That’s the American title to Bill Bryson’s book recording his travels in Australia, Down Under. I finished reading it about a week ago. I have been putting off writing this review for a while, because frankly I can’t think of what to say about this book, or even where to start. But I did resolve to write a review about every book I read this year, so here goes.

Those of you familiar with Bryson’s work won’t be surprised to hear that you would be well advised not to read this book in public for fear of alarming those around you with snorts, sometimes gales, of laughter. But in spite of that this book just isn’t as engaging as Bryson’s others. It is denser, for one thing, and the journey he is on sometimes seems to go on and on and on, and then ends rather abruptly, as though he just wasn’t sure how to wrap it all up. I finished the last page with the mental equivalent of having dragged my feet for the last mile of a long walk, which is definitely an unfamiliar feeling for me when reading Bryson. When I read Notes from a Big Country I raced through it too quickly and was very sad not to have another hundred pages to read; A Walk in the Woods left me longing for a sequel.


But possibly this is because I was reading Matthew’s Gospel at the same time, which is also pretty hard work. Or because I was longing to re-read Prince Caspian before the movie came out. And I don’t wish to put you off reading Down Under because it really is very funny, and it did make me desperately want to visit Australia.

Bryson, an American who has spent almost all of his adult life in the UK, seems a perfect fit for Australia, where they have the dry wit and wry outlook on life of the British but with the warm sunny weather of West Coast Americans, which makes them friendly, light-hearted and hospitable (except, as the book relays, in Queensland, but that’s another story). Bryson delights in both these traits, and clearly has a great fondness for Australia and its happy-go-lucky inhabitants. He makes it sound like the most amazing country, both in beauty and mystery, in spite of the fact that it is also one of the deadliest countries on earth – a fact that Bryson also revels in with a kind of horrified curiosity. The spiders, the snakes, the crocodiles, the sharks, not to mention the 12 foot worms (yes, really), the man-of-war jellyfish and the deadly seashells (yes, still really). All of which pale in comparison to the huge, inscrutable vastness which is the Outback, and which seems to lie in wait, ready to swallow up the determined adventurer, just beyond the civilized world. There are those who have found enormous nuggets of gold just lying around in the desert, and those who have found colonies of ants which, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, have not walked the earth since the T-Rex. But there are also those who become so hopelessly lost that they resort to drinking their horses urine, after which they die anyway (um, yes really).

And then there are the Aborigines – Australia’s forgotten people, as Bryson calls them. And the more you learn, the more you find that that is really no exaggeration. Nor is it just a cute title. It betrays a history of bigotry, injustice and a complete lack of understanding of these mysterious people. As ever, Bryson’s socio-political commentary is as poignant and thought-provoking as his humour is snort-inducing, not least because of his honesty in sharing his own feelings and responses.

So if ever I do get to go to Australia, I will definitely use this book to remind me of all the places I want to go, all the things I want to do and all the hotels I want to avoid. But it’s not one I would pick up again, which I would and do with Big Country and Woods.

For the record, I won’t be reviewing Matthew’s Gospel (I’m assuming you’ve all read it :o) but I will say that if you’re looking for a good commentary/study guide which is easy to read but still challenging and educational, I highly recommend N T Wright’s “For Everyone” series (i.e. Matthew for Everyone, Mark for Everyone etc). I’m now on Mark.

Nor will I be reviewing Prince Caspian but if you haven’t yet read it, all I can say is READ IT and then read all the others. And remember the name Reepicheep (who, amusingly, for those of you who know who he is, is being voiced by Eddie Izzard in the movie!).