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The Anglo Files: A Field Guide To The British (2008)

by Sarah Lyall(Favorite Author)

3.46 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0393058468 (ISBN13: 9780393058468)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: I was ready to like this book more than I did. Each chapter took a look at an oddity of British society from the point of view of a New York transplant writer. So far so good. I was interested in chapters that had more social commentary than personal anecdotes. Parliamentary behavior? Fascinating! Transit and shopping behavior changing for the nation as a whole? Also good. Personal accounts of dinners and stilted conversation with reticent colleagues? Eh. I wanted more anthropology than solo bemusement. And I found her witticisms uneven. Laughed at some, felt like she was trying too hard to be Bill Bryson, mostly.
review 2: Patchy. As a Brit living in the US for the past six years, some of this book is genuinely funny and strike home. Unfortunately, muchmore i... mores trying too hard, or just plain offensive. As many others have noted, the author clearly lives in a fairly rarified atmosphere, and comes into contact with a large proportion of regular British folk and customs on an infrequent basis, so I wouldn't say it's a true basis for comparison. Some chapters can be skipped entirely! less

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