Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

[Janet]

(I wasn't sure where to put this review - but if it's not classed as a classic then it really should be! I'm surprised it doesn't already have a review/discussion thread).

 

 

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

 

The

[Kylie]

Great review Janet. I was just looking through my book lists to try to pick my next read, and you have just chosen it for me

 

One question: I have read a couple of books in recent years that were much more suited for English readers, such as 1066 and All That, and How to be an Alien. As a 'foreigner', I wasn't really able to enjoy these books very much.

 

Is this book suited for a more worldwide audience? I suspect it is, but having confirmation would be nice.

[frankie]

This sounds like a great book for laughs, thanks Janet for the review! I've just discovered that the book is in the local library so I'll be able to borrow it sometime

[BookJumper]

In reply to your question Kylie, I'd say yes I read it as a young teenager when I'd only just learnt to read in English and I got most of it, and the most that I did get had me rolling on the floor laughing. The only other book I remember having me in hysterics quite that much at about the same age would have been Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, which I heartily recommend if you enjoy JKJ, which I can't see not happening.

[ian]

Everyone I know who has read it says the same thing - It made them laugh out loud. I did too, it's very, very funny. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

 

Ian

[Janet]

Yup, Kylie - It'll appeal to you, I'm sure. I didn't 'get' 1066 And All That either. The humour in that is rather dated, but this on the other hand...

 

Giulia - I loved My Family and Other Animals when I read it a few years ago. I haven't read anything else by him though.

[Cookie]

I have this on my TBR shelf...I think I will have to bump it up as I've been hearing such good things about it.

[Janet]

Hope you enjoy it, Cookie.

 

I know I wasn't going to turn this into a thread of quotes, but...

 

"They awe us, these strange stars, so cold, so clear. We are as children whose small feet have strayed into some dim-lit temple of the god they have been taught to worship, but know not; and, standing where the echoing dome spans the long vista of the shadowy light, glance up, half hoping, half afraid to sees some awful vision hovering there."

 

isn't that beautiful?!

[~Andrea~]

I really must re-read this wonderful book soon.

[Kylie]

Thanks Giulia. I'm only into the second chapter but I'm really enjoying it already. The humour reminds me of George Grossmith's Diary of a Nobody (it even those funny little summaries at the beginning of each chapter!) I already know that I'm going to love this.

 

I have My Family and Other Animals on my TBR pile already, so this bodes very well!

 

ETA: Janet, I can see I will also have trouble stopping myself posting all the great quotes here, but here's one I just couldn't resist:

 

"Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

 

You will find the boat easier to pull then, and it will not be so liable to upset, and it will not matter so much if it does upset; good, plain merchandise will stand water. You will have time to think as well as to work. Time to drink in life's sunshine - time to listen to the Aeolian music that the wind of God draws from the human heart-strings around us -"

Edited March 16, 2010 by Kylie

[chesilbeach]

What a little gem of a book this is! Perfectly evoking the era of the late 19th Century, this witty narrative of three young men embarking on a boating break is just charming. Quintessentially English, J. has decided he has every ailment in the medical dictionary, to which his doctor prescribes him:

 

1 lb. of beefsteak, with 1 pt. bitter beer every 6 hours.

1 ten-mile walk every morning.

1 bed at 11 sharp every night.

And don't stuff up you head with things you don't understand.

 

Although there are some elements of a travelogue about the story, the best elements are definitely the observations of the three young men living together, and while we only see this from J's point of view, it is written in such a way to allow you to read between the lines and see the reality of their various predicaments, for example, J. obviously is doing all the work to keep the boat and the trip moving along nicely, but each of the others thinks they are also taking on more than their fair share of chores!

 

The humour and style reminded me a lot of The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith, a book I thoroughly enjoyed last year, and I'll definitely be reading the follow up to this one, Three Men on the Bummel.

[KarenMac]

I also loved THREE MEN IN A BOAT. I agree it is a laugh out loud book. It belongs to a particular time, but the humour relates to any age. In a similar vain I also loved COLD COMFORT FARM!

 

(This is my 1st post, so wish me luck!)

[Kylie]

Welcome to the forum, Karen! I have Cold Comfort Farm waiting to be read. I might have to bump that up the pile.

[chesilbeach]

Hi Karen, I loved Cold Comfort Farm as well, and it's one I haven't read in a while but want to read again.

[poppy]

Great review Janet. I was just looking through my book lists to try to pick my next read, and you have just chosen it for me

 

One question: I have read a couple of books in recent years that were much more suited for English readers, such as 1066 and All That, and How to be an Alien. As a 'foreigner', I wasn't really able to enjoy these books very much.

 

Is this book suited for a more worldwide audience? I suspect it is, but having confirmation would be nice.

 

Kylie, I know you've enjoyed Jeeves and Wooster books which are really very English and I'm sure you would enjoy Three Men In a Boat, Jerome K Jerome is a very funny writer. I would like to add my recommendation to My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell ( one of my all-time favourite books) and Cold Comfort Farm ("I saw something nasty in the wood shed ":lol:)

[Kylie]

Thanks Poppy! I've read and loved Three Men in a Boat and I have the other two on my TBR pile. It looks like I need to bump them both up the list!

[Kate]

Waterstones Synopsis:

 

Martyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them to a 'T'. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather-forecasts and tins of pineapple chunks - not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.'s small fox-terrier Montmorency. "Three Men in a Boat" was an instant success when it appeared in 1889, and, with its benign escapism, authorial discursions and wonderful evocation of the late-Victorian 'clerking classes', it hilariously captured the spirit of its age.

 

I really enjoyed this book! I mean, what is there not to like? Snobby men who suffer from a severe case of hypochondria who believe they can cope with a trip down the Thames in a boat. The storyline is great. The author Jerome K. Jerome is a talented writer who kept me entertained all the way through.

 

I loved the commentary of the journey. Everything they saw had a story and the recollection of them made me laugh. These men thought they were more superior and their thoughts on the surrounding areas where very entertaining. The synopsis says this book was an instant success and it is easy to see why.

 

My favourite chapter was probably involving tie-ropes. I loved the idea of girls pulling boats along, and then getting distracted and letting the boats drift into the middle of the river. I laughed at how these men were happy to annoy larger boats and fellow sailors.

 

I loved these men simply because of their attitudes. They believed they could cope - although they also believed they had life-threatening diseases; and following their story was great fun. This is well worth reading!

 

4/5

 

Audiobook downloaded from: http://librivox.org/three-men-in-a-boat-by-jerome-k-jerome/

[Kylie]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it Kate! This is one book that everyone seems to unanimously love and, as you said, what is there not to like? I was watching something on TV the other day and saw a boat being pulled along in this way and immediately thought of Three Men in a Boat. I didn't know that's how things were done until I read this book!