BILL BRYSON

Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island

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Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island

Introduction

Bill Bryson is the best UK author of non-fiction books. He had emigrated from the United States to England in 1977 and lived there with his English wife in North Yorkshire. He fathered four children with her. Then, in 1990s they moved away to live in the United States in New Hampshire. However, now they have all returned to the UK. Bill Bryson had started his career in England with journalism. However, he eventually quit and started to write full-time. He wrote multiple books that were widely acclaimed. These mostly include his travelogues. One of the books was also coauthored with another traveller.

He started his book writing career with his first book The Lost Continent in which he described his life in America in his mother's Chevy car in the small town. Then, he also narrated his Euro trip around Europe in his book and travelogue Neither Here, Nor There. This book Notes from a Small Island was another bestseller and was voted as the best book depicting modern England. Then, he wrote another book and travelogue on America which is the Notes from a Big Country. Finally, he visited Australia and also wrote about it.

However, he has also written other famous non-fiction books which are not travelogues. These include Made in America, Mother Tongue, and A Short History of Nearly Everything. While the former two are on English language, the latter concerns science. These books earned several awards with worldwide acclaim. In this book, two of his most favourite places should be Calais and London as these appear first in his book. Accordingly, we analyse his depiction of these two of his favourite places in England.

Bryson's favourite places in England

Calais

He starts by clarifying that Calais is a great place in England as it allows every Englishman in a track suit to go somewhere in the city. He becomes humorous and says that the city has been planned as a supermarket package and presents all such cream. He uses this supermarket simile for Calais to show its quite neat city planning the way aisles in a supermarket are thoroughly organized featuring different product types. Then, he does not leave his humour and classifies one of the buildings in the city centre, as cornflakes box, which is the Holiday Inn. Here, he is continuing with his sarcasm of the city planning and the way it appears to an unsuspecting wanderer.

Then he hints on the very name of the city and place and calls it France. He is comparing it with the France due to the very French sounding name, or perhaps it could be a French name, he does not clarify. Then, he also compares the day with the Indian sun shining above to depict the nature of England with its gloomy days. Here, he is engaging in an allegory by name calling the sun. Then, he also engages in hyperbole and suggests that he had been spending ...