In a Sunburned Country starts with uncommonly known facts and arrests the reader with tidbits of knowledge and Bryson’s characteristically droll observations. Bryson goes out of his way to discover the essence of the people and the places of Australia while conducting a great deal of research to stimulate the reader. I learned. I traveled. I laughed often. Sometimes when Bryson was driving or walking about, I found myself losing interest, but only momentarily. He’d soon interject an odd fact or humorous anecdote and regain my full attention. Recommended for fans of travel memoirs.
Quotes:
“My one tip for you if you ever go to Canberra is don’t leave your hotel without a good map, a compass, several days’ provisions, and a cell phone with the number of a rescue service” (p. 87).
“(Australia) teems with interesting stuff, but at the same time it’s so vast and empty and forbidding that it generally takes a remarkable stroke of luck to find it” (p. 120).
“When even camels can’t manage a desert, you know you’ve found a tough part of the world” (p. 245).
“What a sad and curious age we live in” (p. 250).
Other Bill Bryson Books I’ve enjoyed:
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson