The Road Goes Ever On and On

In 1996, travel writer published Notes from a Small Island, a sort of farewell tour before moving back to the US with his family. Now, 20 years later, once again living in England, Bryson travels around the U.K. again, mostly to towns and attractions he hadn’t been to in the previous book. The Road to Little Dribbling is the story of this second trip.

I’ve read all of Bryson’s travelogues, and he’s always been cranky and somewhat haughty when faced with his fellow humans’ stupidity. These qualities are cranked up to 11 in Dribbling. Bryson hates just about everyone. He’s surrounded by jerks and morons. This is entertaining at times, but can also get pretty tiresome. He really lives up to the grumpy old man stereotype, that’s for sure.

The trip, like all of Bryson’s trips, is full of interesting facts and trivia. Bryson has a real knack for telling an interesting story, even when the topic is something I would never think I was interested in. Bryson obviously loves Great Britain, and his enthusiasm for its history, quirks, and habits make it easy to get engaged in the story, even when he’s complaining. The real problem with this book is it’s a bit choppy. There’s less history in each place, and some of the towns he visits, he barely says anything about and seems to have spent very little time there. It seems perfunctory at times–there’s just less content than in previous books, although I don’t think it’s any shorter.

If you like travel books, Notes from a Small Island is a fantastic travelogue of Great Britain. The Road to Little Dribbling, however, is just okay.