Name: Three Men on the Bummel
ISBN: 9780140063929

Jerome Klapka Jerome

Three Men on the Bummel

Sarah Sammis

Hobbit as parody?

What made the first book funny can't possibly work for the second, save for the introductory chapters. The original book is all about a boat trip up the Thames and the problems that befall them for poor planning and basic dumbfuckery. A book about Englishmen being idiots in England makes the humor self-deferential.

When, however, the setting moves to another country, the jokes become English vs Germans. Or us vs them. Normal vs abnormal. The humor is based on othering the Germans. The so called humor falls flat and makes Jerome and his mates sound like the ponces they probably were.

Aamna

Starts off well, meanders a bit too much in the middle. It made me laugh out loud, which is not something that happens too often with books. Oh also, I'm now terrified of travelling to Germany.