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A review by book_concierge
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson
2.0
Audiobook narrated by William Roberts.
Subtitle: Travels in Small Town America
After living abroad for some years, Bryson returns to his home country eager to scratch his nostalgia itch for the road trips and experiences of his childhood. Setting out from his childhood home in his mother’s “aging Chevrolet Chevette,” he traverses the back roads of most of the contiguous forty-eight states in search of the perfect small American town, where “Bing Crosby is the priest, Jimmy Stewart is the mayor, and Fred MacMurray is the principal.”
The jacket promises “an uproariously funny narrative” but the book didn’t deliver … at least not in my opinion. I found much of it very dated (it was originally published in 1989), and his snide remarks about many of the places he visited were downright mean-spirited. In fairness, I also am dismayed by the commercialization and sameness of much of the landscape (I love driving vacations and have made many a trek across the USA), and I cringe at the ridiculous souvenir shops at even the most honored historic or natural sights. But I can ignore the shop selling commemorative pillows and mugs and still enjoy the majesty of Mammoth Cave, for example, or the historic information about Salem, Massachusetts.
I listened to this on audio, and William Roberts does a very good job of the narration. I wish he had better material to work with.
Subtitle: Travels in Small Town America
After living abroad for some years, Bryson returns to his home country eager to scratch his nostalgia itch for the road trips and experiences of his childhood. Setting out from his childhood home in his mother’s “aging Chevrolet Chevette,” he traverses the back roads of most of the contiguous forty-eight states in search of the perfect small American town, where “Bing Crosby is the priest, Jimmy Stewart is the mayor, and Fred MacMurray is the principal.”
The jacket promises “an uproariously funny narrative” but the book didn’t deliver … at least not in my opinion. I found much of it very dated (it was originally published in 1989), and his snide remarks about many of the places he visited were downright mean-spirited. In fairness, I also am dismayed by the commercialization and sameness of much of the landscape (I love driving vacations and have made many a trek across the USA), and I cringe at the ridiculous souvenir shops at even the most honored historic or natural sights. But I can ignore the shop selling commemorative pillows and mugs and still enjoy the majesty of Mammoth Cave, for example, or the historic information about Salem, Massachusetts.
I listened to this on audio, and William Roberts does a very good job of the narration. I wish he had better material to work with.