More Tramps Abroad

A Tramp Abroad is my first 'factual' Mark Twain book and I'm not completely sure how I feel about it. Initially difficult to get into, the first few chapters are an odd blend of observations, hearsay, retelling of local myths and flannel. Once the style settles down, I thought the book flowed more but it's still quite hit and miss - a bit like watching a Monty Python episode. There are very funny anecdotes that are probably greatly exaggerated or mostly made up but with satirical grains of truth that I enjoyed. These are entertaining to read and raised a chuckle. However they are interspersed with other passages that are either bizarrely odd or simply dull. A mountain climbing expedition is so overegged that it becomes boring, but an American trying to strike up conversation on a boat trip made me giggle. For a foot tour of Europe, Twain only actually visits Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and most of the book is Germanic travel. He obviously is a walker as several of his reminiscences are understanding of the activity and its way of promoting thought and conversation, but if there is a chance to go by any other method, he seizes it every time. I can't say that any of Twain's travelogue has inspired me to follow in his footsteps and I had hoped it would. Perhaps this is a poor example of his non-fiction writing or perhaps I should stick to reading his fiction.

This will be a relatively short review. This book took me a really long time to read, because I simply couldn't get into it.

The synopsis was pretty good, and made a lot of promises, but I just didn't "get" it. Firstly, the setting was strange, and inconsistent. It seems to be set in the modern world, where computers and flash drives exist, but there's not a single mention of The Internet in it. Secondly, cell phones DO appear to exist, but our characters are never shown to own or use one, instead stopping at numerous payphones along the way. None of these inconsistencies are explained, and we're never told what to expect from the era or the technology.

Then there's the humour, which seemed a bit forced. Sure, it occasionally made me smile, but more often than not, although I got the humour, I just didn't find it all that funny. I got the impression that the intent was for me to laugh out loud, but I wasn't feeling it. There are also lots of obscure references to American pop culture, which I'm sure would've been hilarious, but they went over my head because I'm not an American and I have no idea what the author is talking about.

The book also dragged on a bit in places, where I felt that things could've been sped up, and also rushed through places where I'd like to have lingered a bit. It just wasn't to my taste... but if you look at the other reviews, it would appear I'm very unique in that assessment. So, pick it up if you want to; you just might love it.