1900; 207 pages. New Author? : No. Genre : Claasic Lit; Humor. Overall Rating : 8*/10.
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Three Men on the Bummel is the sequel to Jerome K. Jerome's incredibly successful Three Men in a Boat, which was reviewed here. This time our intrepid trio, instead of boating up the Thames, go bicycling around the Black Forest region of Germany. This precludes the dog from accompanying them, but the usual humor, mayhem, and narrator's insight are here.
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Bummel is a German word, and doesn't really have an English equivalent. Jerome gives his definition late in the book. "Stroll" is close, but implies walking and of a short duration. This outing lasts more than a week, and involves riding on bicycles.
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What's To Like...
Besides the entertaining wit, 3MotB again offers an enlightening glimpse of life in Europe at the dawn of the 20th century. Transportation entails horses, trains, or walking; but now bicycling has become a recreational craze, and leisure time is increasing. Even an average British citizen can afford to cycle around Europe.
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3MotB spotlights Germany, and was written after Jerome and his wife spent some time there in 1898. Jerome gives us a lot of commentary on the German psyche, some of it eerily prescient of their World War One (and WW2) mindset.
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But for the most part, Jerome speaks kindly of the Deutschlanders. And he still has his self-deprecating ways - our trio get into countless pickles - especially ones involving language and directional issues - when the natives often have to help them out.
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Kewlest New Word...
Droshky : an open, 4-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage.
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Excerpts...
"If nobody ever tried a new thing the world would come to a standstill. It is by-"
"I know all that can be said on that side of the argument," I interrupted. "I agree in trying new experiments up to thirty-five; after thirty-five I consider a man is entitled to think of himself. You and I have done our duty in this direction, you especially. You have been blown up by a patent gas lamp-"
He said: "I really think, you know, that was my fault; I think I must have screwed it up too tight." (pg. 34)
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Your German likes the country, but he prefers it as the lady thought she would the noble savage - more dressed. He likes his walk through the wood - to a restaurant. But the pathway must not be too steep, it must have a brick gutter running down one side of it to drain it, and every twenty yards or so it must have its seat on which he can rest and mop his brow; (pgs. 97-98)
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Shakespeare and Milton may have done their best to spread acquaintance with the English tongue among the less favoured inhabitants of Europe. (...) But the man who has spread the knowledge of English from Cape St. Vincent to the Ural Mountains is the Englishman who, unable or unwilling to learn a single word of any language but his own, travels purse in hand to every corner of the Continent. One may be shocked at his ignorance, annoyed at his stupidity, angry at his presumption. But the practical fact remains: he it is that is Anglicizing Europe. (pg. 164)
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...if a woman wanted a diamond tiara, she would explain that it was to save the expense of a bonnet. (pg. 24)
Three Men on the Bummel is a light, fun, wit-filled book; which almost, but not quite, measures up to its acclaimed predecessor. Some think this is due to the dog being absent; or that it lacks a unifying theme, such as the Thames was in Three Men in a Boat. It is always hard for a sequel (except for the Mad Max movies) to measure up to the original.
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Personally, I thought the problem is that Jerome's focus is now external. Before, he poked fun at his own English culture. Now, he's critiquing someone else's - the Germans. If I laugh at myself, everone laughs with me. If I laugh at others, someone will no longer find it as humorous.
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Anybody who loved Three Men on a Boat will also like Three Men on the Bummel. But if you are going to read only one of these, choose 3MiaB. 8 Stars.
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