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Indlæser... My 'Dam Life: Three Years in Holland (2003)af Sean Condon
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Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. Oh dear. Three times now I have read a Sean Condon book and three times I have been disappointed. This time I promise not to read another of his books. Although in my defence it seems that earlier reviewers on this site shared the frustrating experience I did. So, Condon, who had previously written about his trip around Australia, and a later trip to North America, now reveals that he lives in the Netherlands with a long suffering wife and his attempts to remain gainfully employed. To stretch the book out, Condon starts shamefully name dropping and so we find that at Roger Moore and Francis Ford Coppola had to put up with him too. Oh dear. I understand his other books were both readable and funny. Three wasted years in a great city, culture and country, sponging off his wife or anyone else he could find with an area of gullibility, disliking and disparaging everything from food to landscape. I dislike this kind of person, so, of course, disliked this book.
Realistic, witty and humorous (often laugh-out-loud funny), Condon explores Dutch culture from the hagelslag phenomenon to customer service ('Ever since the seventeenth century, Amsterdam has been famous for its lack of customer service'). And the book includes a wonderful scene where Condon attempts to buy an envelope at a post office. (Of all places!) Tilhører Forlagsserien
Sean Condon has moved to Amsterdam, he's married, and he and his wife are unemployed. As he explores the strange habits of the Dutch and tries to avoid being deported, Sean also keeps a wonderfully self-deprecating eye on the strange business of writing about yourself and the absurdities of everyday life. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)914.920473History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in Europe Other European Countries Netherlands Travel in the NetherlandsLC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit:
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For me, it was the perfect storm to unleash Sean's characteristic blend of subtle, self-deprecating humour and pain in the subtle humiliations of everyday life. Taut, witty, and in its own way, hopeful. I find it the most rewarding of Sean's books, and I give it five stars.
In fact, the author has moved happily back to Amsterdam with his family. Maybe it's time for a second edition, with a bold, joyous, unequivocally happy ending? ( )